Ahern: Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness was in IRA until 2005

Mr Ahern was speaking in a new RTE documentary which airs tonight about the former IRA commander and Deputy First Minister.

Mr McGuinness always insisted that he had left the IRA in 1974, after a terror related conviction, although intelligence sources often put him in a senior position much later.

The Londonderry man, who started out as an IRA commander but went on to forge a close friendship with Ian Paisley and shake hands with the Queen, died of a rare genetic condition in 2017.

His gravestone has the title “volunteer Martin McGuinness, IRA” in Irish placed above his other offices of MP, MLA and Minister.

Speaking in the documentary ‘McGuinness’, Mr Ahern said: “I always dealt with Martin. Martin effectively was if not the Number One leadership of the IRA, was the person who was listened to by the IRA.”

“My assessment was Martin was involved in the IRA probably up until near the end and the disbandment.”

He said that when he was negotiating with Mr McGuinness, the republican then “went off to meet the IRA”.

In his view Mr McGuinness had been a full IRA member at that time.

Dublin lawyer and former IRA intelligence officer Kieran Conway also affirmed that Mr McGuinness had been a senior IRA figure long after he claimed to have left.

“Northern command was created, Martin was its first commander and in 1977/1978 he became chief of staff, a very, very popular appointment,” he told RTE.

Londonderry journalist and politican Eamon McCann also insisted the Sinn Fein man did not leave the IRA as he had claimed.

“Martin McGuinness did not leave the IRA in 1974 . . . After all, if you are a member of a secret army it has to be a secret that you are a member of the army,” he said.

Other contributors to the documentary include Bill Clinton, Tony Blair and George Mitchell.

Also featured is journalist Kathryn Johnston, who along with her husband Liam Clarke wrote the detailed biography, ‘Martin McGuinness: From guns to government’.

The documentary includes Mr McGuinness’ own view of his legacy.

“I don’t really care how history assesses me,” he said. “Historians, many of them come from different historical perspectives and I leave it to the judgment of them and the judgment of the people. If you consider the journey that has been made I suppose anybody would be concerned that you would be judged fairly.”

In 2005 Irish Justice Minister Michael McDowell stated that Martin McGuinness was a member of the seven-man IRA Army Council. The Sunday Times affirmed this in the same year when it too named members of the body. The paper also added that Mr McGuinness left the Army Council that year, though it did not suggest he had left the IRA. In 2015 victims Campaigner Kenny Donaldson gave evidence to MPs, saying that the Historical Enquiries Team had wanted to question Mr McGuinness about his alleged role in the Enniskillen bombing but were prevented from doing so.

:: McGuinness airs on RTÉ1 at 9.35pm tonight, Wednesday September 2.

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