:00:00. > :00:00.Martin McGuinness is stepping down from politics for
:00:00. > :00:17.Our main story tonight: Martin McGuinness announces he will not
:00:18. > :00:24.The man who went from IRA commander to meeting the Queen tells us why
:00:25. > :00:41.Really, have been dealing with this health situation for the last couple
:00:42. > :00:44.of months. It is a very illness. It has taken its toll on me, but I'm
:00:45. > :00:49.It has taken its toll on me, but I'm very determined to overcome it.
:00:50. > :00:51.I'm live on Derry's Walls, where I'll be getting reaction
:00:52. > :00:53.to the news and analysis from our political
:00:54. > :00:57.Also tonight: A DUP Special Advisor accused of exerting influence
:00:58. > :01:17.I have this afternoon being notified that Doctor Andrew Croft Road has
:01:18. > :01:20.resigned as Special Advisor in the department of agriculture.
:01:21. > :01:23.The green energy controversy burns on as the Sinn Fein Finance Minister
:01:24. > :01:26.The gloom has started to lift for some.
:01:27. > :01:33.West is best, but it could be cold there tonight?
:01:34. > :01:35.A former Provisional IRA commander who ended up shaking
:01:36. > :01:38.hands with the Queen, Martin McGuinness today said
:01:39. > :01:41.he will not be standing again for election.
:01:42. > :01:44.He has been one of the dominant figures of the last five decades.
:01:45. > :01:47.In recent weeks, of course, despite a serious health condition,
:01:48. > :01:53.the 65-year-old is said to have had a key role in Sinn Fein's decision
:01:54. > :01:55.to prompt a snap election, a move in itself triggered
:01:56. > :02:00.by his resignation, after ten years, as Deputy First Minister.
:02:01. > :02:03.He made his announcement in his home city this afternoon.
:02:04. > :02:13.He is a man who sharply divided views.
:02:14. > :02:16.Many could not forgive his past, but others were amazed
:02:17. > :02:18.at his journey from the violence of the Bogside, here
:02:19. > :02:24.behind me, in the late 60s, to the grandeur of Windsor Castle.
:02:25. > :02:26.Our political editor, Mark Devenport, who will be
:02:27. > :02:28.joining us shortly, spoke to Martin McGuinness this
:02:29. > :02:30.afternoon and asked him first about his decision not
:02:31. > :02:44.In the aftermath of the Assembly elections last year I agreed to stay
:02:45. > :02:50.on. I was honoured to be asked to stay on as Deputy First Minister. I
:02:51. > :02:54.said I would do it for a further year, bringing me to the 8th of May
:02:55. > :03:00.this year, which would've been the tenth anniversary of into government
:03:01. > :03:05.with Ian Paisley, which was an historic moment. I thought I was an
:03:06. > :03:10.appropriate time for me to stand aside as Deputy First Minister and
:03:11. > :03:13.make way for the new Sinn Fein Deputy First Minister, but, of
:03:14. > :03:20.course, the best laid plans of mice and men came into play. We have had
:03:21. > :03:25.two situations to deal with, I have had two situations to deal with. One
:03:26. > :03:33.is the crisis at Stormont, and my own health problems, which have come
:03:34. > :03:38.after that. Really, I have been dealing with this health situation
:03:39. > :03:44.for the last couple of months. It is a very serious illness. It has taken
:03:45. > :03:50.its toll on me. But I am very determined to overcome it. The
:03:51. > :03:53.question I ask myself is, are you capable, physically capable of
:03:54. > :03:58.fighting this selection with the intensity that elections need to be
:03:59. > :04:04.thought? Be honest answer is I am not physically capable or able to
:04:05. > :04:09.fight this election, so I will not be a candidate in the upcoming
:04:10. > :04:14.election. Aren't you disappointed that your decision to retire from
:04:15. > :04:17.politics has come at the time when the Stormont institutions have
:04:18. > :04:22.effectively collapsed and how hard do you think it will be to restore
:04:23. > :04:29.them? I think they are restorable. If there is a will to face up to not
:04:30. > :04:33.go back to the starter's gun will. I think that poses particular
:04:34. > :04:39.challenges to everybody, but more so to the DUP in terms of recognising
:04:40. > :04:42.that serious questions have been asked about the handling of
:04:43. > :04:48.different situations in the course of recent times, so I think that is
:04:49. > :04:52.a particular disappointment. I don't actually remember the last time I
:04:53. > :04:59.heard a member of the DUP use the word reconciliation. A particular
:05:00. > :05:03.disappointment to me in this, a small point in relation to the big
:05:04. > :05:08.act of reconciliation I have been involved in, prior to the European
:05:09. > :05:11.Championships, the soccer championships in France this year,
:05:12. > :05:18.we suggested to the DUP that Arlene and I should travel to France and go
:05:19. > :05:27.together to Ireland game, to a public game, and they refused to go.
:05:28. > :05:31.I wasn't asking her to go to 1916 commemorative, it was a football
:05:32. > :05:35.match. It was an opportunity to reach out and Arlene went to the
:05:36. > :05:39.Northern Ireland match and I went to both. Sinn Fein have been discussing
:05:40. > :05:43.a general transition in the leadership. How long will Gerry
:05:44. > :05:48.Adams remain a place as party president? Will he also handed over
:05:49. > :05:54.to a new generation? We have been seriously engaged on this matter and
:05:55. > :06:01.that all previous my taken ill. I think that from my perspective, and
:06:02. > :06:09.Jerry's perspective, our plan is in place and that will unfold over
:06:10. > :06:13.time. I have taken the first step. It certainly represents a serious
:06:14. > :06:18.declaration of our intent to ensure that the transition process
:06:19. > :06:25.continues. Gerry Adams is not going to jump at the behest of people who
:06:26. > :06:29.are writing the newspapers are mounting this, that and the other.
:06:30. > :06:34.It will be done according to the plan we have laid out. Your journey
:06:35. > :06:39.has been remarkable from the early days when you are open about your
:06:40. > :06:45.role within the IRA, to the later days when you have been seen as a
:06:46. > :06:48.peacemaker. Looking back on that, do you regret anything about your
:06:49. > :06:53.endorsement of the use of violence to further your errands? People need
:06:54. > :06:57.to look at the circumstances in the city when I joined the IRA. It was a
:06:58. > :07:03.city where people were being murdered at the RUC, murdered
:07:04. > :07:07.wholesale as they were on bloody Sunday, but The Parachute Regiment,
:07:08. > :07:11.and the fact that many young people like myself, supported by many
:07:12. > :07:16.thousands of people in the city, not saying there was a majority, decided
:07:17. > :07:20.to fight back. I don't regret any of that. My journey has been a long
:07:21. > :07:26.journey. I have been over 25 years working on building the base.
:07:27. > :07:32.Epitomised I suppose the fact that since I have taken ill I have had
:07:33. > :07:35.many many thousands of letters and messages of support right throughout
:07:36. > :07:41.the community, but the ones that mean a lot to me in all of that
:07:42. > :07:47.either many, many messages that have come from Protestant churchmen ride
:07:48. > :07:52.across the churches, from ordinary Protestant people, and the fact that
:07:53. > :07:58.I am in the prayer is says something about the impact I hope I have made
:07:59. > :08:01.it with my will to reach out. The end of Martin McGuinness' career
:08:02. > :08:07.came suddenly today. Mervyn Jess looks back
:08:08. > :08:19.on a life that went He started out as an IRA leader from
:08:20. > :08:22.the bogside in Derry and became the Deputy First Minister of the
:08:23. > :08:26.power-sharing assembly at Stormont. It was in the early 1970s that
:08:27. > :08:31.Martin McGuinness first came to prominence in the media. As the
:08:32. > :08:37.officer commanding the very part of the IRA operation, can't you say if
:08:38. > :08:42.the bombing is likely to stop the near future due to public demand? We
:08:43. > :08:47.will always take into consideration the feelings of the people of Derry.
:08:48. > :08:51.Raised in the bogside in the early 1950s as one of the large Catholic
:08:52. > :08:56.nationalist family, his father, William, was a foundry worker and
:08:57. > :09:00.his mother Peggy a housewife and mother of seven. As confidence grew
:09:01. > :09:06.in the city, young Martin McGuinness join the IRA and move quickly
:09:07. > :09:08.through its ranks. He was part of an Irish delegation involved with
:09:09. > :09:15.secret talks with William Whitelaw in London. He was jailed in the
:09:16. > :09:22.Republic prior rate membership and afterwards was less candid about his
:09:23. > :09:29.role within the republican movement. I have never said that I was in the
:09:30. > :09:35.IRA. Reports that they have been in the IRA are rung true but I regard
:09:36. > :09:39.them as a compliment. The bombings and killings continued and by the
:09:40. > :09:44.early 1980s Martin McGuinness was standing for election in Jim prior's
:09:45. > :09:48.assembly, but did not renounce the IRA campaign. At the end of the day
:09:49. > :09:53.it will be the cutting edge of IRA that will bring freedom. Along with
:09:54. > :09:58.Gerry Adams he was instrumental in leading republicans towards
:09:59. > :10:05.political compromise by recognising the Dail, but only the Dail. As part
:10:06. > :10:11.of the Sinn Fein peace strategy had been involved in protracted integral
:10:12. > :10:15.talks with the British government. He results of the party's chief
:10:16. > :10:21.negotiator during the drawing up of the Good Friday Agreement. I
:10:22. > :10:27.nominate Martin McGuinness plus as Minister for education. His first
:10:28. > :10:32.post as Education Minister was defined by the scrapping of the
:10:33. > :10:36.11-Plus exam. In January 2007, Sinn Fein through its support behind the
:10:37. > :10:40.new Police Service of Northern Ireland, paving the way for its
:10:41. > :10:45.appointment as Deputy First Minister, along with Ian Paisley as
:10:46. > :10:53.First Minister. This most unlikely combination got done by the media as
:10:54. > :10:57.the chuckle Brothers. No surrender! I ever, his relationships with First
:10:58. > :11:01.Minister is Peter Robinson and Arlene Foster for a businesslike and
:11:02. > :11:05.at times acrimonious. Giving evidence to the Bloody Sunday
:11:06. > :11:09.inquiry, he admitted being in the IRA and his paramilitary past
:11:10. > :11:13.continued to dog him while canvassing for the presidency of
:11:14. > :11:17.Ireland. I want justice for my father. I believe that you know the
:11:18. > :11:22.names of the killers of my father and I want you to tell me who they
:11:23. > :11:26.are. Sinn Fein boycotted the Queen's first visit to the Republic but when
:11:27. > :11:32.she came to Belfast the following year Martin McGuinness was one of
:11:33. > :11:36.those who welcomed her to the city. It was an encounter that was to be
:11:37. > :11:45.repeated several times in the years ahead. How are you keeping? Fine,
:11:46. > :11:48.thank you very much. His view that these gestures were not sufficiently
:11:49. > :11:52.recognised or reciprocated by Unionist became a source of tension
:11:53. > :11:57.with Arlene Foster. When he resigned his post as Deputy First Minister
:11:58. > :12:03.earlier this month, he cited DUP arrogance among the reasons for it.
:12:04. > :12:07.Martin McGuinness's departure is a pivotal moment in politics within
:12:08. > :12:14.these islands. Until the day I retire from politics or die, is to
:12:15. > :12:16.build a better future for all of our people. It is a political project,
:12:17. > :12:21.It is a political project, not a military one.
:12:22. > :12:29.Mark Devenport is with me now. After speaking to Martin McGuinness this
:12:30. > :12:33.afternoon, did it seem like the end of his political career? He didn't
:12:34. > :12:38.use the word retirement but that is the way of felt. It felt that the
:12:39. > :12:42.end of an era. His close family was there, his wife, his son, one of his
:12:43. > :12:47.brothers to support him during this it was clear that what he still
:12:48. > :12:51.envisages ambassadorial role, he will not be in the front line
:12:52. > :12:57.politics and I would imagine those around him might be saying take some
:12:58. > :13:02.time to overcome this illness. He tantalised us, the offers they have
:13:03. > :13:06.the name of the new Northern leader, his successor, but they won't say
:13:07. > :13:11.who that might be. They also have a date in mind for Gerry Adams to step
:13:12. > :13:13.down. Again, they would reveal the details. Surely there is a
:13:14. > :13:18.generational change underway and whoever that generation is the wolf
:13:19. > :13:22.is uncertain times. We can only hope that they won't have to face the
:13:23. > :13:26.times that Martin McGuinness has been through. He still looked frail.
:13:27. > :13:31.He looked weak, but maybe stronger than on the day when he resigned as
:13:32. > :13:37.Deputy First Minister. He looked stronger today. That is all from
:13:38. > :13:40.Derry's walls of the moment. A DUP Special Adviser who has been
:13:41. > :13:42.accused of exerting influence in the Renewable Heat Incentive
:13:43. > :13:44.scheme has resigned. Yesterday, a senior
:13:45. > :13:46.civil servant said that, although he had no direct evidence,
:13:47. > :13:49.he understood the adviser Dr Andrew Crawford was the person
:13:50. > :13:52.who influenced the decision to keep Today, Arlene Foster
:13:53. > :13:55.announced his resignation. She also said she welcomed a move
:13:56. > :13:57.by the Finance Minister, Mairtin O Muilleoir,
:13:58. > :13:59.who is to bring forward plans for a public inquiry
:14:00. > :14:01.into the RHI scheme. Here is our political
:14:02. > :14:12.correspondent Stephen Walker. Another day of drama at Stormont
:14:13. > :14:17.that involved the fallout from the renewable heating scheme. Doctor
:14:18. > :14:22.Andrew Crawford, who was at DUP Special Advisor, became the first
:14:23. > :14:26.political casualty. Yesterday, a senior civil servants said that
:14:27. > :14:29.although he had no direct evidence, he understood that Doctor Robert was
:14:30. > :14:32.the only influence the decision to keep the heating scheme running,
:14:33. > :14:38.something that Doctor Crawford denied. He was once Arlene Foster's
:14:39. > :14:44.Special Advisor. Today she announced his resignation. Andrew has felt
:14:45. > :14:49.that given what occurred yesterday and indeed today that he was
:14:50. > :14:54.becoming a distraction to the important work not only of his
:14:55. > :14:58.Minister but indeed he was becoming the story and anybody who knows
:14:59. > :15:02.Andrew Crawford knows that he is a very private person and he certainly
:15:03. > :15:03.didn't want to become the story. Tonight, Andrew Crawford released
:15:04. > :15:18.this statement. Before Andrew Cropper design, the
:15:19. > :15:22.Finance Minister announced was to set up a public enquiry under the
:15:23. > :15:29.Inquiries Act, something that Sinn Fein previously opposed. There are
:15:30. > :15:32.shortcomings in the enquiries act, so for example ministerial
:15:33. > :15:37.interference. I am making a pledge today I will not interfere in any
:15:38. > :15:43.way. It is also delivered to the minister, so I am making a pledge
:15:44. > :15:48.nine that we would ensure that any report will go direct to the public.
:15:49. > :15:53.Sinn Fein's decision was welcomed by Arlene Foster who said she was
:15:54. > :15:57.delighted an investigation would be established. I am pleased that an
:15:58. > :16:02.enquiry will be set up and finally we will get some due process in and
:16:03. > :16:09.around these matters and we will get to the truth of what happens in
:16:10. > :16:12.relation to the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme. As I have always
:16:13. > :16:19.said and was confirmed yesterday in committee, I have nothing to hide.
:16:20. > :16:21.The SDLP have welcomed the news about the enquiry, the Ulster
:16:22. > :16:25.unionists want to know what its terms of reference will be. It is
:16:26. > :16:30.another twist in a story that has dominated the headlines for the past
:16:31. > :16:36.month. Today's news about the departure of iron to Crawford comes
:16:37. > :16:40.after the Spotlight fell on another Special Advisor. John Robinson is
:16:41. > :16:44.departure we step aside, withdrawn from any future involvement in the
:16:45. > :16:49.scheme after failing to declare her family link. His father in law
:16:50. > :16:52.receives money from the scheme for two boilers, but he declares he has
:16:53. > :16:57.the personal financial interest in the scheme and has not benefited.
:16:58. > :17:00.The DDB says Mr Robinson is part of his tapping aside to avoid the
:17:01. > :17:05.perception of a conflict of interest.
:17:06. > :17:12.Let's hear from Naomi Long, the leader of the Alliance Party. What
:17:13. > :17:17.is your reaction to this news of the public enquiry finally being
:17:18. > :17:20.announced? I have to say I am hugely frustrated that after a month of
:17:21. > :17:24.calling for once we had two ministers rushing to try to get the
:17:25. > :17:29.public enquiry over the line this evening. You do have to wonder if
:17:30. > :17:32.there is such enthusiasm for a public enquiry not why I couldn't
:17:33. > :17:37.have been done in a more timely fashion in December. I have written
:17:38. > :17:42.to Simon Hamilton and Mairtin O Muilleoir to set up what we believe
:17:43. > :17:45.is believe are the basic terms and conditions required so that the
:17:46. > :17:51.public will have confidence in that enquiry, because it is in the case
:17:52. > :17:55.of both parties it is a fig leaf to cover embarrassment before they can
:17:56. > :17:59.go to the polls in March. Will it take some of the heat of the DUP
:18:00. > :18:03.when it comes to the doorsteps of the election campaign? Though, I
:18:04. > :18:08.don't. If they have the public enquiry at the time we would not
:18:09. > :18:10.have had this corrosive drip feed of information into the public domain.
:18:11. > :18:14.I think that has been the most damaging aspect of this entire
:18:15. > :18:19.tobacco. What we needed to do was deal with this in a timely and
:18:20. > :18:23.mature way. We have collapsed or institutions at Stormont over this.
:18:24. > :18:27.People this morning were still arguing if a public enquiry was
:18:28. > :18:30.necessary. You can almost smell the burning rubber from the U-turns that
:18:31. > :18:35.have been done on this issue over the last couple of weeks. It is
:18:36. > :18:39.ridiculous. Public patient has been tried to its limit. I don't figure
:18:40. > :18:43.that will take the heat off, it simply confirms that the only
:18:44. > :18:47.interest that we have from the DUP as one of self-interest and
:18:48. > :18:50.self-preservation, it is not public interest or this would've been done
:18:51. > :19:03.in December. Turning to Martin McGuinness, it has been a sad
:19:04. > :19:06.note to his legacy? It is particularly sad that he is stepping
:19:07. > :19:08.aside at the time when these institutions which he invested so
:19:09. > :19:11.much are actually in such a precarious situation. From my
:19:12. > :19:13.perspective I want to wish you good health. I know that he has been ill
:19:14. > :19:17.and ankle that is something wrong with he can recover and is able to
:19:18. > :19:21.enjoy his retirement. I would also have to say that I want to thank him
:19:22. > :19:24.for the acts of generosity that he displayed on occasion, that were
:19:25. > :19:29.able to keep these institutions working and were able to build into
:19:30. > :19:32.the peace process. I hope that the next generation of people coming
:19:33. > :19:37.through will be able to return that spirit of generosity that we saw,
:19:38. > :19:47.for example between Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness as we need it now.
:19:48. > :19:51.We asked the DUP and the Ulster Unionist to take part in the
:19:52. > :19:59.programme this evening, but no one was available. The news that Martin
:20:00. > :20:01.McGuinness was not seeking re-election public this afternoon.
:20:02. > :20:08.This is the reaction from some people on the streets of Derry. He
:20:09. > :20:12.has done a good job over the years. I think he was pushed into making
:20:13. > :20:18.some sort of decision by the heating thing. I think he has done a good
:20:19. > :20:22.job over the years and he has to relax now, he has done is better and
:20:23. > :20:25.some of them younger people need to come to an stand-up. I don't really
:20:26. > :20:33.follow politics, to be honest with you. The man's help us to be as
:20:34. > :20:38.primary concern. I think because he is sick it is probably the right
:20:39. > :20:41.thing to do. Health comes first. I think that he should do that, but
:20:42. > :20:43.that leaves us in turmoil, definitely. God only knows where we
:20:44. > :20:57.are going from here. Colum Eastwood joins me now. I
:20:58. > :21:01.suppose that is good news for you that he will be running for
:21:02. > :21:06.re-election. First of all want to say we are all thinking of him and
:21:07. > :21:11.we hope to get time and space to fight this latest battle. I have
:21:12. > :21:15.always find Martin to be very respectful of me and very warm to me
:21:16. > :21:21.and I have always got on with them on a personal basis. Of course we
:21:22. > :21:25.have political differences, but I am worried about him in terms of his
:21:26. > :21:31.health in which all the best. But politically speaking, does that the
:21:32. > :21:36.door for SDLP in the city? This isn't a night for talking about
:21:37. > :21:40.politics in that way. It is important that we remember what
:21:41. > :21:45.journey he has been on. I always thought that he was someone who
:21:46. > :21:49.could speak beyond and act beyond his own electoral base, and I think
:21:50. > :21:54.that stood him and all of us in good stead. I want a repeat that we wish
:21:55. > :21:59.all the best. Can talk about the politics of adults Mothergate.
:22:00. > :22:03.Mairtin O Muilleoir lodged a public enquiry into the temp two scheme.
:22:04. > :22:09.What is your reaction? We are glad that he has done that. We have been
:22:10. > :22:11.calling for a public enquiry since before Christmas. Mairtin O
:22:12. > :22:15.Muilleoir argued against the public enquiry for a number of weeks, but
:22:16. > :22:19.it is important that we have done it. We need to get to the truth of
:22:20. > :22:23.all of this. In all of the political distraction over the last couple of
:22:24. > :22:27.weeks, people on the street want to know why the scheme was brought
:22:28. > :22:34.about in such a way, Wyatt is going to cost so much, who knew about it
:22:35. > :22:38.and what can be done about it. We didn't ask for an election. We
:22:39. > :22:43.wanted a full public enquiry into all of this and for Arlene Foster to
:22:44. > :22:45.step aside for that period. Hopefully, this enquiry will be
:22:46. > :22:50.allowed to be independent and could do its job quickly and effectively.
:22:51. > :22:51.We want to know the truth and hold people accountable. Colum Eastwood,
:22:52. > :22:55.thank you. With me now is the Reverend David
:22:56. > :23:05.Latimer, of First Derry You struck up a friendship of Martin
:23:06. > :23:09.McGuinness. I did that come about? First Derry is situated on the
:23:10. > :23:13.historic walls of the city, just adjacent to the bogside. It was not
:23:14. > :23:17.unusual for our church to be spattered with paint a different
:23:18. > :23:22.colours. On one occasion I thought we have to do something about this.
:23:23. > :23:25.It happened one evening and I was on the redo the next morning and they
:23:26. > :23:30.said there is only one person in this city who can sort this out, I
:23:31. > :23:34.said it is a man who wore a cap in the past I give him a lot of
:23:35. > :23:38.authority and I don't think he is lost in the event. Martin
:23:39. > :23:42.McGuinness. Within 20 minutes Sinn Fein called it said that Martin
:23:43. > :23:46.would like to meet you. The next morning we met in the first Derry
:23:47. > :23:52.Presbyterian Church. I was a bit nervous. I was struggling in the
:23:53. > :23:57.kitchen with tea bags and everything was going everywhere. I had this
:23:58. > :24:03.voice saying, David, do you want to do the storms and I look after the
:24:04. > :24:07.tea. Our common humanity seem to descend on us and that was the start
:24:08. > :24:13.of a friendship that has continued and grown for a decade. He made
:24:14. > :24:16.particular mention about that support from Protestants during his
:24:17. > :24:23.illness in his interview this afternoon. I am assuming that you're
:24:24. > :24:28.one of them. Yes. I have been inundated with phone calls and text
:24:29. > :24:31.messages and e-mails from people within the Protestant tradition and
:24:32. > :24:37.in those churches who seem to think I have an inside track into Martin.
:24:38. > :24:41.While I was saying nothing to them, I was sending all of this
:24:42. > :24:46.information to Martin and I was assuring him that prayers were being
:24:47. > :24:53.said that were valuing the role that he had played and for remembering
:24:54. > :24:58.him. I entered one of those text messages with these words, unless it
:24:59. > :25:03.are the peacemakers, for they shall be called Sons of God. He did divide
:25:04. > :25:10.opinion, but do you think he was a friendly new union of -- -- a friend
:25:11. > :25:16.to unionism? That's not look at the past, but the man he became. It is
:25:17. > :25:19.almost like a St Paul journey, the about turn and the passion
:25:20. > :25:23.associated with his journey to build a better future not just for
:25:24. > :25:26.nationalists and republicans young people, but for young people within
:25:27. > :25:32.the Unionist and loyalist communities. I described him as a
:25:33. > :25:39.true great leader of modern times and people but I my trolley. Look at
:25:40. > :25:40.the journey, what amount. He wants a place that is called no one. Thank
:25:41. > :25:53.you. David Latimer was talking the about
:25:54. > :25:58.the journey of Martin McGuinness. How do you view his journey? What a
:25:59. > :26:02.journey, from a man who'd used to walk the streets behind us on the
:26:03. > :26:07.bogside as an IRA commander to somebody who was present here on
:26:08. > :26:11.bloody Sunday, then to turn up at Windsor Castle at a banquet in
:26:12. > :26:15.honour of the Queen. Many people would see him as a politician who
:26:16. > :26:21.was not afraid to step outside their comfort zone and take a lot of
:26:22. > :26:26.criticism from many for doing that. Others will always see him as an IRA
:26:27. > :26:29.commander, a man whose fingerprints are all over the Troubles and there
:26:30. > :26:34.will be apathetic over his decision to walk away from politics tonight.
:26:35. > :26:38.He is a political animal and you may not be surprised to see the pops up
:26:39. > :26:42.again on the political radar at some stage in the future. He has four
:26:43. > :26:46.children and seven grandchildren and a passion for fishing, so I'm sure
:26:47. > :26:52.he would have lots of things to keep them occupied in the meantime. Back
:26:53. > :26:59.to you, on another important day in our political history.
:27:00. > :27:06.Most of us had dull, cloudy skies again today but there have been some
:27:07. > :27:11.subtle changes. We had sunnier skies across the Republic pushing up into
:27:12. > :27:15.western areas. We will have those clear spells for a time tonight. A
:27:16. > :27:19.lovely day parts of the West with blue skies. The clear spells
:27:20. > :27:24.lingering parts of the West, Clyde in the east. It is likely to stay
:27:25. > :27:27.that way through the night, the odd pocket of drizzle but in the drive.
:27:28. > :27:32.Further west with the clear spells linger could get close to freezing,
:27:33. > :27:36.and that could lead to some mist and fog patches and the odd of Frost. I
:27:37. > :27:41.have a feeling that the snowdrops and County Fermanagh are unlikely to
:27:42. > :27:45.be shivering by tomorrow morning. Eventually, the West End is at best
:27:46. > :27:50.a moral, but it is to begin with we have ploughed in the east and
:27:51. > :27:54.central areas and it will start to track its way towards the west but
:27:55. > :27:58.will start to clear as we head into the afternoon. Some Sun Chang moving
:27:59. > :28:03.into the south, and central areas. Parts of the East fairly cloudy with
:28:04. > :28:10.patchy drizzle, but not amounting to a great deal. Into tomorrow night,
:28:11. > :28:14.with more clear skies we will see how widespread frost developing.
:28:15. > :28:17.Into the weekend, it will be generally colder. Fine on Saturday,
:28:18. > :28:19.cloudy on Sunday that the only drive.
:28:20. > :28:24.You can also keep in contact with us via Facebook and Twitter.