Top 108 Quotes & Sayings by Martin McGuinness

We all have a responsibility to advance the process of reconciliation, and as a political leader, I am committed to leading from the front and to continue to take bold and significant steps.

The fact is that a car used by Gerry Adams and myself during the course of the Mitchell review was bugged by elements within British military intelligence.

In fact, I would defend to the death their right to express a different point of view.

I carry out my full duties as Deputy First Minister and accept I have tinnitus but appreciate the hearing that I do have and that it does not limit me in a professional or personal capacity.

If the British government is prepared to say that the Unionists will not have a veto over British government policy and that guns, vetoes and injustices will all be left outside the door, then there is no good reason why talks cannot take place in an appropriate atmosphere.

Sinn Fein is committed to promoting and enhancing reconciliation, and in recent years, I and other members of my party have taken a number of significant initiatives aimed to advance this process.

If Britain votes to leave the European Union, then that could have huge implications for the entire island of Ireland and, given all the predictions, would run counter to the democratic wishes of the Irish people.

But the fact is that the vast majority of Republicans support the Sinn Fein leadership.

Obviously, Ian Paisley and I were regarded as very bitter opponents. When we decided in March 2007 to govern together, both of us understood that we weren't going to change our views but that we had to work with one another if we were to end the conflict and move forward.

I know who Queen Elizabeth represents. I know she's the head of the British state. I know she has all sorts of titles in relation to different regiments in the British army. She knows my history. She knows I was a member of the IRA. She knows I was in conflict with her soldiers, yet both of us were prepared to rise above all of that.

On a number of occasions, I have made it clear that Sinn Fein policy was to argue for the establishment of an independent, international truth commission.

World War One is an important part of Ireland's multi-layered history during which tens of thousands Irish people lost their lives.

A lot of Labour people are telling me Labour is in poor shape.

I remember vividly as a 15-year-old, in 1964, seeing Derry play Glentoran in the Irish Cup Final at Windsor Park in Belfast. Glentoran were one of the two big Belfast teams, along with Linfield. Any rural team playing them was up against the odds.

I want to work with Peter Robinson as first minister in a positive, constructive way and leave the elections to the electorate.

Let everyone leave all the guns - British guns and Irish guns - outside the door.

I don't hate Peter Robinson, and I don't think Peter Robinson hates me.

Let me put it like this: I am not prepared to officiate over on behalf of the British government what I think is a disastrous strategy which will impact on some of the most vulnerable and poorest people within our society.

The sheer scale of what the Tories are attempting to do is staggering. But Sinn Fein will not agree to this ideologically driven austerity agenda.

The most important thing to say is that Sinn Fein isn't going back to anything. We are a party on the move.

If there is a vote in Britain to leave the E.U. there is a democratic imperative to provide Irish citizens with the right to vote in a border poll to end partition and retain a role in the E.U.

There are some discussions taking place in the United Arab Emirates about the prospects of a long-haul flight into Belfast.

Along with that ongoing process Sinn Fein took a decision to establish a peace commission which had the responsibility to travel around the country to receive submissions from the general public, also our opponents.

Unlike the Tory millionaires, I live in the heart of the proud working-class community of the Bogside in Derry.

I will not be silenced or deterred.

We don't believe that winning elections and winning any amount of votes will win freedom in Ireland. At the end of the day, it will be the cutting edge of the IRA which will bring freedom.

Remembering the loss of those Irishmen from all parts of the island who were sent to their deaths in the imperialist slaughter of the First World War is crucial to understanding our history. It is also important to recognise the special significance in which the Battle of the Somme and the First World War is held.

The British government says that for Sinn Fein to be involved in talks the guns must be left at the door.

Our ability to make a decision about the declaration is hampered by the British government being reluctant to give us the clarification which we require.

You could count on the fingers of one hand the number of people in the north who said to me, 'When did you leave the IRA?'

Let's leave beside them in another pile all the injustices which exist in the northern state.

Sinn Fein is the fastest growing party on the island of Ireland.

I'm not going to be reduced to the position of being the implementer of Tory cuts in the North.

I don't know what caused my tinnitus, but I started to become aware of a very low ringing noise in my right ear, which is now constantly there.

That's healthy and good for us that there are people who are prepared to question what we are doing.

I believe a united Ireland is inevitable. I have never put a date on it.

There is not much point in establishing an organisation like the independent commission for information retrieval, or the other organisations that we agreed to, if we do not encourage people to participate.

I would have felt ashamed if I had not been part of the resistance and part of fighting back against the forces of the state.

Sinn Fein will not do Tory austerity.

I am very proud I was part of the IRA in Derry and involved in repelling the designs of the British state forces against people who were being treated as second- and third-class citizens.

I come from a very sporting family and played many sports as a lad.

In my view, a united Ireland is inevitable, and it is certainly more likely than a voluntary coalition which doesn't include Sinn Fein.

My ultimate dream would be for Derry City to become champions of an all-Ireland league in a united Ireland.

I was proud to be a member of the IRA. I am still 40 years on proud that I was a member of the IRA. I am not going to be a hypocrite and sit here and say something different.

Commemorations can stimulate debate, which will ultimately lead to a greater understanding of the events of our 'through-other' history and to shape a better future.

Whenever people reach out the hand of friendship towards me, I am not going to refuse that hand.

As anyone who has tinnitus knows, it's not something that you can ignore, and you have to deal with it on a daily basis.

I'm not going to be known as the Sinn Fein Minister who did the bidding of a Tory administration which is focused on decimating the welfare state.

It is Cameron's cabinet of millionaires who are the real spongers given free rein to live out their Thatcherite fantasies at the expense of ordinary, decent communities throughout these islands.

Well I think it has always been a mistake to reduce the peace process in Ireland to a decommissioning process.

Austerity is devastating these communities. The working poor, public sector workers, the disabled, and the vulnerable are the hardest hit by this bankrupt and ideologically driven policy.

The people who were marching at Peggy O'Hara's funeral gave the impression they were associated with the INLA, which is supposed to be on ceasefire and to have decommissioned some of their weapons. I ask if they could have honoured her in a more dignified way.

Ireland's place north and south is in Europe and leading change in Europe.

I haven't done anything that I'm ashamed of.

The position is clear - there is no ambiguity in Sinn Fein's position. We, along with all the other parties, have signed up to a reduced rate of corporation tax of 12.5 % by 2018.

There are no military solutions - dialogue and diplomacy are the only guarantee of lasting peace.

I never talk about shooting anybody, but I do acknowledge I was a member of the IRA, and as a member of the IRA, I obviously engaged in fighting back against the British army.

As a lad growing up in the Fifties and Sixties, I played both Gaelic football and soccer and loved them both.

Let us walk into the conference room as equals and not second class citizens.

As a former member of the IRA, I accept all the responsibilities that are due to me. But in terms of the individual circumstances, I don't comment on that.