Actor Colm Meaney has claimed that the late Martin McGuinness was "very badly treated" by the media because of his past.
The actor was discussing his role as McGuinness in the new film, The Journey, which details the extraordinary rapport that eventually developed between him and Ian Paisley (Timothy Spall) earning them the nickname, 'the Chuckle Brothers.'
Speaking last night on The Late Late Show, he said that "Every leader of every national liberation struggle around the world, or an independence struggle against imperialism – they’ve all had a military past or a “terrorist” past."
McGuinness, a former IRA commander and chief negotiator for Sinn Féin during he peace process, was deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland from May 2007 to January 2017 when he retired due to ill-health. He passed away on March 21 following a short illness.
Responding to his assertion, Ryan Tubridy asked Meaney was it not the media’s role to question Martin McGuinness about his past?
“I hear this a lot, but I didn’t see anyone questioning Nelson Mandela or Menachem Begin, as Prime Minister of Israel for 20 years, having planted the bomb in the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, a terrible atrocity. So, I felt Martin got special treatment.”
In a negative way, queried Tubridy? “Yes,” replied Meaney.
Nevertheless, the actor was impressed by the dignified funeral ceremony for the veteran Sinn Féin politician. “He got a wonderful send-off and I thought Bill Clinton’s speech was extraordinary, it was terrific, yeah.
The Journey, written by County Down-born novelist and screenwriter Colin Bateman, pivots around a short car journey in Scotland taken by the two men during the St Andrews Talks when, according to the producers, they "take the biggest leap of faith and change the course of modern history."
Talking about the pressure he felt to get his portrayal right, Meaney revealed that he had only met McGuinnes once, " but obviously I had grown up with him over the years through the media. So I felt I was familiar but I still went and looked at a lot of footage."
The Journey will go on release in Irish cinemas on May 5.
