James Martin Pacelli McGuinness was a prominent Irish republican Sinn Féin politician who served as the deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland from May 2007 to January 2017, playing a pivotal role in the region's politics during that period.
Prior to his tenure as deputy First Minister, McGuinness was a former leader of the Provisional Irish Republican Army, a militant Irish republican paramilitary organization that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland.
As a politician, McGuinness represented the Mid Ulster constituency in the House of Commons from 1997 until his resignation in 2013, earning a reputation as a key figure in Irish politics.
Interestingly, McGuinness's life and career were portrayed by actor Colm Meaney in the 2016 film The Journey, which dramatized his efforts to broker a power-sharing agreement with his political rival, Democratic Unionist Party leader Peter Robinson.