Irish Wrestle With Would-Be Prez's IRA Past

(Newser) – Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness has announced his candidacy for president of Ireland; now come the inevitable questions over his former role in the IRA. Reporters this weekend asked about his stance on issues like the IRA murder of an Irish police officer in 1996; officials are also calling on McGuinness to open up about his history. "I have answered all these questions in the past,” he notes, saying people keep voting him into office “knowing that I am absolutely dedicated to a new way forward."

“Are people saying because I was a member of the IRA in the past that I have no role to play in the future for all the people of Ireland?” he asked yesterday, noting that he’d made an “immense contribution to peace,” the BBC reports. “A number of people in the north who lost loved ones as a result of the actions of the IRA have actually come to me and pledged their support,” he said. Polls open in October, and with Ireland's largest party hit hard over the economic crisis, McGuinness has a chance to win over thousands of its supporters, the Independent reports.