UK PM May says McGuinness played defining role in N.Ireland's path to peace

British Prime Minister Theresa May paid tribute on Tuesday to Martin McGuinness, the late former Irish Republican Army commander and deputy first minister of Northern Ireland, saying he had played a pivotal role in the province's path to peace.

"While I can never condone the path he took in the earlier part of his life, Martin McGuinness ultimately played a defining role in leading the Republican movement away from violence," May said in a statement.

"In doing so, he made an essential and historic contribution to the extraordinary journey of Northern Ireland from conflict to peace."

McGuinness, whose journey from street fighter to peacemaker began in the 1970s during Northern Ireland's "Troubles", died aged 66 after a short illness, his party Sinn Fein said.

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