McGuinness Brands Critics "West Brits"

The gloves have come off in the presidential election, and questions about Martin McGuinness's IRA past have sparked the sharpest exchanges of the campaign so far. Justice Minister Alan Shatter said Mr McGuiness was an "inappropriate" person to be President.

"I think there are perhaps many people who would regard his exotic background as somewhat inappropriate for someone who would be the titular head of our Defence Forces," Mr Shatter said.

He also criticized McGuinness for boycotting the State Dinner for Queen Elizabeth in Dublin earlier this year.

"They lacked the generosity to be there. Martin McGuinness was notable by his absence," he said.

"I was personally particularly taken aback that Sinn Fein boycotted that dinner... it would have been a very valuable gesture along the further road of reconciliation that we would have the First Minister and Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland present at that dinner."

Fine Gael's candidate Gay Mitchell also attacked Mr McGuinness saying his entry into the election raised "very real questions" for the Irish people.

The questions about McGuinness's role in the IRA can have come as no surprise to the Sinn Fein camp.

If a 15-year-old letter written by David Norris seeking clemency for his former lover can almost derail his presidential ambitions, how could the party be unprepared for questions about Martin McGuinness's role in a campaign of shootings, bombings and killings that lasted 30 years?

And yet, in the opening days of his campaign Mr McGuinness was tetchy when the questions arose, and in a bizarre outburst blamed "west Brit elements" of the media for the focus on his past.

It appears his "west Brit" outburst was inspired by several articles questioning his IRA past in newspapers and the appearance of former justice minister, and long-time adversary of Sinn Fein, Michael McDowell on television.

Mr McDowell outlined why he opposed Mr McGuinness's candidacy on RTE's Frontline show on Monday night.

On Tuesday, during a radio interview Mr McGuinness said: "there are West Brit elements, in and around Dublin - some of them are attached to some sections of the media, others are attached to political parties and were formerly involved in political parties."

He said he was running on his record as a peace-maker.

Mr McGuinness also denied ever killing anybody during his time in the IRA, and claims he left the Provos in 1974.

However, his claim to have left the IRA in 1974 is not considered to have any credibility and runs against almost every history of the IRA written over the past few decades.

Mr McGuinness's inability to be truthful about his past could turn out to be almost as damaging to his campaign as the truth itself would be.