Former US president Bill Clinton has made an impassioned plea for people to finish the peace building of Martin McGuinness.
Thousands of people thronged the streets of Londonderry's Bogside as the veteran Sinn Fein figure's funeral took place in St. Columba's Church.
A huge number of Fermanagh people attended the funeral, including Sinn Fein's Michelle Gildernew, Jemma Dolan, Sean Lynch and Barry Doherty, and Democratic Unionist leader Arlene Foster.
The Fermanagh-south Tyrone MLA was applauded when she took her seat for the requiem mass.
Looking down on a coffin draped in an Irish Tricolour, the former US president, who was central to the Good Friday Agreement negotiations, implored today's leaders to pick up where Mr. McGuinness left off.
And addressing Mrs. Foster, Mr. Clinton said: “I know and most people in this church know that your life has been marked in painful ways by the Troubles.”
“I believe the only way a lasting peace can ever take hold and endure is if those who have legitimate grief on both sides embrace the future together,” he said.
Mr. Clinton added: "He persevered and he prevailed. He risked the wrath of his comrades and the rejection of his adversaries."
"He made honourable compromises and was strong enough to keep them and came to be trusted because his word was good.
"And he never stopped being who he was. A good husband, a good father, a follower of the faith of his father and mother and a passionate believer in a free, secure, self-governing Ireland.
"The only thing that happened was that he shrank the definition of 'us' and expanded the definition of 'them'."
Mr. Clinton added: "Our friend earned this vast crowd today. Even more, he earned the right to ask us to honour his legacy by our living. To finish the work that is there to be done."
Photo: Twitter.
Mr. Clinton spoke briefly with the McGuinness family after his passionate eulogy and touched the coffin as he walked by.
Mr. McGuinness' Bogside neighbourhood came to a standstill as his coffin left the church as Sinn Fein members, including Miss Dolan, performed a guard of honour.
As the funeral concluded, Mrs. Foster shook hands with Michelle O'Neill, Mr. McGuinness' successor, in an act of peace.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here