File: Martin McGuinness 2009. The health of Martin McGuinness, the former deputy first minister of Northern Ireland, is seriously deteriorating, reports have suggested.
As talks aimed at restoring Northern Ireland’s power-sharing government got under way in Belfast, sources in McGuinness’s native Derry confirmed a story in Monday’s Irish News which said he had been in hospital for the last two weeks.
McGuinness, who was Sinn Féin’s chief negotiator during the peace process, announced his retirement from politics at a press conference in January where he appeared frail. It is understood he has a rare condition that attacks the heart and other vital organs.
The 66-year-old made no appearances during Sinn Féin’s successful assembly election last week and did not attend his local polling station with his wife, Bernie, to vote. Photo/Paul McErlane