Historic handshake at ex-taoiseach’s funeral

A gesture of goodwill that would have been unthinkable nearly 30 years ago when the IRA blew up the Grand Hotel in Brighton during the Tory party conference, Mr McGuinness smiled broadly as his right hand was clasped by the former Conservative premier.

Both Mr Reynolds, who died last Thursday at the age of 81, and Sir John took incredible political risks in the early 1990s which paved the way for the Downing Street Declaration and IRA ceasefire that was the precursor to the peace process.

This was reflected by the poignancy of Pope Francis’s tribute as mourners gathered at the Sacred Heart Church, Donnybrook, for a requiem mass.

In the message from the Vatican’s secretary of state Cardinal Pietro Parolin to Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin, the Pope praised his work of Mr Reynolds and offered condolences to his family.

“The Holy Father learned with sadness of the death of the former taoiseach Albert Reynolds and he asks you kindly to convey his condolences to Mrs Reynolds and their children and family,” the senior cleric said. “Recalling with gratitude the late taoiseach’s efforts to promote peace and reconciliation in Ireland, His Holiness prays for the eternal repose of his soul.”

Father Brian D’Arcy, a friend of Mr Reynolds for 50 years, told mourners that the politician’s role as a peacemaker in Northern Ireland began many years before he was elected to high office.

“Albert thought deeply about violence. He knew peace is more than absence of war but he knew that peace could not take root until the violence stops,” he said.

“For him peace was the only battle worth waging. He knew that peace was not achieved only by talking to your friends; you must talk to your enemies and make peace with them. He took personal and political risks but all he was doing was giving peace a chance.”