One man's transparency is another's humiliation.
In the past I have defended the right of the IRA to engage in armed struggle. I did so because there was no alternative for those who would not bend the knee, or turn a blind eye to oppression, or for those who wanted a national republic.
Hugging trees has a calming effect on me. I'm talking about enormous trees that will be there when we are all dead and gone. I've hugged trees in every part of this little island.
For good or ill, I'm a person of leadership. I do my best. I don't dodge responsibility.
Sinn Fein has demonstrated the ability to play a leadership role as part of a popular movement towards peace, equality and justice.
The Good Friday Agreement and the basic rights and entitlements of citizens that are enshrined within it must be defended and actively promoted by London and Dublin.
Making peace, I have found, is much harder than making war.
I stopped buying Sunday papers about 15 years ago, because you'd buy handfuls of them, and what you got, because the hard news comes from so many other channels, was opinion pieces. You're better off spending the money on a good novel.
We are totally committed to ending partition and to creating the conditions for unity and independence.
When I wrote 'Before The Dawn,' I made it quite clear that there are lots of people involved in my life who I can't talk about simply because I'd put them at risk.
The Irish Republican Army has kept every commitment made by its leadership.
If I didn't forgive the people who took me into the barracks and beat me unconscious over a period of days during the period when the British state was indicted for inhuman and degrading treatment in 1971-72, or even the guys who shot me, if you don't forgive them, you end up with unnecessary baggage.
At that time, the army leadership said the implementation of this agreement would allow everyone, including the IRA, to take its political objectives forward by peaceful and democratic means.
Sinn Fein has the potential and capacity to become the vehicle for the attainment of republican objectives.
When others stood idly by, you and your families gave your all, in defence of a risen people and in pursuit of Irish freedom and unity.
The catalyst for much of this change is the growing support for republicanism.
Your determination, selflessness and courage have brought the freedom struggle towards its fulfilment.
For over 30 years, the IRA showed that the British government could not rule Ireland on its own terms.
The unionists also for their part, want to minimise the potential for change, not only on the equality agenda but on the issues of sovereignty and ending the union.
The way forward is by building political support for republican and democratic objectives across Ireland and by winning support for these goals internationally.
