Martin McGuinness Cumann launched in Derry

» Michael McMonagle

"My community needs heroes and for me Martin McGuinness was definitely a hero." - actor and activist John Connors

Two new Sinn Féin cumainn were launched in Derry this morning, including one named after the late Martin McGuinness. 

The Martin McGuinness Cumman and the John Starrs/Patrick Pearse Cumann were launched in the Gasyard Centre in Derry's Bogside by veteran republican Mitchel McLaughlin. 

The new cumainn were formed following a reorganisation of the city's oldest cumann, the Patrick Pearse Cumman, due to an influx of new members, reflecting the continued growth of Sinn Féin in Derry. 

The membership of the cumann decided to name the new cumainn after the late Martin McGuinness, a long-standing member of the Patrick Pearse Cumann, and John Starrs. 

It is the first cumann in Ireland to be named after Martin McGuinness and is based in his native Bogside. 

Hundreds of people attended the launch, including the families of both Martin McGuinness and John Starrs, an IRA volunteer who was shot dead by British soldiers in Derry in 1972. 

Among those at the launch was actor and activist, John Connors, who read the Patrick Pearse poem, 'The Mother,' and spoke of his admiration for the late Martin McGuinness. 

"My community needs heroes and for me Martin McGuinness was definitely a hero," the Love/Hate actor said at the launch. 

Mitchel McLaughlin said that a new generation of republicans take great inspiration from both Martin McGuinness and John Starrs. 

"Martin will always be an inspiration for his leadership, commitment and vision but John Starrs is also an inspiring figure. In the aftermath of Bloody Sunday he and many others stepped up and took on the might of the British establishment. 

"We continue to draw inspiration from them and, indeed from Patrick Pearse," he said. 

The launch was chaired by Daire Lamberton and presentations were made to the both the McGuinness and Starrs families by Sinn Féin MEP Martina Anderson.