How Martin McGuinness and I worked
together for peace
In A Leap of Faith, Reverend David Latimer recounts his remarkable friendship with Martin McGuinness - and reminds us all about the importance of building bridges between faiths if we are to truly share the future.'
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In spring 2006 David Latimer’s church, First Derry Presbyterian, was paint bombed yet again. David’s normal reaction was to keep his head down and say nothing, but this time he decided to go public about the attacks. Live on Radio Foyle he appealed to Martin McGuinness to help, believing that he was the only man in the city who could protect the church.
Little did David expect that Martin McGuinness would be at the church within a few hours, and that this first meeting would mark the beginning of a remarkable relationship that evolved and developed over the next eleven years.
In A Leap of Faith, David tells how that meeting led to a strong and lasting friendship that was as close as it was unexpected, and that was cemented by their joint commitment to peace building and improving the lives of Northern Ireland’s young people.
Covering a series of key events – including David’s speech at the Sinn Féin Ard Fheis, Martin McGuinness’s handshake with the Queen and their joint work for peace in Derry – this timely, heartfelt and moving book tells the inspiring story of a friendship that had lasting impact in Derry and beyond.
Review
Dáil Éireann’s (the Assembly of Ireland) Ceann Comhairle (Head of the Council or speaker), Seán Ó’Fearghaíl TD, has also gracefully endorsed A Leap of Faith. He writes, ‘the book tells of extending the hand of friendship across a divided, suspicious community at war with itself, even as the larger war was thankfully ebbing to a close. It’s the story of trusting in peace.’
About the Author
David is a Presbyterian minister who befriended Martin McGuinness. He has urged Northern Ireland's politicians to enter talks with "open minds and willing hearts".