Mary Lou McDonald, the leader of Sinn Féin, has expressed her outrage and repugnance over the act of two previous high-ranking party officials providing a reference for a party press officer under scrutiny for child sex abuse. The mounting controversy surrounding the references issued for Michael McMonagle and the subsequent silence from the party has swallowed up the party in both the North and South leading McDonald to call for a governance review.
Tuesday morning saw McDonald directing blame towards Seán Mag Uidhir and Caolán McGinley, the two men who issued the references, and criticising the failings in the party’s HR department, on Pat Kenny’s Newstalk. McDonald admitted being at a loss to understand why any logical person could think of extending him a reference, describing their actions as abhorrent.
According to McDonald, after Sinn Féin found out about the references, the two men were forced to resign before being ousted. McDonald described this incident as unpardonable. She conceded that the party’s Human Resources department failed to further inquire about the references due to staff turnover and maternity leave issues.
“We slipped up,” she admitted, taking full responsibility on behalf of Sinn Féin.
She stood by Northern First Minister Michelle O’Neill, who claimed to have not noticed McMonagle’s presence at an intimate British Heart Foundation event held in Stormont. “She was unaware of his presence,” McDonald supported O’Neill. “She has addressed this query.”
McDonald argued that it is incredibly unjust to make judgements about Sinn Féin’s culture based on these episodes.