The escalation of a political disagreement into a severe crisis typically requires either threatening the stability of a government, endangering a party’s or minister’s status within the government, or the potential for a significant loss of public support. However, the furore over Sinn Féin’s handling of employment references for an ex-official, Michael McMonagle, who is now guilty of trying to incite a minor into sexual activity, reached crisis levels devoid of such conditions.
Sinn Féin’s management of this situation, led by Seán Mag Uidhir, the then-head of communication, and his junior partner, Caolán McGinley, who recommended McMonagle, has been less than satisfactory. The party’s initial strategy was to restrict the problem to Northern Ireland and suppress any encouragement for the contentious issue to spill over into the Republic’s media exposure.
Sinn Féin’s First Minister, Michelle O’Neill, as well as the Minister for Economy, Conor Murphy, were the primary figures for damage control, while the party head, Mary Lou McDonald, maintained a low profile. However, this unintentionally affected the party’s attempts at recovery in the Republic, where their popularity has plunged in the past six months, largely attributed to voter discontent over Sinn Féin’s immigration stance.
Sinn Féin urgently needed a strong offensive against the pre-election “giveaway” budget, which was not just desired but crucial. Nonetheless, the McMonagle scandal undermined these efforts, despite the countless hours invested by senior figures including McDonald and Pearse Doherty. Consequently, McDonald refrained from engaging in media opportunities at the Leinster House stand for several days. Notably, she avoided television coverage during her attendance of a pro-Palestinian rally in Dublin. In fact, the party made only one press appearance at Leinster House last week, and none this week, despite numerous topical issues available for commentary.
Joe Canning expressed that the drink-fuelled incident should not have occurred, hanging a question mark over judgement decisions made afterwards. The story erupted as a hot topic in conversations between the party and the media – something they were reluctant to engage with. The lack of prepared party responses became evident, particularly in the case of Conor Murphy who, in a television interview, claimed that they had not been able to brief the British Heart Foundation due to the potential complications it could cause for McMonagle’s case. It was a statement widely regarded as nonsense and presumably one Murphy, if anyone, should have realised.
The incident was the subject of extensive media coverage in Northern Ireland, including press, TV and radio. However, in the Republic, public interest began and ended more abruptly, without reaching levels of fury that experienced politicians usually see as presaging imminent peril.
Importantly though, it raises questions over whether the controversy will negatively impact Sinn Féin’s voter support. Unless unforeseen circumstances intervene, Northern voters will not have an election for three more years. Even if nationalist voters there had an immediate vote, it is unlikely they would abandon support for the party over this predicament.
Intriguingly, the sentiment among Stormont politicians is for calm and steadiness, as evidenced by the Democratic Unionist Party’s disinclination for full-scale confrontation over the matter. The forthcoming trial of Jeffrey Donaldson may also have contributed to this restraint.
Across the border, in the Republic, the situation is subtly different. The issue hasn’t created explosive controversy – or as political operatives phrase it, ‘gone nuclear’ – but it stands to erode the loyalty of the most wavering Sinn Féin supporters, those who were ‘willing to give them a trial run this time’. Eventually, this furore will fall out of the headlines.
Still, it leaves behind unresolved problems. It provides ammunition to critics questioning Sinn Féin’s governance and leadership. It lays bare the deficiencies in the party’s operational processes, particularly regarding child protection policies.
It’s not that the party lacks such protocols. They have been in place for some years, but they failed on this occasion. This was mainly due to the remarkably poor judgement demonstrated by McMonagle’s colleagues who provided the initial references.
Caught unawares by the blunder, Sinn Féin only exacerbated the error by not swiftly decommissioning Stormont security passes from McMonagle. To add fuel to the fire, the party attempted to lay the blame at the British Heart Foundation’s doorstep. Nevertheless, it was soon revealed that despite previous denials, Sinn Féin had indeed been approached directly by the heart charity for verification of the McMonagle references. Consequently, an apology had to be issued to the chief executive by O’Neill.
One can always gauge an organization’s culture by examining their response to controversy. Conventionally, other political representatives, especially those from Fianna Fáil, first privately contemplate the validity of accusations levelled against their colleagues, though they vigorously advocate for them publicly.
In contrast, Sinn Féin, particularly the assertive social media ‘Shinnerbots’, invariably regard every criticism they face as either baseless or a plot against them.
Whilst the party acted proactively to terminate the officials, virtually every subsequent move was ill-timed, clumsily implemented, or incompetent. This series of missteps follows a trail of other errors, with recent disputes of a human resources nature encompassing allegations of bullying. Without delving into past failures with regard to the maltreatment of Máiría Cahill, a victim of IRA rape, which are continuously refuted or grudgingly semi-acknowledged at best.
Now, McDonald has mandated a thorough revamped of governance protocols by the forthcoming general secretary of the party, committing to ‘ensure that an incident like this never arises again’. Of importance to note, she also stated that they will seek advice from external consultants, though the magnitude and impact of this third-party oversight is yet to be determined. Sinn Féin has historically been a party resistant to external examination; the effectiveness of such structures previously used by the party is dwindling. The time is approaching when the old ways of maintaining silence and secrecy will no longer be sustainable.