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SINN FÉIN IS “pumping out ambiguous and downright contradictory statements” around a former press officer who admitted child sex offences, according to one commentator.
Although Alex Kane – a political columnist and former director of communications for the Ulster Unionist Party – said First Minister and Sinn Féin vice-president Michelle O’Neill is damaged by the scandal, he believes she will likely hold on to her position.
O’Neill apologised at the Northern Ireland Assembly yesterday afternoon, saying she was “absolutely appalled and horrified” by what had happened.
“On behalf of Sinn Féin, I apologise for the hurt and distressed caused by [the] actions [of the two party press officers]” she said.
Michael McMonagle was arrested in August 2021 following an investigation into child sex offences. He was working as a press officer for Sinn Féin at the time of his arrest and was suspended when he told the party of the investigation on 20 August. His employment formally ended in June of 2022.
McMonagle later found employment in the communications department of the British Heart Foundation (BHF) and was suspended from the charity in July of 2023.
Two of his former colleagues in the Sinn Féin press office, Séan Mag Uidhir and Caoloán McGinley, provided employee references for McMonagle during the recruitment process at BHF.
Mag Uidhir and McGinley resigned late last month, days after it emerged they had given references for McMonagle.
There have been some apparent irregularities in accounts given about who in the party knew about the references provided and when, and why they did not inform BHF that McMonagle had been under police investigation in relation to child sex offences.
Kane told The Journal that Sinn Féin is “usually quite good at keeping its difficulties under wraps”.
However, he noted that on this occasion, it is the press office itself “which is at the very heart of the difficulty”.
Kane described Séan Mag Uidhir as an “experienced and influential figure” and remarked: “If Mag Uidhr was chief firefighter right now, then it’s very unlikely that the party would have been stumbling around in the dark and pumping out a series of wobbly, ambiguous and downright contradictory statements”.
But Kane said Sinn Féin will not allow this scandal to be the issue that brings down O’Neill’s leadership.
Political parties in the North have been calling on O’Neill to provide further clarity on the issue, and Kane said that if it looks as though there is a collective effort to force out O’Neill from her position as First Minister, then the entire Executive could be in trouble.
“Sinn Fein will not allow O’Neill to be brought down over this story and any hint that she could be is likely to result in her resignation and the refusal by Sinn Fein to nominate a successor,” said Kane.
He added that such a scenario would leave the Stormont Executive on the verge of collapse.
Kane also remarked that for unionist parties, particularly the DUP, “this is about inflicting as much damage on O’Neill as is possible, even if the process stops just short of forcing her resignation”.
As one unionist MLA put it to me: ‘Even if we don’t get rid of her we have to be seen to wipe that perpetual smile off her face.’
Kane said it is likely O’Neill will “survive, not least because it is not in the joint or single interests of the DUP and Sinn Féin to allow the Executive to collapse for the third time in seven years”.
“Sinn Féin in Northern Ireland has been damaged,” said Kane, “and O’Neill (and other senior figures) have been damaged.”
For example, Sinn Féin MLA Conor Murphy last week told the BBC that it did not raise the alarm with the British Heart Foundation about McMonagle because it could not do anything which could “potentially be prejudicial” to the police investigation.
"Seriously, the BBC asking me these types of questions.."
— Brendan Hughes (@brendanhughes64) October 1, 2024
Economy Minister Conor Murphy rejects suggestions Sinn Féin should've warned a charity employing ex-party press officer Michael McMonagle that he was under investigation for child sex offences.
📰https://t.co/3uKkv5okei pic.twitter.com/425lPgbAWA
However, PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said this would not have been prejudicial to a police investigation.
Elsewhere, O’Neill last week said there were lessons for a lot of people in terms of “due diligence for an employer when they take on an employee”.
“Everyone needs to learn those lessons,” she said.
Fearghal McKinney, head of the BHF in Northern Ireland, said the charity was dismayed when its “due diligence” appeared to have been questioned.
McKinney spoke to O’Neill over the weekend and said she expressed regret over these comments.
“I wish to reiterate that the BHF is confident we undertook all necessary statutory and moral duties required throughout this entire process,” said McKinney on Saturday.
Kane said the controversy will have a knock-on impact on Mary Lou McDonald and the party in the Republic.
He remarked that this is the “very last thing she needs on what already looks like a very difficult general election ahead”.
Kane added that the controversy “highlights yet again that the greatest threat to political stability in Northern Ireland is not the actions or inactions of the Executive itself, but some sort of internal crisis or scandal involving either the DUP or Sinn Féin”.
Political commentator Sarah Creighton remarked that it’s “entirely possible that O’Neill didn’t have a clue” about the issue.
But Creighton added: “This has been very badly handled by Sinn Féin and it looks like O’Neill is going to take the fall for it.
“I see no indication that her position is under threat but I do wonder if that will stand if Sinn Féin does not take steps to rectify this incredibly damaging mistake.”
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