MARY LOU MCDONALD has accused Fine Gael of “scraping the barrel” after a member of its youth wing photoshopped an image of her head atop a naked sand mermaid.
Young Fine Gael (YFG) member Dan McInerney tweeted the picture last night with the hashtag #BoobySands, a reference to a widely publicised typo in the Sinn Féin deputy’s campaign literature.
The leaflet urged voters to join a new rising and “end to domination of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil”.
It goes on to quote Bobby Sands, the IRA member who died on hunger strike in Long Kesh prison: “Booby Sands once said that ‘Everyone, republican or otherwise has their part to play’.”
McInerney, a member of YFG’s national executive, was criticised after following up on the mistake by altering an image of Friends character Joey Tribbiani buried under a sand sculpture.
McDonald called the stunt “pathetic” and an example of “everyday sexism”, saying on Twitter: “More gurrier, scraping the barrel politics brought to you by Fine Gael.”
Speaking to reporters this morning, McDonald described the image as “tasteless” and bordering of “smutty”.
“I think he should withdraw the tweet and apologise for it so we can all move on,” she said.
Colm Taylor, the president of YFG, said the picture was posted “in a personal capacity” and “does not reflect the views” of the organisation’s members.
McInerney did not respond to requests for comment.
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