FIRST MINISTER OF Northern Ireland and deputy leader of  Sinn Féin Michelle O’Neill has issued an apology over the controversial references provided by members of Sinn Féin’s press office for Michael McMonagle. 

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 subsequently suspended when the party learned of the investigation in June of 2022. 

He later found employment in the communications department of the British Heart Foundation (BHF). Two of his former colleagues in the Sinn Féin press office, Séan Mag Uidhir and Caoloán McGinley, provided employee references for McMonagle. 

Sinn Féin has come under increasing pressure to answer questions as to its reasoning not to inform the BHF of the ongoing investigation into McMonagle’s crimes. 

McMonagle was suspended from the charity in July of 2023, when the BHF learned of the investigation. On 23 September of this year, McMonagle pleaded guilty to 14 charges, which included attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity.

O’Neill and her colleague Conor Murphy claimed that it was not the party’s responsibility to inform the charity, with Murphy stating that doing so would have potentially prejudiced the ongoing police investigation. A PSNI chief has denied this.

O’Neill said she was “appalled and horrified” at the discovery that two members of the party’s press office had supplied employee references for McMonagle as he sought a job in the communications department of the British Heart Foundation. 

Writing on X today, O’Neill said: “Michael McMonagle’s actions are utterly reprehensible, and he is being held fully accountable under the law. His crimes have inflicted significant harm on his innocent victims. There is nothing more reprehensible than the abuse of a child.”

O’Neill further added that the party’s former HR manager in August 2023 had verified to the BHF the “email address and identify” of the press officer who had provided the reference the year prior, once media reports of charges against McMonagle had begun to emerge.

“This contact from the British Heart Foundation was not brought to my attention, or the attention of the Sinn Féin leadership, at that time. This was a serious omission,” she said.

O’Neill had come under fire as pictures resurfaced of her attending an event in Stormont in February 2023 also attended by McMonagle while he was working for the BHF. 

However, she insisted: “I was not aware that Michael McMonagle was at this event, and I had no knowledge that he had gained employment with the British Heart Foundation.”

Both employees who had provided the references have since resigned from their positions. 

“On behalf of Sinn Féin, I apologise for the hurt and distress caused by their actions,” O’Neill said. 

“For the purpose of completeness, during the course of discussions with staff over the last week, I have also been made aware of an unrelated issue with an adult female colleague of Michael McMonagle at a non-work related social gathering a number of years ago.

“This was in no way related to any child protection issue and related to him making the female colleague feel uncomfortable. This was resolved by mutual agreement between them at the time.”