CONTROVERSY SURROUNDING SINN Féin is growing this week over its handling of a former party staffer who pleaded guilty to child sex offences last month.
Michael McMonagle, a now former Sinn Féin press officer, was arrested in August 2021 following an investigation into child sex offences.
Last week, two Sinn Féin press officers resigned after it emerged they had provided work references for McMonagle, who went on to get a job with the British Heart Foundation.
Yesterday, Sinn Féin leaders Mary Lou McDonald and Michelle O’Neill apologised for the actions of the two former press officers, Séan Mag Uidhir and Caoloán McGinley, who provided the references.
This morning, the Labour Party backed calls from Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil for McDonald to come before the Dáil, as did People Before Profit.
Much of the focus has been on who knew what and when. So here is a brief timeline of events, based on what we know so far:
August 2021: Michael McMonagle, a press officer with Sinn Féin in Northern Ireland, is arrested for child sex offences. Sinn Fein has said it suspended him as soon as it became aware of the police investigation.
June 2022: McMonagle is officially let go from his job when his contract comes to an end.
September of 2022: McMonagle gets a job 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, provide work references for McMonagle at the BHF’s request.
The charity has since said neither of the references provided “raised a concern about his suitability for employment or referenced an ongoing police investigation or suspension from his previous employment”.
February 2023: While working for the BHF, McMonagle attends an event at Stormont which is also attended by Sinn Féin vice president Michelle O’Neill. It has since emerged that he used to work directly for O’Neill, who has said she did not know he was at the event.
July 2023: McMonagle appears in court and is suspended from the BHF.
August 2023: An arrest warrant is issued for McMonagle after he fails to appear in court to face the charges against him.
After being contacted by the BHF, a Sinn Féin human resources manager finds out about the references but does not tell the party’s leadership.
23 September 2024: McMonagle pleads guilty to 14 charges, which include attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity. The offences occurred between May 2020 and August 2021.
25 September 2024: Sinn Féin publishes a statement saying that, following a media inquiry from the Sunday World, the party was made aware that “three months after Michael McMonagle’s employment ended, two former work colleagues were asked for work references in relation to their assessment of his work as a press officer.”
The statement says their actions were “unacceptable and wrong”.
30 September 2024: It emerges that the two press officers resigned over the previous weekend following the opening of a Sinn Féin investigation into the references they provided for McMonagle.
1 October 2024: Northern Ireland’s Economy Minister Conor Murphy tells the BBC the party leadership was unaware of the references until the previous week.
“No one was informed, no permission was sought, no advice was sought in relation to dealing with it.”
Murphy also defends the party’s decision not to inform the BHF that they had hired someone charged with child sex offences, saying that to do so could “potentially be prejudicial” to the police investigation.
“We are not involved in the investigation. We are not involved in advising anyone in relation to the investigation. That is a matter for the police,” he says.
The same day, Taoiseach Simon Harris heckles Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty while he is speaking about the Budget, asking him: “When did you know Pearse?”
Later on, Harris says he doesn’t want “to play politics with this”, when asked about the situation.
2 October 2024: Michelle O’Neill says she is “aghast and horrified” by the provision of the references.
“I am very confident that I took all the correct action in terms of what I needed to do in terms of the disciplinary action within my own party and he left our employment and rightly so.”
She also says there are “lessons to be learned for everyone” in terms of due diligence related to employees. She has since apologised to the BHF for that comment.
3 October 2024: PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher contradicts Conor Murphy’s claim about prejudicing the investigation into McMonagle. “I don’t see how it would prejudice an investigation.”
4 October 2024: It emerges that Sinn Féin did not return McMonagle’s Stormont security pass. The party also failed to inform the Northern Ireland Assembly Commission of his arrest. McMonagle’s pass was cancelled by the on 1 October 2024.
5 October 2024: Michelle O’Neill confirms that the now former human resources manager was contacted by the BHF in August 2023, but says the party’s leadership had not been made aware of this. She describes it as a “serious ommission”.
7 October 2024: The head of the BHF, Fearghal McKinney, says the charity has suffered reputational damage due to the situation with McMonagle.
The same day, Sinn Féin leaders Mary Lou McDonald and Michelle O’Neill apologise for the actions of the press officers and McDonald says there will be an immediate overhaul of governance structures in the party.
“Those who gave references in this case were guilty of gross misconduct, they no longer work for the party and are no longer members of the party.”
8 October: Ceann Comhairle Sean Ó Fearghaíl this afternoon accepted a request by Minister Hildegarde Naughten that the business committee look at whether the Dáil’s order of business could be amended to hear statements about child protection.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say