Sinn Féin member Brian Stanley apologises over 'insensitive' tweet
- Published
Poppy wreaths at the site of the Narrow Water bombing - Brian Stanley referred to the incident in his now-deleted tweet
A Sinn Féin member of the Irish parliament has apologised for a tweet about an IRA bombing in which 18 soldiers were killed in 1979.
Brian Stanley said the content of the now-deleted tweet was "inappropriate and insensitive".
The post had linked the Narrow Water bombing, near Warrenpoint, County Down, to an ambush at Kilmichael, County Cork, in 1920.
That incident saw 17 members of the Royal Irish Constabluary (RIC) killed.
Mr Stanley wrote: "The 2 IRA operation that taught the elite of d British army and the establishment the cost of occupying Ireland. Pity for everyone they were such slow learners."
The tweet was condemned by First Minister Arlene Foster, who described it as "shameful".
She said she planned to raise it with the Ceann Comhairle, the chairperson and speaker in the Dáil (Irish parliament).
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In a Twitter post, she said: "Although deleted it is outrageous that someone with such warped view can hold a senior position in the Dáil.
"Sinn Féin talk about respect and equality but there's not much sign of respect for victims."
In a statement on Sunday night, a Sinn Féin spokesperson said the party had noted Mr Stanley, who is also the chair of the Dáil Public Accounts Committee, had deleted a tweet that was "inappropriate and insensitive and that he has apologised".
The spokesperson added: "We all have a responsibility in this decade of centenaries to remember and commemorate the past in a respectful manner."
Ulster Unionist Party MLA Doug Beattie said the comments prove that there would be "no place for those who identify as unionist or British in a United Ireland".
"Sinn Féin offer a perversion of history and don't spare a thought for the relatives who still grieve for the lost lives of their loved ones, murdered by the IRA," he said.