Narrow Water tweet inappropriate - Sinn Féin's Michelle O'Neill
- Published
Poppy wreaths at the site of the Narrow Water bombing - Brian Stanley referred to the incident in his now-deleted tweet
A tweet by a Sinn Féin politician about an IRA bombing that killed 18 soldiers was "inappropriate and insensitive", Michelle O'Neill has said.
Brian Stanley's post had linked the Narrow Water bombing, near Warrenpoint, County Down in 1979, to an ambush at Kilmichael, County Cork, in 1920.
That incident saw 17 members of the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) killed.
The deputy first minister urged politicians against "refighting old battles of the past".
Mr Stanley, a member of the Dáil (Irish Parliament) had written: "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."
It has since been deleted and Mr Stanley has apologised for the post.
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.
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Speaking in the Stormont assembly on Monday, Ms O'Neill - who is also Sinn Féin's vice-president - said it was right Mr Stanley had apologised for the tweet.
"We all have a responsibility in this decade of centenaries to remember and commemorate the past in a way that's respectful," said the deputy first minister.
"There is an onus on political leadership to do our utmost to move society on...and conduct politics in a way that threatens no-one."
Mr Stanley has faced calls from some Irish political parties to step aside as chair of the Irish parliament's Public Accounts Committee.
Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney, of Fine Gael, described the tweet as "bile" and said it was another case of the "mask slipping".
He told BBC's Good Morning Ulster programme that the comments were unhelpful as efforts continue in Northern Ireland to put structures in place to deal with the legacy of the past, to help victims and their families.
He called on Sinn Féin to make a clear statement about the tweet and to ensure nothing like this happens again.
However another Sinn Féin senior politician Eoin O'Broin has since said no further action is being considered against Mr Stanley.
- Published29 November 2020
