Sinn Féin plan to take part in Royal visit criticised by Bloody Sunday relative

The Prince of Wales will visit the County Sligo community where his great-uncle was murdered in 1979, as part of a four-day trip to Ireland with the theme of peace and reconciliation

The sister of a man who was shot dead on Bloody Sunday has condemned as "disgraceful" Sinn Féin's decision to take part in events to mark Prince Charles visit to Ireland.

The visit will include the site in County Sligo where Lord Mountbatten was murdered by the IRA in 1979.

Sinn Féin said it was a chance to promote reconciliation.

Kate Nash said the prince, as Colonel-in-Chief of the parachute regiment, is not welcome.

"I'm disgusted and furious at the very fact that Sinn Féin are going to be entertaining Prince Charles here. What they are doing is utterly disgraceful. It's indefensible.

"If Prince Charles did anything like use his influence to get the disgraced parachute regiment disbanded, then I would welcome the man himself," she said.

"Sinn Féin are in the business of cleaning up the dirty war that was inflicted on the people here during the troubles."

'Promote healing'

Thirteen people were shot dead by the British Army on Sunday, 30 January 1972 at a civil rights march in the Derry.

In 2010, the Saville Inquiry into Bloody Sunday was heavily critical of the Army, finding that soldiers fired the first shot without issuing a warning.

The report also found that all of those who were killed were unarmed. Some of them were fleeing or going to the assistance of others who were dying.

Thirteen people were shot dead in Derry on Bloody Sunday

In a statement, Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams said the party's attendance was an opportunity to build on the "good work done by Martin McGuinness and the English Queen.

"Prince Charles is the colonel-in-chief of the Parachute Regiment, a regiment of the British army that has been responsible for the killing of many Irish citizens in Derry, Ballymurphy, Springhill and other communities across the north.

"But he also has been bereaved by the actions of republicans.

"Thankfully the conflict is over. But there remain unresolved injustices. These must be rectified and a healing process developed.

"There is a responsibility on us all to promote reconciliation and seek to promote healing."

Kate Nash said she failed to see what healing could be gained from the meeting.

"It's almost five years since we had an apology from the British prime minister concerning Bloody Sunday and to date not one soldier has been questioned about those crimes.

"Surely the man (Prince Charles) has some integrity, he should reject that title and use his influence to have the parachute regiment disbanded.

"I never wanted a war here, I never wanted anybody to be killed and murdered here and that includes soldiers. But what I'm saying is my brother has still not got justice."

Clarification 9 April 2019: This article was amended to remove a reference to the death of John Johnston. This reflects the Bloody Sunday Inquiry's finding about Mr Johnston's death several months after he was wounded in Derry on 30 January 1972. The inquiry report states that his death was "not the result of any of the wounds he sustained on Bloody Sunday".