Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has said that she does not believe tweets sent by PAC chairperson Brian Stanley were a resigning matter.
“Brian Stanley is outstanding at many things – Twitter is not one of them,” she told RTÉ radio’s Today with Claire Byrne show.
Ms McDonald said that Brian Stanley was not used to being in the eye of the storm which was why she had suggested that he take time this week to be with his family. She had concerns for his welfare and wanted him to have “some breathing space”.
“I have a duty of care to our members. I am of the view that when somebody needs breathing space, that they get it.”
With regard to the original tweet drawing a parallel between IRA ambushes at Narrow Water in 1979 and at Kilmichael during the War of Independence, she said that the problem had been the tone.
When talking about past events, one had to be true to oneself, but also be aware of the other person’s point of view, she said.
The soldiers involved were from the Parachute Regiment who had “caused mayhem” in Derry, she said, so the IRA targeted them.
Brian is a very honourable person.
Ms McDonald said she had a problem with anyone would plant bombs in public places adding the country had come through a history of “colonialisation, dispossession, poverty and conflict".
It was important to remember that history and to be true to it, she added. “I am a Republican and I have no problem admitting that.”
However, it was important to acknowledge the differences in historic traditions and tone was everything, particularly the last part of Mr Stanley’s tweet.
Moving beyond the historic parallels, the tweet might have given the impression of being “flippant or gloating” and that was why it had been taken down.
“Brian is a very honourable person. He apologised for it.”
As for the second controversial tweet about Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, Ms McDonald said she understood how it could be “open to homophobic construction” but on the day that it had been tweeted, the country had been celebrating the country’s first openly gay Taoiseach.
The tweet itself was critical, not homophobic, it was about Mr Varadkar “being a Tory”.
Ms McDonald admitted that on initially viewing the tweet she said she “could not fathom” why it had been issued.
If we were to forensically examine all tweets, God knows what we’d find.
The Sinn Féin leader said she understood why some young people in the party had been upset, but anybody could criticise the party, if they wished.
Nobody was trying to censor members, she said of a claim by former party activist Christine O’Mahony who said a member of her cumann had called to her house to tell her not to criticise the party.
Ms McDonald said Mr Stanley was entitled to give a defence of himself which was what he would do in the Dáil.
She denied the closing of his Twitter account had been to prevent the “forensic” examination of his previous tweets.
“If we were to forensically examine all tweets, God knows what we’d find.”
When asked why she had not sought the resignation of Mr Stanley, Ms McDonald said that if she had thought it was a resigning matter she would not have flinched from doing that, adding Mr Stanley would have his opportunity to explain what had happened.
