A decision by two former Sinn Féin press officers to provide job references for a man being investigated for child sex offences is “unforgivable”, Mary Lou McDonald has said.
The Sinn Féin president publicly addressed the controversy around Michael McMonagle, saying she has been left “disgusted and furious” by the matter.
Ms McDonald said she became aware that two former Sinn Féin press officers had provided references for McMonagle for a British Heart Foundation (BHF) job on September 25th following a press query.
The press officers quit more than a week ago after Sinn Féin began disciplinary proceedings against them.
The party leader has been under mounting pressure from political rivals to address the matter.
“I have to be honest with you, for the life of me, I cannot explain to you or account to you how anybody, any rational, sane, decent person could have considered giving him any form of reference for anything,” Ms McDonald told the Pat Kenny radio show.
“Not alone did these two individuals act without any authority, they acted unilaterally, irresponsibly, despicably, in my view.
“But they let that situation sit and as the allegations then became charges, and as the case deepened, and bear in mind there was media commentary as to how this was proceeding, at no stage did either individual come forward after the fact to say, look, hands up, we gave these references we shouldn’t have.”
On Monday, Ms McDonald apologised for the party’s handling of the sex crime investigation into McMonagle.
“We actually have strong child protection guidelines, we have strong HR processes,” she added.
“Unfortunately, we had two errors. Number one, people acting outside of their authority, and they have faced this stiffest sanctions, the most extreme sanction that we could visit on them. They’ve lost their jobs.
“In the second instance, we had a communications drop. And that can’t happen again.
“Two individuals in our organisation took it upon themselves to write references for this individual for employment purposes, unforgivable and they have faced the full sanction, the full weight of sanction from Sinn Féin.
“I am absolutely determined. I’m furious about it. Michelle O’Neill is more furious about it. We’re disgusted.
“We are determined that any grey areas or any doubts or a lack of clarity that exists in any part of the management of our organisation will be fully, fully clarified and fully audited.”
She denied that there is a culture of cover-up in her party, saying that McMonagle was immediately suspended.
She also apologised to the BHF after senior Sinn Féin figures appeared to question their due diligence over the appointment of McMonagle.
“That was unfair, and I apologise for that,” Ms McDonald said.
“The Heart Foundation has put out a very extensive statement to which they have itemised all of their actions, and they acted impeccably.
“We dropped the ball. Sinn Féin dropped the ball on this. The fact that that communication had happened was not communicated up the chain. That was an omission and an error.
She said the party will work with outside professional expertise, adding that it is a lesson to everyone.
“These are things that you have to keep working on, and when you discover that your organisation has fallen short, or that individuals within it have either made a mistake or have done something wrong, then they have to be sanctioned,” she added.
It comes as the Tánaiste accused Sinn Féin of having “real issues” in managing issues around sex crimes.
Micheál Martin said he is “surprised” that Sinn Féin has taken so long to respond to the controversy around the former party press officer.
On Monday, the North’s First Minister and Sinn Féin vice president, Michelle O’Neill, told the Stormont Assembly she was “deeply sorry” for damage caused to the reputation of a charity which employed McMonagle after he left the republican party.
Speaking on Tuesday morning, Mr Martin said: “I think it is surprising that they would require that governance overhaul on a matter that has been of ongoing concern within society for quite a long time.
“Sinn Féin would have had real issues in the past in terms of managing matters of this kind.
“One only has to refer back to how Mairia Cahill was treated by Mary Lou McDonald and by Sinn Féin at the time. It was shocking, as I recall it.
“I was attacked, myself, by Pearse Doherty and Mary Lou for raising the Mairia Cahill case and they said some very uncharitable things about me.”
Ms Cahill, who has alleged she was sexually abused by an IRA man at the age of 16, received an apology from Sinn Féin after Ms McDonald expressed regret for how it handled her allegation of rape.
Ms Cahill previously alleged that Sinn Féin and the IRA tried to cover up the offence.
Mr Martin added: “One would have thought that from then onwards that their systems would have been overhauled and, also, in terms of other cases where people were abused by Provisional IRA members, and these came to light.
“There’s real history here and these were well thrashed out in the Dail in the past and it is surprising it has taken so long to overhaul those governance arrangements.”
Asked if the Sinn Fein leader should make a statement to the Dail, Mr Martin said: “There are facilities in the Dail where members can make statements and clarify situations to the Dail and I think Sinn Fein should avail of that opportunity. ”
Last month, McMonagle (42), from Limewood Street, Derry, admitted a series of offences, including attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity. He will be sentenced in November.
He was first arrested in August 2021 and Sinn Féin has said it suspended him as soon as it became aware of the police investigation.
His term of employment with Sinn Féin at the Assembly formally ended in July 2022.
