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Sinn Féin MP Barry McElduff resigns after Kingsmill row Sinn Féin MP Barry McElduff resigns after Kingsmill row
(35 minutes later)
McElduff posed with Kingsmill loaf of bread on his head on anniversary of massacreMcElduff posed with Kingsmill loaf of bread on his head on anniversary of massacre
Press Association Henry McDonald Ireland correspondent
Mon 15 Jan 2018 10.18 GMTMon 15 Jan 2018 10.18 GMT
Last modified on Mon 15 Jan 2018 10.28 GMT Last modified on Mon 15 Jan 2018 11.05 GMT
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The Sinn Féin MP Barry McElduff, who caused controversy by posing with a Kingsmill branded loaf on his head on the anniversary of the Kingsmill massacre of 10 Protestants in south Armagh in 1976, has resigned. A Sinn Féin MP who tweeted a video appearing to mock an IRA atrocity in which 10 Protestant civilians were murdered in Northern Ireland has resigned.
He reiterated his insistence that he had not meant the video as a reference to the sectarian murders of the workmen by republican paramilitaries near the village of Kingsmill. Barry McElduff stepped down on Monday as MP for West Tyrone.
McElduff said his greatest regret was the “deep and unnecessary hurt” his video had caused the Kingsmill families. Last week he was told by the Sinn Féin leadership that he would not be allowed carry out party work, although he would still receive his full pay.
“I again offer my profound apology to those families and to the wider victims’ community,” he added. McElduff posted an image of a Kingsmill loaf of bread on his head on this month’s 42nd anniversary of the massacre near the village of Kingsmill in South Armagh.
“Had I been conscious of the connection to the terrible atrocity at Kingsmill I would certainly not have posted that tweet. I genuinely did not make that connection, not for a second did I make that connection in my mind. Eleven Protestant workers were lined up and shot dead at by the IRA in 1976. Only one survived.
“Kingsmill was wrong, unjustifiable and sectarian. It should never have happened.” Last week Michelle O’Neill, Sinn Féin’s leader in Northern Ireland, apologised to the victims, stating that the video was not the conduct expected of a party member.
The extent of McElduff’s original punishment by Sinn Féin – a three-month suspension while still being paid – was widely criticised by unionists. However, O’Neill said that McElduff’s actions were not “malicious or intended to cause the hurt or pain which they did”.
She said McElduff was now resigning “as a consequence of the unintended hurt” caused by the video.
In the tweeted video McElduff walks around a shop with the loaf on his head. He wrote: “I’m in the Classic Service Station here, but I’m just wondering – where does McCullough’s keep the bread?”
Announcing his resignation, McElduff said he did not want to be a “barrier to reconciliation”.
He continued: “It is with great sadness that, after more than 30 years as an active Sinn Féin member and public representative I am tendering my resignation as MP for West Tyrone.
“The reason I am doing so is because of the consequences of the Twitter video which caused such controversy over the last week. But the deep and unnecessary hurt this video caused the families of Kingsmill is my greatest regret … had I been conscious of the connection to the terrible atrocity at Kingsmill I would certainly not have posted that tweet. I genuinely did not make that connection.”
It is unclear yet if his resignation will force a byelection in West Tyrone or, as seems more likely, Sinn Féin will co-opt another prominent member to take up the seat which is a party stronghold.
The 10 men murdered at Kingsmill were killed by members of the IRA’s South Armagh Brigade though the organisation never admitted its role in the atrocity.
It is believed to have been carried out in retaliation for a number of sectarian murders of Catholics by loyalist paramilitaries.
The workmen were taken out of their minibus and then shot repeatedly. A Catholic colleague was spared because he told the gunmen his religion.
No one has ever been convicted over the murders but a three-year long inquest is still running in Belfast.
Sinn FéinSinn Féin
Northern Irish politicsNorthern Irish politics
Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland
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