Two Sinn Féin press officers have resigned after providing references for a former colleague who was subsequently convicted of child sex offences.
Seán Mag Uidhir, a senior party figure who headed Sinn Féin’s media operation in Northern Ireland for more than a decade, and Caolán McGinley quit at the weekend after it emerged they provided references for Michael McMonagle after he had been dismissed from the party and was under police investigation.
Last week McMonagle (42) from Limewood Street in Derry, pleaded guilty to two charges of attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity, and 12 counts of attempted sexual communication with a child on dates from 2020-21.
He will be sentenced in November, and the judge has said it is likely he will face a custodial sentence.
McMonagle, a former press officer for Sinn Féin at the Northern Ireland Assembly, was dismissed from his job with the party after he was arrested in August 2021.
The following year he was appointed to the role of communications and engagement manager with the British Heart Foundation in Belfast.
The charity told the Sunday World it did not become aware of McMonagle’s arrest and the charges he faced until an article in the newspaper in July 2023, when he was “immediately suspended and is no longer employed by the charity”.
In a statement, Sinn Féin said that following a media inquiry from the Sunday World, “Sinn Féin was made aware on Wednesday, September 25th that, three months after Michael McMonagle’s employment ended, two former work colleagues were asked for work references in relation to their assessment of his work as a press officer”.
“Both provided these references without clearance from Sinn Féin. This was unacceptable and wrong,” the statement said.
“The references were not provided by, or on behalf of Sinn Féin. Permission was not sought, nor would it have been given from the party for the provision of these references or their content.
“In view of the serious nature of this revelation, Sinn Féin undertook an immediate internal process.
“Before this process concluded, both press officers resigned from their positions and party membership with immediate effect.”
The head of the party’s media operation in the North, he was a familiar and influential figure at Stormont and was responsible for communications strategy as well as the day-to-day operation of the press office.
Mr McGinley formerly held a senior role in the party’s youth wing, Ógra Shinn Féin.
The Leader of the Opposition at Stormont, the SDLP MLA Matthew O’Toole, raised the issue in the Assembly on Monday and said Sinn Féin’s leadership had questions to answer.
“This is a serious situation given that an individual has now pleaded guilty to the offences,” he said in a statement.
“There are questions for Sinn Féin’s leadership, particularly in the north, about what they knew, when they knew it and what action they took in line with the safeguarding obligations on organisations to protect vulnerable people.”
The Fallout
The resignations have caused a major stir within Sinn Féin and have raised serious questions about the party’s vetting processes. The party has been accused of failing to protect vulnerable people by allowing McMonagle to work in a position of trust after he was arrested.
The scandal has also damaged the party’s reputation and has led to calls for a full investigation into the matter.
A Question of Ethics
The incident has sparked debate about the ethics of providing references for individuals who have been accused of serious crimes. Some argue that it is always wrong to provide a reference for someone who has been accused of such offences, regardless of the circumstances.
Others argue that it is more complicated, and that the decision of whether or not to provide a reference should be made on a case-by-case basis.
Ultimately, it is a difficult ethical dilemma with no easy answers.
An Internal Process
Sinn Féin has said that it is taking the matter “very seriously” and that it is undertaking an internal process to “ensure that this does not happen again”.
However, critics have expressed skepticism about the party’s commitment to transparency and accountability. They argue that the party has a history of covering up scandals and that it is unlikely to provide a full and independent account of what happened.
Moving Forward
The resignations of Seán Mag Uidhir and Caolán McGinley are a significant development in the story of Michael McMonagle and Sinn Féin. It remains to be seen what the full impact of this scandal will be on the party and its future.
The party has taken a strong stance, condemning the actions of the two press officers, and vowing to implement changes to prevent a similar situation from occurring again. But critics remain concerned about the party’s commitment to transparency and accountability.
The coming weeks and months will be crucial in determining how Sinn Féin will move forward in the wake of this scandal.
