Sack him... the view of shoppers in town where video was filmed
PEOPLE in the Co Tyrone town where Barry McElduff filmed his hurtful “Kingsmill” video have slammed the Sinn Fein MP for his insensitivity.
Inside the Classic Service Station on Omagh’s Dromore
Road the bread aisle is dominated by the Kingsmill brand.
But Mr McElduff’s excuse that he didn’t intentionally select a Kingsmill loaf had few sympathetic ears.
Scott McNally said: “It absolutely should not have been made in the first instance.
“People lost their lives in the Kingsmill massacre, it isn’t something to take a hand out of for sick Facebook views.
“There were plenty of bet- ter things he could have done if he wanted to put his name out there.
“I think really Sinn Fein should look into sacking him, because no matter what his intentions were it did cause offence.” ask, does Sinn Fein still accept the IRA denial of responsibility for Kingsmill?”
The Workers Party branded the decision to suspend Mr McElduff as “disgraceful and contemptuous of the families of the Kingmill massacre victims”.
Party leaders from the Republic united in condemning Mr McElduff ’s actions.
Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin slammed the Kingsmill murders as “a vile sectarian act”.
He added: “Sinn Fein and Mr McElduff should acknowledge this, apologise for it and work to
David Adair had a similar view. He said: “I am too young to have made the connection straight away, but when it was pointed out to me I was shocked at the insensitivity. “It was so bad. I actually got angry when I thought about the victims and their families. He needs to go now, this is not something he can come back from.”
Ann McCullagh added: “I thought he was making little of people who had been murdered so brutally and their families on the anniversary.
“It was crass and in bad taste, and it is hard to understand why he would do that in the first place.
“I think the very least Barry McElduff could do would be to give a full explanation as to why he posted the video in the first place.”
Only one person defended Mr McElduff, but wanted to remain anonymous. He said: “I can see how he could have caused offence but I know him and he is not the kind of person who would have deliberately set out to do that.” leader in waiting, Mary Lou McDonald to break her silence on her views of the video and what action she will take.”
Fine Gael TD and former chairman of the Oireachtas justice committee, Alan Farrell, expressed his shock over the three month suspension, which he labelled a holiday.
“It’s clear to me that the Sinn Fein organisation are not taking such disgraceful comments seriously. A three month holiday is little comfort to the families insulted by these reprehensible antics,” he said.