SF owes Cahill apology for failures, insists party’s presidential hopeful

SINN Fein MEP and Irish presidential candidate Liadh Ni Riada has said sexual abuse victim Mairia Cahill was “failed” by the party and deserves a apology.

Ms Riada said all she could do was offer her own apology and extend the hand of friendship. She said it was up to her party leadership to do more.

Ms Cahill claims she was sexually abused as a 16-year-old by republican Martin Morris. Mr Morris, who denied all wrongdoing, was later acquitted of rape when the case against him collapsed.

Ms Cahill has alleged the republican movement’s response to her claims was to subject her to an IRA interrogation — including forcing her to confront her alleged attacker.

“As a Sinn Fein MEP I think what happened to Mairia Cahill was unacceptable, it was wrong and I think she does deserve as much an apology that will ever go to try and undo what was Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald listens to party presidential candidate Liadh Ni Riada. Right, Mairia Cahill

done,” she said. “You cannot go back and undo something. It is awful what happened and all I can do is apologise and offer her the hand of friendship.”

Ms Ni Riada was speaking on RTE radio as part of a series

of interviews with Irish presidential candidates.

SDLP councillor Ms Cahill described as “woefully inadequate” an apology from Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald, after a Police Ombudsman report delivered a scathing critique into police failings around Ms Cahill’s abuse.

But it also noted Sinn Fein did not act when Ms Cahill originally made her allegations to senior party figures in 1997, instead waiting for three years to suspend her alleged attacker. Ms Cahill claimed she was subjected to an IRA ‘investigation’ and forced to take part in a kangaroo court, where she came face-toface with her alleged attacker.

Ms McDonald “unreservedly apologised” for the party’s lack of proper abuse reporting procedures at the time.

Ms Cahill said she wanted an admission that the IRA carried out an investigation, that Sinn Fein covered up the abuse, and a public apology for the party’s treatment of her.

Ms Ni Riada said any apology could not go far enough.

“Yes, she was let down and yes, she was failed by everybody, but there was no mandatory reporting at the time, that is now in place and that was a failing. I have no issue with putting the hand up on that,” she said.

“She was failed by Sinn Fein because there was no mandatory reporting at the time, the proper procedures were not in place and I hope there is now structures in place that something like this will never, ever happen again.”

It was pointed out the apology was qualified and for procedures not being in place, rather than on how Ms Cahill was treated.

Ms Ni Riada said: “It’s about making sure the proper procedures are in place, that such an event will never ever happen again and it’s about trying to find some kind of reconciliation for Mairia Cahill and some sort of justice.”

Kim Kardashian and Jim Shannon