Cahill rejects SF claim members co-operated fully with abuse probe

SINN Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald has insisted members of her party fully co-operated with the investigation into the Mairia Cahill sex abuse case — despite a Police Ombudsman report saying otherwise.

Ms McDonald went on the offensive yesterday to say that she had done everything possible to help Ms Cahill and described their meeting last week as “very cordial”.

However, this has been disputed by Ms Cahill, who has released her records of that meeting.

The notes suggest the two women repeatedly clashed over whether the IRA carried out an investigation into Ms Cahill’s claim that she was sexually abused by an alleged IRA member as a 16-year-old.

Ms McDonald declined to accept the IRA was involved in a probe. The notes quote the Dublin Central TD as saying she has not asked any of those being linked to this alleged investigation about the situation.

Asked directly whether “as a human being, not as a politician” she believed there was an IRA investigation, Ms McDonald replied that she didn’t know.

According to the notes, the TD claimed not to have been party to conversations about any probe and said only the courts could resolve such issues.

Queries sent to Sinn Fein yesterday on this point went unanswered.

On RTE’s ‘Today with Sean O’Rourke’, Ms McDonald said members of her party, including Gerry Adams, had co-operated fully with a police investigation in 2010. However, a recently completed Police Ombudsman report said that Mr Adams’ solicitor told officers that a written statement was all he would provide.

It added that a detective chief inspector “stated that none of the Sinn Fein members were going to co-operate with police and that he never expected them to provide statements confirming that the IRA had conducted an investigation”.

Elsewhere, the report said that a meeting with Sinn Fein members had been “difficult and con- Mairia Cahill (left) and Sinn Fein President Mary Lou McDonald gave differing views of their meeting frontational”. Speaking on the radio, Ms McDonald insisted: “They co-operated with the assistance and advice of their solicitors.

“Gerry Adams’s co-operation with the investigation was full and was mediated through legal representative.”

In response, Ms Cahill said that while legally witnesses were entitled to provide statements rather than take part in an interview, in her opinion that did not amount to “full and frank cooperation with police”.

• The widow of veteran IRA leader Joe Cahill has passed away.

Annie Cahill, Mairia Cahill’s great aunt, who was also heavily involved in the republican movement, died in Belfast yesterday.

Her husband Joe was the IRA’s chief of staff during the Troubles and later served as honorary Sinn Fein Vice President for life.

Mrs Cahill was a prominent Sinn Fein supporter and member of the community in west Belfast.

The couple married in 1956 and had seven children: Tom, Maria, Stephanie, Nuala, Aine, Patricia and Deirdre.