Calls on Deputy Brady to resign as party row rumbles on

made a total mess of the party in the county since he was elected to Leinster House. He would have been better off representing his constituents in the Dail and leave the local councillors to do the work in the county.’

Cllr O’Neill said that in the past two years in Wicklow more than 50 people have resigned from the party or let their membership lapse.

He went on to say that Deputy Brady’s recent allegations regarding himself, Cllr John Snell ( Rathnew) and Cllr Oliver O’Brien ( Bray) ‘ were totally outrageous and totally untrue’.

‘ He knows as well as I do that at least 80 per cent of the Sinn Fein members in the county are with us and that the 14 members of the Driver- O’Boyle Cumann in Blessington are fully behind me. To suggest that my Director of Elections for the past 20 years is with him is also untrue.

‘ It is true that one former member has rejoined and is now linked to John Brady.

‘As chairman of the local Sinn Fein Branch in Blessington I have had reason to dismiss some people over the years for anti- social behaviour and he is more than welcome to them at any time’, said Cllr O’Neill.

‘ We [ the three councillors] are considering taking legal action over some of the comments Deputy Brady made on East Coast Radio.’

Cllr O’Neill said he has been heartened by the amount of support they have received from members all over the country. ‘ We’ve gotten huge support. It’s a pity it has come to this. John Brady needs to resign for the sake of the party. To dump three councillors in such a fashion is disgraceful,’ he said. ‘ You have to have a bit of respect for people and we didn’t get that.’

Cllr O’Neill said that he felt Deputy Brady and others have ‘drifted away from Sinn Fein policy’ and said he hoped the party would see sense because the problems are not just in Wicklow but nationwide.

Cllr O’Neill said the three councillors will now be focusing on consolidating their seats and ‘ we will be putting out names forward for election’.