A funereal silence from McDonald on the Sinn Féin Covid cortège

Tánaiste calls for an apology from opposition leader

He never held any elected public office, yet the late Bobby Storey’s funeral was deeply political. The former Provisional IRA commander died in June 2020 at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

A crowd lined the route and the cortege, including the Sinn Fein leadership, was followed at a distance by a large group of mourners. Sinn Féin was accused of breaching coronavirus guidelines around social distancing and gatherings.

A PSNI investigation followed and a decision was made not to prosecute anyone in connection with the funeral.

Sinn Féin had stood firmly by its actions, merely saying it was sorry for any upset caused.

But this position has clearly shifted in the past week. After previously saying she would “never apologise for attending the funeral of a friend”, Northern Ireland first minister Michelle O’Neill has now done just that.

“I also know that my actions angered the families and for that I’m truly sorry. I’m sorry for going and I’m sorry for the hurt that’s been caused after that and I want to make that statement very clear,” she told the UK Covid inquiry.

The Sinn Féin deputy leader accepted her actions had undermined the Covid-19 health message around public gatherings. The large-scale funeral sparked a major political row in the Stormont Executive at the height of the pandemic. But the presence of Sinn Féin ministers is also blamed for the public’s loss of confidence in the actions being taken by the devolved government.

Ms O’Neill’s statement followed that of former Sinn Féin minister Carál Ní Chuilín, who also says she accepts she should not have attended the funeral. The party has clearly decided an expression of contrition is appropriate at this stage.

Mary Lou McDonald was also a prominent mourner, marching in the cortège alongside Ms O’Neill and former party leader Gerry Adams. She has obviously not been called before the UK inquiry, but she is the leader of the party on an all-island basis.

Sinn Féin says Ms McDonald “shares the views expressed by Michelle O’Neill”.

Tánaiste Micheál Martin is calling on Ms McDonald to “absolutely and unequivocally” apologise.

Speaking to the Irish Independent, Mr Martin said: “When it comes to Sinn Féin, there’s one set of rules for the public and there’s one set of rules for Sinn Féin.”

“If you remember at the time, very hard decisions had to be made and many ordinary people, including the family of John Hume, had to observe the Covid rules.

“But when it came to Sinn Féin and the Bobby Storey funeral it was OK for them to break the rules. They always denied they broke any rules until the Covid inquiry in the North took place.”

Mr Martin said Sinn Féin’s actions were “very offensive”.

“Mary Lou McDonald should absolutely and unequivocally apologise for what she did,” he added. “It hurt a lot of people, particularly people who had to have funerals with very small numbers of the family attending. I think it was very offensive for Mary Lou McDonald, Michelle O’Neill and other senior Sinn Féin figures to attend the funeral because those who set the rules should always obey the rules.”

Following Ms O’Neill’s statement, the Irish Independent asked Sinn Féin if Ms McDonald also apologises for attending the funeral of Bobby Storey and the hurt that this caused. The party did not respond, so the query had to be sent again the next day.

“Yes, Mary Lou McDonald shares the views expressed by Michelle O’Neill to the Covid Inquiry,” a party spokesman said.

When asked if Ms McDonald also apologises for attending the funeral and the hurt that this caused, the party spokesman replied: “Yes.”

When asked if the party leader intends to actually say ‘sorry’, there was no response.

Sinn Féin has always maintained it acted within the guidelines and broke no rules with the funeral.

Ms McDonald was apologetic a month afterwards for “busy pathways” at the funeral, but not for her attendance.

“I do understand that looking at the images of very busy pathways in west Belfast and taking all of that in obviously has jolted and has caused some hurt among some of those families, and for that I am very sorry,” she said.

“That certainly would never have been my intention, or Michelle’s intention, or the intention of the Storey family as they laid Bobby to rest.”

Now the spotlight falls on Ms McDonald to publicly express similar sentiments as Ms O’Neill’s. Ms McDonald is in the USA this weekend, attending events in Massachusetts.