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| Tweet on Massacre Anniversary Puts Harsh Light on Sinn Fein Member | Tweet on Massacre Anniversary Puts Harsh Light on Sinn Fein Member |
| (about 9 hours later) | |
| DUBLIN — The police in Belfast said they were investigating a social media post by a Sinn Fein member of Parliament who this past week appeared to mock the anniversary of the sectarian massacre of 10 Protestant men during Northern Ireland’s Troubles. | DUBLIN — The police in Belfast said they were investigating a social media post by a Sinn Fein member of Parliament who this past week appeared to mock the anniversary of the sectarian massacre of 10 Protestant men during Northern Ireland’s Troubles. |
| The lawmaker, Barry McElduff, 51, a member of Parliament for West Tyrone, posted a Twitter video on Friday that showed him walking around with a loaf of Kingsmill-brand bread balanced on his head. | The lawmaker, Barry McElduff, 51, a member of Parliament for West Tyrone, posted a Twitter video on Friday that showed him walking around with a loaf of Kingsmill-brand bread balanced on his head. |
| The tweet coincided with the 42nd anniversary of a massacre near Kingsmill in County Armagh on Jan. 5, 1976. On that day, republican gunmen took 10 Protestant textile workers off a bus and shot them dead. An 11th worker was spared because he told them he was Roman Catholic. | The tweet coincided with the 42nd anniversary of a massacre near Kingsmill in County Armagh on Jan. 5, 1976. On that day, republican gunmen took 10 Protestant textile workers off a bus and shot them dead. An 11th worker was spared because he told them he was Roman Catholic. |
| The tweet and the ensuing outrage threatened to become an embarrassing scandal for the mainly Catholic Sinn Fein party, which is trying to to play down its roots in the disbanded Irish Republican Army in order to enter government both north and south of Ireland’s border. | The tweet and the ensuing outrage threatened to become an embarrassing scandal for the mainly Catholic Sinn Fein party, which is trying to to play down its roots in the disbanded Irish Republican Army in order to enter government both north and south of Ireland’s border. |
| The Irish Republican Army, which was then the armed wing of Sinn Fein, officially rejected sectarian killing in its fight against British rule in Northern Ireland, and denied carrying out the 1976 massacre. But one of the rifles used in the killings was later recovered in the possession of an I.R.A. gunman, and investigators have concluded that I.R.A. members carried out the attack. | The Irish Republican Army, which was then the armed wing of Sinn Fein, officially rejected sectarian killing in its fight against British rule in Northern Ireland, and denied carrying out the 1976 massacre. But one of the rifles used in the killings was later recovered in the possession of an I.R.A. gunman, and investigators have concluded that I.R.A. members carried out the attack. |
| The Irish Republican Army officially disarmed and disbanded after the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement, and Sinn Fein subsequently became part of a Belfast power-sharing government set up under the accord. | |
| The party now has members sitting in the Dublin and Belfast legislatures, but its seven elected members of the British Parliament, including Mr. McElduff, have refused to take up their seats in Westminster. | The party now has members sitting in the Dublin and Belfast legislatures, but its seven elected members of the British Parliament, including Mr. McElduff, have refused to take up their seats in Westminster. |
| From 2007 to 2016, Sinn Fein’s Northern Ireland section, led by the I.R.A.’s former chief of staff, Martin McGuinness, was the junior partner in a power-sharing administration that governed in Belfast. That power-sharing broke down in January 2017. | From 2007 to 2016, Sinn Fein’s Northern Ireland section, led by the I.R.A.’s former chief of staff, Martin McGuinness, was the junior partner in a power-sharing administration that governed in Belfast. That power-sharing broke down in January 2017. |
| Efforts to reconcile Sinn Fein with the senior partner in the Belfast government, the Democratic Unionist Party, have foundered over a number of issues, including a failure to agree on how to deal with unpunished crimes committed during the Troubles. | Efforts to reconcile Sinn Fein with the senior partner in the Belfast government, the Democratic Unionist Party, have foundered over a number of issues, including a failure to agree on how to deal with unpunished crimes committed during the Troubles. |
| South of the border, Sinn Fein is now the third-largest political party in the Dublin Parliament. It decided in November that it was willing to be a junior partner in a future coalition government there — the latest shift from its original policy of refusing to recognize or sit in any parliament or government other than one representing a united Ireland. | South of the border, Sinn Fein is now the third-largest political party in the Dublin Parliament. It decided in November that it was willing to be a junior partner in a future coalition government there — the latest shift from its original policy of refusing to recognize or sit in any parliament or government other than one representing a united Ireland. |
| However, the party’s previous links to I.R.A. violence and racketeering are still problematic for some southern voters, who might otherwise be attracted to its center-left social platform and strong constituency work. | However, the party’s previous links to I.R.A. violence and racketeering are still problematic for some southern voters, who might otherwise be attracted to its center-left social platform and strong constituency work. |
| Last November, the party’s veteran president, Gerry Adams, who has led Sinn Fein since 1983, announced that he would stand down at the next election, a move interpreted as passing the torch to a new generation of leaders with no personal involvement in what republicans term the “armed struggle.” | Last November, the party’s veteran president, Gerry Adams, who has led Sinn Fein since 1983, announced that he would stand down at the next election, a move interpreted as passing the torch to a new generation of leaders with no personal involvement in what republicans term the “armed struggle.” |
| Mr. McElduff himself was convicted on charges stemming from his role in the I.R.A.’s false imprisonment of a suspected police informant and was given an 18-month suspended sentence in 1992. | Mr. McElduff himself was convicted on charges stemming from his role in the I.R.A.’s false imprisonment of a suspected police informant and was given an 18-month suspended sentence in 1992. |
| A blurb on the Sinn Fein Bookshop website describes him as an “irrepressible republican raconteur and wit.” In the video on Twitter, since taken down, he jokes: “I’m in the Classic service station here, but I’m just wondering, where does McCullough’s keep the bread?” | A blurb on the Sinn Fein Bookshop website describes him as an “irrepressible republican raconteur and wit.” In the video on Twitter, since taken down, he jokes: “I’m in the Classic service station here, but I’m just wondering, where does McCullough’s keep the bread?” |
| The post was immediately condemned by a range of politicians and community leaders. Arlene Foster, the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, which draws most of its support from Protestants, said in a post on Twitter: “Shame on any elected rep who posted that inhuman video. I feel sorry for IRA victims & West Tyrone who have McElduff as their MP. All murder was wrong. Glorifying any murderer is sickening. Mocking is depraved.” | The post was immediately condemned by a range of politicians and community leaders. Arlene Foster, the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, which draws most of its support from Protestants, said in a post on Twitter: “Shame on any elected rep who posted that inhuman video. I feel sorry for IRA victims & West Tyrone who have McElduff as their MP. All murder was wrong. Glorifying any murderer is sickening. Mocking is depraved.” |
| Mr. McElduff later offered to meet with relatives of the Kingsmill victims. | Mr. McElduff later offered to meet with relatives of the Kingsmill victims. |
| “Had not realized or imagined for a second any possible link between product brand name and Kingsmill Anniversary,” he wrote on Twitter, adding: “Further, I apologize for any hurt or offense caused. Never my intention to offend anyone who has suffered grievously.” | “Had not realized or imagined for a second any possible link between product brand name and Kingsmill Anniversary,” he wrote on Twitter, adding: “Further, I apologize for any hurt or offense caused. Never my intention to offend anyone who has suffered grievously.” |
| Naomi Long, the leader of the Alliance Party, which draws its support from both Catholics and Protestants opposed to sectarian division, said that Mr. McElduff should resign his parliamentary seat if he could not come up with a better explanation. | Naomi Long, the leader of the Alliance Party, which draws its support from both Catholics and Protestants opposed to sectarian division, said that Mr. McElduff should resign his parliamentary seat if he could not come up with a better explanation. |
| The Good Friday agreement, which effectively ended three decades of bloody conflict in Northern Ireland, is underpinned by laws banning hate speech and sectarian displays. | The Good Friday agreement, which effectively ended three decades of bloody conflict in Northern Ireland, is underpinned by laws banning hate speech and sectarian displays. |
| A spokesman for the Police Service of Northern Ireland said “enquiries are ongoing” after numerous complaints were made about Mr. McElduff’s social media post. | A spokesman for the Police Service of Northern Ireland said “enquiries are ongoing” after numerous complaints were made about Mr. McElduff’s social media post. |