Mother of Paul Quinn insists Conor Murphy says her son was not a criminal before she meets him

Breege Quinn spoke on the phone with Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald after Conor Murphy apologised for controversial claims he made 13 years ago in the wake of Paul Quinn’s murder, when he branded the South Armagh man a smuggler and criminal.

The brutal killing, and Sinn Fein’s response to it, has become a major issue in the Irish General Election campaign.

Ms McDonald said yesterday: “I have conveyed directly to Breege our profound sympathy at the loss of her son, obviously the family are dealing with very significant trauma and in truth will deal with that trauma for the rest of their lives.

“I’m very anxious that the police on both sides of the border need to do their job and advance this investigation.

“I think it’s important that the Quinn family and Conor (Murphy) speak to each other.

“Above all Paul had a very, very vicious and brutal death and the idea that those who are responsible for that are not brought to justice is, for me, unthinkable.”

Mr Murphy’s apology this week represented a dramatic change in position as prior to that he had denied even making the comments.

But Mrs Quinn said she was left disappointed by the phone call, claiming Ms McDonald had not committed to telling Mr Murphy to publicly state her son was not a criminal.

Mrs Quinn told the BBC’s Stephen Nolan Show: “She said that Conor Murphy’s apology was sincere, I said yes, but there is a couple of words he hasn’t said and he needs to say them publicly to give us peace of mind.

“She thought the best idea was to sit around a table and talk about it, I said I wouldn’t be sitting around a table until Conor Murphy has said those words.

“She said Conor Murphy has written to us, I said we didn’t have a letter yet, and I still insisted I wouldn’t be meeting with him until he said that Paul wasn’t a criminal. But she would not say she would ask him to say that, no matter how often I asked her.

“I said Mary, you are the leader of Sinn Fein, you’re a mother like myself, and if your son was taken and beaten and his name blackened, wouldn’t you fight teeth and nail to get it cleared? She said she sure would.”

Mr Quinn, a 21-year-old from Cullyhanna in south Armagh, was beaten to death by a gang in a farm shed across the border near Castleblayney, Co Monaghan.