Kingsmills survivor: bigot McElduff danced on graves of victims

Mr McElduff posted a video on social media early on Friday in which he walked around a shop with a packet of Kingsmills bread on his head.

The date marked the 2018 anniversary of the 1976 attack in which ten Protestant civilians were taken from their minibus and gunned down at Kingsmills in South Armagh.

The PSNI described the attack as “sectarian savagery” and blamed the IRA, which has never accepted responsibility for the attack.

Sole survivor of the atrocity, Alan Black, who was shot 18 times, hit back at the MP today.

“It was like a punch to the stomach,” he said. “I mean it was co callous to me. I don’t know anyone that could be so callous with that - to mock the dead and dance on their graves is depraved.”

He told Good Morning Ulster: “Bessbrook [the home of the victims] is hurting. It was designed, in my mind, it was designed to cause maximum hurt and it done its job in spades because Bessbrook is really, really hurting.”

Asked if he would accept Mr McElduff’s offer to meet him, he replied: “Absolutely not. I steer clear from bigots no matter where they come from. I don’t want to speak to a bigot, no matter what side of the house they come from. I have no interest in them.”

He does not accept the MP’s apology.

“Absolutely not again. Because I don’t think he realised this was going to be far reaching. He just wanted to hurt the Kingsmills families. But it has hurt an awful A lot of people all over the north of Ireland now.

“And I don’t think he realised that. And then he had to backtrack and give a sort of a half apology. So, no. Me and Bessbrook - I think I can speak for everyone - will not accept his apology.”

UUP member Danny Kennedy, who has long supported the Kingsmills families, drew attention to Sinn Fein’s track record in supporting a Newry children’s playground named after a man arrested with a Kingsmills weapon.

Raymond McCreesh was arrested several months after the atrocity with a weapon used at Kingsmills. A council playground in Newry has been named after him with Sinn Fein support.

“In my view the apology is neither genuine nor sincere,” Mr Kennedy said of the MP’s subsequent apology. “The silence from the Sinn Fein leadership is deafening.

“Here is a party which talks much about respect and equality but they won’t condemn the Kingsmills atrocity and they, with others, named a children’s playpark after someone linked to the murders at Kingsmills.

“And now they mock the victims. And they mock the families when they mock the sole survivor.”

Good Morning Ulster’s Noel Thompson then asked Sinn Fein’s national chairperson Declan Kearney if the party was going to “dump” Mr McElDuff.

“I would like to express my own and Sinn Fein’s very deep regret for the very understandable offence that has been caused as a result of this tweet,” Mr Kearney replied.

“What happened was absolutely irresponsible. Barry McElduff has already given an unreserved apology and that was the correct thing to do in these circumstances.

“But the reality is that huge offence has been caused and I and Sinn Fein strong disapprove of what has happened.”

The party leadership will meet him later today, he added.

He was asked why the Sinn Fein leadership has remained silent over the weekend since the video was posted, and why it took 34 hours to take it down. Mr Kearney said the party meeting with the MP was agreed on Saturday and the video was taken down when the party leadership became aware of it.

Asked why the party could not condemn the video on Sunday, as opposed to Monday, he replied: “I said that it was inexcusable and indefensible...”

But when pressed on why it took 48 hours for the party to condemn it, he replied: “In between times we have put in place an internal party process and I don’t intend to openly comment on that process or prejudge its outcome.”

He accepted Alan’s Black’s comment that it has caused “maximum hurt” to the Kingsmills families, he added.

Alliance leader Naomi Long suggested the MP’s seat is now in question.

“From my perspective it seems like Barry has made his own position untenable over this issue,” she said, adding: “I find it hard to believe this was merely some sort of a bizarre coincidence.”

She noted the video remained online for up to 36 hours before it was removed.

“It sounds like it was only removed when the Sinn Fein leadership got involved. The hurt it caused was apparent before the video was removed.”

The SDLP’s Nichola Mallon said Sinn Fein’s silence over the matter has compounded the hurt.

“The video has caused hurt,” she said. “The silence has caused hurt and I look forward to what Sinn Fein has to say this afternoon.”

Speaking to the Nolan Show this morning, Colin Worton, whose brother Kenneth was killed at Kingsmills, said of Mr McElduff: “He should fall on his sword and go.”

South Belfast DUP MP Emma Little-Pengelly said: “I think at the very heart of this is respect or the lack of respect of victims. I have spoken to and been contacted by many victims right across the community and all Northern Ireland.

“They are disgusted by this, they think it is disgraceful and I have to say I have spoken to nobody who believes that this was just tomfoolery.

“Given the significance of the incident - the brutal sectarian murder of 10 men... everyone has heard of Kingsmills and it was the anniversary... people are not believing that someone like Barry McElduff a very political person and an MP in West Tyrone would not have been a aware of the signifcance of the date.”