Arlene Foster selfie row: Sinn Fein speak out two days later to say IRA chant was 'wrong'

By Philip Bradfield
Published 22nd Nov 2022, 22:16 BST
Updated 22nd Nov 2022, 22:39 BST
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Two days after a young woman chanted a pro-IRA slogan in an encounter with Dame Arlene Foster, Sinn Fein has spoken out to describe it as "wrong".

Speaking to the News Letter just before lunch on Tuesday, Dame Arlene said that members of most other parties had contacted her about the incident and condemned it.However she noted that two days after the incident made headlines – on Sunday evening – she was not aware of anyone from Sinn Fein having made any public comment about the matter.

"Because remember, when Michelle O'Neill was confronted with the Republic of Ireland's women's football team and their IRA chanting, her first response was that she hadn't seen it and her second response was that they have made an apology and that should be the end of it,” Dame Arlene said.

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Two days after the event made headlines, Sinn Fein had still not issued any formal press statements about the matter, and it did not appear that any representatives had made any comment on the matter on social media.However, just after 4pm on Tuesday, the Press Association reported that Sinn Fein Vice President Michelle O'Neill had commented on the matter reactively, when questioned by a journalist at a business awards ceremony in Londonderry.

Dame Arlene Foster expressed shock when the young woman chanted an IRA slogan into her mobile for a video selfie.Dame Arlene Foster expressed shock when the young woman chanted an IRA slogan into her mobile for a video selfie.
Dame Arlene Foster expressed shock when the young woman chanted an IRA slogan into her mobile for a video selfie.

Ms O’Neill responded: “We all have to be careful, sensitive, mature and civil in all of our public discourse. In everything we say because things do have implications and impact on people.“I think we need to be sensible and clever about these things and I think that we need to be very mature about the political leadership we provide in this space. Whenever things are wrong, we say they are wrong and I think that’s the case in the incident over the last couple of days.”Referring to Dame Arlene’s comments about republican leaders normalising such chanting by insisting that there was no alternative to IRA terrorism, Ms O’Neill said: “There are different narratives of the past and we all have to be sensitive to that but I also think in political leadership your job is to steer the course and to ensure we encourage civility in our public discourse in everything we do and say. We all need to be focused on the future. Let’s build a better future.”