Republican leaders should do more to curb unacceptable behaviour: Dame Arlene Foster

The former DUP leader made her comments following a well-publicised encounter at a weekend awards ceremony in Belfast – when a young woman requested a video-selfie and then used the opportunity to film herself singing “ooh ah, up the Ra”.

During a televised interview with GB News, Dame Arlene, who father was shot and wounded by the IRA in 1979, said it was “depressing that a young person should think that's acceptable in society”.

The video clip was widely circulated online and was strongly condemned by most political parties in Northern Ireland.

Speaking to Mark Steyn on GB News, Mrs Foster said: “Then this young lady came up as it seemed nothing out of the ordinary around that as she asked me, could she get a selfie? I said, ‘yes, of course’. She then proceeded to stand beside me. And you've seen what happened. It’s a horrible thing, I think, for those of us who have suffered as a result of the IRA.

“This lady comes up to me and shouts ‘ooh, ah, up the Ra’ as if it's some culturally cool thing to do. It's not. And the worry for me, is that, first of all, it's so disappointing that a young person should think that that's acceptable in society.

“But secondly, it has become normalised because Republican leaders here in Northern Ireland said over the summer that there was no alternative to killing people during the Troubles.

“So then young people… think it's normal and think that he IRA are some good guys, whereas in actual fact, they went around in the dead of night, sticking car bombs under people's cars, and coming to people's homes to murder them.”

Dame Arlene said people need to understand that the IRA was “a vicious criminal organisation” seeking to eradicate support for the Union.

“They have gone on a different path now and have decided to go into politics, but they still do not condemn what they did and that's the fundamental issue.

“I have no difficulty condemning criminality and terrorism…but they still don't condemn murdering their neighbours in Northern Ireland.”