Sam McBride: Scenes at another republican funeral put uncomfortable focus on Sinn Fein – but also the PSNI

Just as Michelle O’Neill might have been hoping that the public would have started to forget how she openly disregarded what she told them to do, another funeral of another IRA man has seen large crowds of people gathering, with members of Sinn Fein present somewhere but the party carefully unspecific as to who they were or what precisely they were doing.

Yesterday on ‘Talkback’ Gerry Kelly went out of his way to stress that his party was not involved in organising the funeral. He went on to say that two or three Sinn Fein representatives had been present but that this was “on the roadside” and “in a personal capacity”.

The hugely experienced Mr Kelly dealt with the issue cautiously, stressing that people should not breach the public health guidance and that the police should investigate if the law was broken. However, his comments raised a glaring question: With Michelle O’Neill’s position being that she “will never apologise for attending the funeral of my friend” – despite that being against the law – why should anyone else give up the right to pay their respects to a friend?

With that leadership from Stormont’s most senior republican, it is hardly surprising that Mr McCourt’s friends felt that they too could unapologetically attend his funeral.

But the PSNI is increasingly diminishing its own credibility in its apparent lack of interest in enforcing the law in this area.

Police acceptance of private “assurances” about the funeral, despite the death notice encouraging people to attend, do not reflect well on the PSNI.

One consequence of the PSNI inaction is that the political damage of the images of these large funerals is much greater. Indeed, police attempts to enforce restrictions on funerals would be difficult to handle sensitively and have the potential to recreate the sort of riotous scenes which accompanied several RUC attempts to prevent the IRA firing shots at republican funerals.

Nevertheless, to ordinary members of the public looking on it appears as though the police are at best impotent, and at worst complicit in actions which are openly spreading Covid.

The fact that the PSNI took more than five months to investigate Ms O’Neill and other senior Sinn Fein members present at Bobby Storey’s funeral – despite overwhelming pictorial evidence of what happened – and the PPS still not having decided whether to bring charges does nothing to convey the urgency of showing the public that this is a life and death situation.

READ MORE:

Gardeners snagged by farcical new Irish Sea border rule as British soil is banned from Northern Ireland because of Brexit – and harmful peat is promoted

Sam McBride: Shackled to Brexit, Arlene Foster can’t admit that it has been disastrous for Union – but Irish Sea border is radically reshaping NI

Sam McBride: A week into the Irish Sea border, it is already clear that Northern Ireland will be profoundly reshaped by Brexit

System for getting supplies to Northern Ireland may be five days from collapse due to Irish Sea border, hauliers warn Michael Gove

M&S temporarily withdraws hundreds of items from sale in Northern Ireland due to Irish Sea border red tape

Top customs expert admits: New Irish Sea border is ‘cumbersome’ and hugely complex – even for me, with 40 years experience

Irish Sea border which Secretary of State Brandon Lewis claims doesn’t exist empties shelves and ends business in Northern Ireland

——— ———

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers — and consequently the revenue we receive — we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to newsletter.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to the best Northern Ireland and UK news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Alistair Bushe

Editor