A man who was orphaned by the IRA just outside Castlewellan has described a tribute speech for a leading IRA man from the town by Martina Anderson as "nauseating" and "obscene revisionism".

Sammy Heenan was speaking after former Sinn Fein MEP Martina Anderson gave a speech to a crowd of some 300 people in Castlewellan in memory of leading south Down IRA man Paul Magorrian, who was shot by the Army in the town 50 years ago last weekend while on "active service".

She made the speech last Sunday but it was only posted on YouTube on Thursday.

It followed a controversial night in his honour at the The Burrendale Hotel in Newcastle, last Friday, which prompted a victims commemoration in the town centre at the same time.

placeholder image — On Sunday Sinn Fein's representative to Europe, Martin Anderson spoke at the Castlewellan event in memory of IRA man Paul Magorrian.

Speaking to a crowd of 300 men, women and children on the spot where Paul Magorrian was shot, Ms Anderson, who has herself served time for IRA activities - recounted one tale of him throwing himself out of a getaway car to “shoot out the tires of the RUC vehicle” that was following them.

She added: "To those who have tried to besmirch Paul's memory... I say this to you; Your attempts to rewrite history have failed. The alternative to the conflict that Paul was involved in was democracy. The alternative was justice, equality and human rights."

Nearing the end of her addresses, she said: "What a remarkable IRA volunteer, what a man."

Sammy Heenan heard his father William being shot dead by the IRA on their farm just north of Castlewellan in 1984 when he was only 12, leaving him an orphan.

He said: "This nauseating diatribe from Martina Anderson on Sunday highlights why innocent victims of terror must continue to challenge this obscene revisionism. To claim that Paul Magorrian was a defender of 'democracy, justice, equality and human rights' takes terrorist glorification to a whole new realm.”

Local DUP Councillor Alan Lewis added: "There is nothing honourable or heroic about how the people of Castlwellan were treated; Magorrian and his cohorts elected to engage in a campaign of sectarian ethnic cleansing of bombing and shooting Protestants out of this area”

South East Fermanagh Foundation Director Kenny Donaldson, said: "Martina Anderson claims that Mr Magorrian fought for 'democracy, human rights and civil rights'. Those pathways were indeed open to him.

"He, along with Ms Anderson and so many others across republicanism and loyalism opted out of doing so. They instead opted for the gun and the bomb."

Sinn Fein was invited to respond.