Sinn Fein's president Mary Lou McDonald faces criticism for praising IRA bomber Joe McDonnell

The Sinn Fein president posted a message on Facebook about Joe McDonnell, one of the 10 republican hunger strikers to die in 1981 (seven IRA, three INLA).

She said: “On this day in 1981, Joe McDonnell gave his life on hunger strike in the H-Blocks of Long Kesh.

"A courageous son of Belfast, his sacrifice remains a beacon in the struggle for the freedom and unity of Ireland. Joe McDonnell will never be forgotten.”

Her post ended with a quote from Mr McDonnell himself: “I am prepared to die if necessary, and I know that I may die. But I will never be broken.”

He had been in prison after being arrested alongside Bobby Sands (plus Seamus Finucane, brother of Pat, and Sean Lavery) following a bombing and gunfight with police at a furniture shop in Belfast.

The book ‘Rebel Hearts’ by Kevin Toolis recounts that “a nine-strong IRA unit drove to the showroom [of the Balmoral Furniture Company], held up the security guard at gunpoint and marched him into the store”.

It adds: “All the staff and customers were then herded into the basement whilst four bombs were planted upstairs.

"The showroom was destroyed but the IRA men were spotted by staff in an adjoining building and one staff member defiantly used his car to block their getaway.

"The police were called and by the time the IRA men emerged they were surrounded; a brief firefight ensued and two Volunteers were shot and wounded.

"Seamus and Sands and two others, including another hunger-striker, Joe McDonnell, attempted to bluff their way to freedom by hopping into a parked car and claiming to be visiting the area in search of work.

"The four remained silent in police custody and were thus able to evade explosive charges but were convicted of possession of a pistol found in the car and sentenced to 14 years in September 1977.”

McDonnell had previously been held under internment from 1972 to 1974 before being freed.

The Bobby Sands Trust says of him that he had “a reputation as a quiet and deep-thinking individual, with a gentle, happy go-lucky personality, who had, nevertheless, a great sense of humour, was always laughing and playing practical jokes”.

It added: “An active Volunteer throughout the Greater Andersonstown area, Joe was considered a first-class operator who didn’t show much fear. Generally quiet and serious while on an operation, whether an ambush or a bombing mission, Joe’s humour occasionally shone through.

“Driving one time to an intended target in the Lenadoon area with a carload of Volunteers, smoke began to appear in the car.

"Not realising that it was simply escaping exhaust fumes, and thinking it came from the bags containing a number of bombs, a degree of alarm began to break out in the car, but Joe only advised his comrades, drily, not to bother about it: ‘They’ll go off soon enough’.”

A statement from Causeway councillor Allister Kyle, TUV party chairman, said: “Today Sinn Fein once again showed its contempt for the victims of IRA terrorism, as Mary Lou McDonald took to social media to commemorate the death of IRA gunman Joe McDonnell."

IRA activity is “the only thing Joe McDonnell should be remembered for”, he said, adding: “For his efforts to plant a bomb in a civilian area, the Sinn Fein leader holds him up as a role model – a ‘beacon’ for the kind of Ireland she wants to create. That speaks volumes.

“Without a trace of irony, Ms McDonald quotes McDonnell saying: ‘I am prepared to die if necessary, and I know that I may die.’

"But the grim reality is this: the hunger strikers chose to end their own lives. That choice was not afforded to the more than 1,700 men, women and children who were murdered by the IRA.”