Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald challenged by victim's mother on '˜waster' slurs

She was speaking after the content of a secret chatroom, which was formed with the phone of a Sinn Fein TD, was made public.

The WhatsApp forum was created with the phone of North West Dublin TD Dessie Ellis, who served 10 years in the south for IRA explosives charges.

In it a party member called ‘Ciaran Doc’ said that a possible general election would result in the media being “on the phone to Cahill, Stack, Quinn et al and every other waster they can wheel out with a sob story”.

It is understood he was referring to Máiría Cahill, who says she was raped by a IRA man, and the families of Irish prison officer Brian Stack and south Armagh truck driver Paul Quinn, who were both murdered by the IRA.

According to the Irish Sun, Sinn Fein Dublin Deputy Lord Mayor Cathleen Carney Boud then chimed in: “Wasn’t there a story during the week about victims of IRA? They’re already scrambling for stories ...”

But Briege Quinn, mother of Paul, said she was deeply hurt.

“That is disgusting, isn’t it?” she said. “That is the second time that Sinn Fein has hurt and insulted us. The first time was when Conor Murphy [MLA] called Paul a criminal, even though he had no criminal convictions. And now for this fellow to say we are telling sob stories – where is Mary Lou McDonald in all this?

“Dessie Ellis needs to publicly apologise to Austin, Mairia and all those who lost loved ones to the IRA.”

Sinn Fein’s line, she said, is that it supports her and hopes she gets justice “but now they come out and hurt us again”.

She added: “Who would go to a paper to tell a sob story? Dessie Ellis had no son taken to a shed and beaten with iron bars until he drew his last breath. I don’t think that is a sob story. I really have no son now.”

In 2007 Paul, 21, was lured to a Co Monaghan shed where a gang broke every major bone in his body with iron bars. His family said he had recently beaten the son of a senior IRA figure in a brawl.

The IMC said current or former IRA members were responsible.

Mr Ellis responded that the WhatsApp group was set up two years ago for Dublin North West using his phone but that he was not a member and did not participate in it.

“I made no comments and completely disagree with the comments that were made and disassociate myself from them,” he said.

Sinn Fein said: “These comments are completely ­unacceptable to Sinn Fein and a breach of our social media guidelines. We are currently trying to establish the facts of this matter.”