Sinn Féin councillor expelled amid row over bullying claims

A Sinn Féin councillor has been expelled from the party and another suspended for a year amid a wider internal row involving claims of bullying against a sitting TD and a loan from the organisation’s funds.

Cork county councillors Kieran McCarthy and Melissa Mullane, alongside a number of rank-and-file members in the Cork East constituency, were disciplined after behind closed doors hearings yesterday.

However, in a rare public outburst for the normally regimented party, one of the ousted officials accused the organisation of using false information to “eliminate competition” against the TD in the constituency, insisting he and others have done nothing wrong.