Gerry Adams: Sandra McLellan had no intention of joining rivals

Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams has quizzed TD Sandra McLellan after it emerged she has held exploratory talks about joining rival group the Independent Alliance.

Mr Adams confirmed he spoke to the Cork East Sinn Féin TD “by telephone a short while ago” after the Irish Examiner revealed the embattled representative has met with Independent Alliance TD John Halligan about the potential move.

Mr Adams said after speaking with Ms McLellan — who confirmed this year she will not run for the party again after being the subject of an alleged bullying campaign by constituency colleagues — that “she never had any intention” of leaving the organisation.

“I spoke to her very briefly by telephone just a short while ago, and you know it is my position and I’ve been very clear that she should have contested the convention [to decide who should run as Sinn Féin’s Cork East candidate for the general election],” he said.

“She did tell me she was in a very brief informal conversation with [Waterford-based Independent Alliance TD] John Halligan who raised the issue of her joining this Independent Alliance, and she told me that she never had any intention of so doing.”

Asked whether the fact Ms McLellan met another TD to discuss joining a rival party is proof Sinn Féin has yet to adequately address the bullying allegations in Cork East, Mr Adams said he would speak with the local representative again and that the issues are “entirely local difficulties”.

As revealed in yesterday’s Irish Examiner, Ms McLellan held informal talks with Mr Halligan — a former TD for Sinn Fein’s historic rival the Workers’ Party — in recent weeks about joining the Independent Alliance after a year which has seen her face down allegations she was subjected to severe bullying by party colleagues in the constituency.

Under Independent Alliance rules, Oireachtas members are able to hold discussions with aspiring candidates about the general election without necessarily clearing it with their colleagues.

While Ms McLellan has declined to respond to a number of phonecalls from this newspaper about the issue in recent days, one TD aware of the meeting said she is “cagey” and “fearful” about a potential move due to the potential implications of the step.

Ms McLellan said earlier this year she did not want to run for Sinn Féin in the upcoming general election and “risk this [bullying] for another term”, despite assurances from senior party figures the matter would be resolved.