Mayor Ferris set to survive confidence vote
The Sinn Féin Mayor of Kerry, Toireasa Ferris, looks set to survive a motion of no confidence over her refusal to condemn the killing of Det Garda Jerry McCabe, it emerged today.
After claiming she did not have the authority to denounce the 1996 IRA crime in Adare, Co Limerick, Ms Ferris was due to face the Fine Gael tabled motion.
But Fianna Fáil members on Kerry County Council revealed they will not support the vote and instead will put forward their own motion which stops short of a no confidence measure.
Ms Ferris, a daughter of Sinn Féin TD Martin Ferris, refused to criticise the McCabe killing on The Late Late Show.
When asked if she condemned the crime, she said: “I don’t think I have the authority to do that. With that said, I do wish it hadn’t occurred.”
Co Kerry-born Det Garda McCabe was shot dead and his partner Det Ben O’Sullivan seriously wounded by an IRA gang during a botched post office robbery in 1996.
Paul O’Donoghue, Fianna Fáil councillor, said his party would put forward an amending motion calling for censure.
“This is about the brutal and savage killing of Jerry McCabe and the injury inflicted on Ben O'Sullivan,” he said.
“It was a heinous crime. It was a cold-blooded killing. It was a crime carried out and inflicted upon those who are protecting the property of the State.”
The Fianna Fáil motion calls on Kerry County Council to condemn in the strongest possible terms the savage and brutal killing of Det Garda McCabe and the injury inflicted on Ben O’Sullivan. It also calls on members to reject the position of Sinn Féin for its failure to denounce the crime.
Mr O’Donoghue insisted all council members were aware of Sinn Féin’s position on the McCabe killing when a power-sharing deal was put in place.
The motion of no confidence has been tabled by Fine Gael councillor Johnny O’Connor, from Killorglin.
Four IRA members were later convicted of manslaughter and jailed for 11 to 14 years for killing Det Garda McCabe.
The Government has resisted Sinn Féin calls for their release under the Good Friday Agreement.
