McGuinness should be asked hard questions

I AM astounded by Declan O‘Connor’s recent letter (Sept 28) to your newspaper.

First, declaring that “he doesn’t support any political party”, Mr O’Connor then proclaims that he will be voting for Martin McGuinness. Surely, the logic of his position is that he supports the Sinn Féin party. He declares that McGuinness has been asked the “most stupid questions such as ‘did you ever shoot anyone?’” The unfortunate fact is that in McGuinness’s case, this is a most pertinent question. As for the so-called “war between Catholics and Protestants” — how does Mr O’Connor get around the fact that Pope John Paul II begged, on “bended knee” the IRA to give up their arms, when he visited Drogheda? More pertinently, how does he get around the fact that the “Catholic” IRA shot more Catholics than Protestants?

McGuinness has recently claimed that Gay Byrne wasn’t “man enough to call him a liar to his face.” I agree with Gay Byrne’s assessment, but I would likewise share his reluctance to say it to McGuinness’s face.