Culture of silence and deflection remains at the heart of Sinn Féin

Mary Lou McDonald reverted to the tried-and-tested tactic of deflection while defending Sinn Féin in the wake of multiple controversies during her lengthy Dáil speech.

Mary Lou McDonald accused her political opponents of attempting to exploit what are a series of scandals, that relate soley to Sinn Féin, for electoral advantage. File Picture: Niall Carson/PA

If Sinn Féin managed to keep disturbing revelations about a senator quiet for so long, what else has the party covered up within the ranks?

Sinn Féin may tout itself as the party of change, but Mary Lou McDonald's handling of multiple ongoing scandals reveals a protectionist culture of silence and deflection that remains very much the standard operating policy.

McDonald's party has always been notoriously private in how it does its business.

Unlike other parties, whose members almost use their parliamentary party meetings as a platform for publicity, nothing leaks from the weekly Sinn Féin meeting.

"There is a defensive 'us against them' instinct within Sinn Féin which is, to be honest, a legacy of the Troubles," Peadar Tóibín, a former Sinn Féin TD, told the Dáil. "It feeds into the instinct to protect the party over other things."

Peadar Tóibín of Aontu. Picture: Collins

A strong 'party above personality' mentality has allowed McDonald to lead a highly disciplined group within Leinster House, where differences of opinion are rarely uttered in public and where questions to the leader are "vetted", according to Patricia Ryan, who recently stood down.

In the Dáil, Tóibín went on to say that "the current leadership of Sinn Féin are not backwards in coming forwards to hammer other political parties when they have done wrong, and rightly so, but they are not living up to the high standards they set for others".

These double standards were evident during McDonald's lengthy Dáil speech which aimed to explain four ongoing but entirely separate controversies that have engulfed her party.

She stressed that she believes strongly in accountability and in people taking responsibility for their actions, before launching into a version of events which distanced herself from the controversies.

She outlined how individuals may have got caught up in "unacceptable, reprehensible, and, quite frankly, unforgivable" actions, but at all times Sinn Féin, the party, acted "entirely properly".

"Sinn Féin's approach is guided by the welfare of children," McDonald said.

If her main priority is the victim, when senator Niall Ó Donnghaille resigned last December, why was no reference made to the fact that two months beforehand the party had been made aware of the allegations in relation to texts he sent to a 17-year-old?

Instead, McDonald paid tribute to Ó Donnghaille for "diligently" serving in the Seanad and for "giving voice to northern nationalists in the Oireachtas".

It was a point that Holly Cairns picked up on in her own contribution when referring the "glowing" statement which McDonald had issued at the time.

"I wonder how that minor felt reading that glowing reference?" Cairns asked.

But by that stage McDonald had already left the Chamber, not waiting to hear what other TDs and party leaders had to say on the issue of child protection during the 100-minute speaking session.

Turning to the departure of Brian Stanley, McDonald claimed that the former PAC chairman had "almost a full year" to go to the gardaí to report what has been described as a serious allegation, but she failed to point out that the person who made the first complaint against Stanley had also waited 10 months to report their concerns to Sinn Féin.

As her explanation left more questions than answers, McDonald reverted to the tried-and-tested tactic of deflection.

Looking across the Chamber, she accused her political opponents of attempting to exploit what are a series of scandals, that relate soley to Sinn Féin, for electoral advantage.

"Ladies and gentlemen, your cynicism is matched only by your hypocrisy, which is truly, truly breathtaking," she said.

What is breathtaking is that McDonald can still try to turn a scenario back on her political rivals at a time when her party is grappling with the departure of two TDs, is dealing with revelations around a senator who resigned after sending inappropriate texts to a teen, and still has questions to answer about two senior press officers who provided references to a former colleague who pleaded guilty to child sex crimes.