TUV deputy leader Ron McDowell has said he will not attend a Remembrance Day event at City Hall because of the presence of First Minister Michelle O’Neill.
Ms O’Neill announced that she will be attending the Remembrance Sunday event in Belfast, marking the first time a senior Sinn Féin figure will take part in such an event in Northern Ireland.
She will lay a wreath honouring British soldiers and RUC members killed during the conflict.
It has attracted criticism from victims of state and loyalist violence, as well as victims of IRA violence.
Mr McDowell said he will not be in attendance at the cenotaph on Sunday saying “I stand by the courage of my convictions” and am not “a career politician”.
He said: “Attending the cenotaph for the Somme anniversary service and for Armistice Day is one of those privileges and it has been the greatest honour to attend both in my time in office.
“During my time in elected office and attending those services, at no time has a Sinn Féin councillor come out to the cenotaph, they have never been there for any of the services yet.”
The news that Ms O’Neill will be in attendance is the reason Mr McDowell will not be present, he explained to his X followers.
“I can’t normalise Michelle O’Neill’s behaviour,” he said, “and vindicate by my attendance.
“And I know there will be those amongst you who think we shouldn’t give it over to our adversaries and perhaps politics has no place at the cenotaph…”
Mr McDowell said he attends to pay respects to those who died in the ‘Great War’, the deaths of ‘innocents in the Troubles and to remember the Enniskillen war memorial atrocity where nobody was brought to justice.
He doesn’t believe Michelle O’Neill is there for the right reasons, instead suggesting it is to deflect from recent controversies surrounding the republican party.
In his view, Ms O’Neill is trying to “use the cenotaph” to “curry favour again”.
Sinn Féin has been contacted for comment.
by Portal_Jumper125
26 comments
The tuv would have complained either way for her being there or not being there. Her being Catholic is enough for their hate.
*In his view, Ms O’Neill is trying to “use the cenotaph” to “curry favour again”.*
Tuv prove my point exactly with their bigotry.
Really shows how much this is really a matter of remembrance for him
Damned if you do, damned if you don’t
Performative bullshit. He clearly couldn’t give a fuck about the dead of two world wars, it’s all about him.
He’s not interested in remembrance. He’s interested in performative outrage.
What a hateful cunt.
Pure membrence soitis…..
Up is down left is biscuits. We have entered the 4th dimension.
Disrespecting the people you supposedly hold up as your greatest heroes to stick it to the fenians is very indicative of TUV priorities.
Bare faced ethnic hatred – won’t allow himself to be in the presence of someone from the other side. Sounds like the type of scumbag who’d like segregated public spaces..
Spite Sinn Fein > honouring war dead sacrifice
So by not going, is McDowell saying his hated of anything Irish is greater than respecting his own kin? It’s a bit mad really. I’m not a SF fan but fair play to her for going to this. The fact that he can’t now speaks volumes about him.
The Tuv are really just a bunch of grifters profiting from people’s ignorance and fear.
Sinn Fein showed more respect for the war dead than the TUV.
She’s set a precedent now and SF will likely be there every year. So even if it is a PR exercise, it’s a positive long term.
So all we have to do to keep the TUV out of the way is to put a shiner in the same place. Why didn’t we think of this earlier
There is only one response to a human this ignorant, “ok enjoy your day”
Loyalist Fragility.
Ironic given the community history with steroids and the need to be seen as hard men.
HEY HO RON MCDOWELL BACK ON THE DOLE x3 repeat this bar to the DS Al Coda sign and then repeat again with a decresendo FF to pp
Fantastic outcome , more of this please .
Do people not want to move on? Do they really want to live with such bitterness?
Who?
So he will disrespect the whole thing because he doesn’t like someone being there trying to reach out?
“And I know there will be those amongst you who think we shouldn’t give it over to our adversaries” that says it all. what a moron
Now that’d be the unionists traditional voice right there. Do the opposite of SF no matter what, idiot would shoot himself in the head if someone from SF said they wouldn’t.
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