Following the monthly meeting of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, the Ulster Unionist Party Councillors withdrew from tonight’s meeting having not received any apology from current Council Chair, Sinn Fein’s Stephen McCann, following his disgraceful comments in relation to the 1987 Enniskillen Bomb and IRA Terrorist Seamus McElwaine.
The Chairman refused to accept a formal proposal by Cllr Howard Thornton, duly seconded by Cllr Robert Irvine asking for an apology and retraction of comments made.
Enniskillen Councillor Howard Thornton said:
“We took this action to withdraw from tonight’s monthly meeting to publicly protest against the lack of apology from Councillor McCann after his comments in a newspaper interview. Cllr McCann refused to condemn the 1987 Enniskillen Bomb, when 11 people were murdered and suggested IRA Gunman and terrorist Seamus McElwaine ‘set the tone for peace.’
In not condemning terrorism, Cllr McCann appears to many people to be supporting the actions of the Provisional IRA in Enniskillen on Remembrance Day in 1987, when 11 people were murdered.
Cllr McCann failed to demonstrate any rejection of the brutal, callous actions of Seamus McElwaine, the cross border-serial assassin.
In particular, Cllr McCann failed to repudiate and condemn the great hurt and destruction which Seamus McElwaine inflicted on the innocent people of County Fermanagh.
Failure to do so is frankly perverse and clearly unbefitting of someone who is supposed to be the First Citizen of our local District. How can Cllr McCann seriously justify to himself that he is truly representing this area?
As a result of his refusal to apologise for his comments, we as a group of Ulster Unionist Councillors felt we had no other option but to withdraw from tonight’s meeting and take no further part in it. The opportunity was afforded to Cllr McCann to apologise, but, maybe as expected, this was not forthcoming.
Is this really the respect, honesty and integrity agenda we are really getting from Sinn Fein? No respect has been shown by Cllr McCann to the innocent victims of Provisional IRA terrorism. The buzzword agenda from Sinn Fein has been shown to be nothing more than a bare faced farce.
Our thoughts this evening are with all innocent victims of terrorism both in County Fermanagh and further afield.”