Lee Reynolds is a former Special Adviser to Arlene Foster, then First Minister of Northern Ireland, and was previously Director of Policy for the Democratic Unionist Party.
Paedophilia is a human curse.
Every institution is vulnerable to the revelation someone amongst its number is a paedophile. It was a particular and eternal stain on many socially conservative institutions how they dealt with it in the past and liberal institutions like the media have proven themselves no better. Amongst the many lessons from both is that cover-up only multiplies the harms and risks. Sinn Fein does not seem to have learned them, including from its own history.
Earlier this year a series of serious allegations became criminal charges against the then DUP Leader, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson. Unlike its handling of past scandals, the DUP acted swiftly – a suspension, a resignation accepted, and a new leader appointed. In the media interviews the shock at the charges was palpable in the interviews by Gavin Robinson MP, the new leader.
Politics should always be secondary to the justice system working through its processes (the trial of Jeffrey Donaldson is ongoing and he has pleaded not guilty), but it all occurred at a politically vulnerable time. A mere few weeks after a deal with the government to restore devolution.
Sinn Fein would have wanted to be celebrating and promoting First Minister Michelle O’Neill’s inclusion in TIME’s top 100 leaders. It needs a good news story. Poor election results in Ireland’s Local and European election results and polling numbers at almost half their peak have left SF reeling. Its Ard Fheis/Conference did not communicate renewed momentum but it had tried to get some positivity around Michelle O’Neill to overcome the waning of Mary Lou McDonald’s star.
NI’s Westminster results delivered no change between the blocs and the pro-UK vote outpolled the separatist vote. Perhaps this is why when allegations first appeared SF went to slap them down and make them go away quickly.
It failed.
The facts as presently understood are that Michael McMonagle had worked for SF for a number of years as a policy advisor and then press officer. They became aware he was being investigated for a range of possible offences, covering from May 2020 to August 2021, when the PSNI seized his SF computer equipment. SF suspended him from his job and party membership and then did not renew his contract.
It covered itself internally and put distance between itself and him. However, it then shut up shop. Whether it was an attempt to ‘contain the story’ or trying ‘to cover it up’ for as long as it could, it left a number of threads that the media finally came to pull.
McMonagle’s wages were paid by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
SF did not inform the Assembly of his suspension neither was his pass withdrawn nor returned. McMonagle sought new employment and gained a role with the British Heart Foundation, assisted by references from two other SF Press Officers. No issues were highlighted to the charity. O’Neill went so far as to a finger of blame at the charity for its processes.
When McMonagle was charged the charity suspended him in July 2023. McMonagle pled guilty to 14 child sex offences in September 2024. The judge commented a prison sentence was likely.
Sinn Fein made three missteps. First, it claimed there was no way it could have let the charity know without impacting on the ongoing criminal investigation. This was untrue, safeguarding procedures allow for such scenarios.
Second, it said it had been unaware of his new employment. The charity organised a promotional event at Stormont in which Michelle O’Neill and her Junior Minister, Aisling Reilly, played prominent roles. Photos from the event show the former SF staffer feet away from both.
They deny noticing.
Third, the references were apparently unknown to them. Anyone familiar with SF’s highly centralised decision-making will be sceptical. The two press officers resigned after the guilty plea. This weekend the charity confirmed that they had been in contact with SF about the references in August 2023. Michelle O’Neill then had to publicly apologise. So, it was at least a year not weeks that they knew. The resignations now look less motivated at SF’s outrage and more that the references had became public knowledge.
A political party mishandling a sensitive situation is not unique but what was curious was the unwillingness of others to push accountability. SF’s First Minister and Junior Minister were before an Assembly Committee and its Alliance chair curtailed questioning. This was made worse by an Alliance colleague justifying it as the questioning MLA was ‘difficult’. The Alliance leader, Naomi Long, had to step in to tidy up the mess.
Equally, the new Chief Constable Jon Boutcher complained about Unionist questions on the case:
“I know you want to try and drag the PSNI into this…”
The PSNI asked about a case they had investigated and successfully prosecuted; heaven forfend.
Boutcher was appointed after his predecessor, Simon Bryne, had to resign after a court ruling of political policing. The PSNI had cravenly caved to SF demands and disciplined two officers unfairly. His ‘leadership’ to date has been to double down on denial and dismissal of their being any bias so his approach towards Unionist policing board members is unsurprising.
The Shinnerbots have returned to the trope of media bias. Bias can and does exist to varying degrees and across the NI political spectrum. However, it was not the media that misrepresented safeguarding approaches, did not inform a new employer of a past suspension, blame the charity, have staff members provide references and denials proven to be wrong. SF managed that all on its own.
They are learning the harsh lesson the DUP struggled to deal with, being First Minister and largest party makes the media target even larger on your back. Equally, that bravado and parsing do not end well.
This is not the first child sex scandal that has involved Sinn Fein. It was attacked for how allegations against Gerry Adams’ brother, Liam, were handled. Mairia Cahill has literally written the book on how they mishandled her case. Yet the sectarian imperative helped SF overcome them all to its position of primacy.
However, every politician has only so much political capital to spend and those who spend it wisest last longest. The less spent on the avoidable the better. Michelle O’Neill would have expected her reserves to have grown as she basked in positive international media coverage.
Instead, she has had to spend it peddling Lines-To-Take that did not survive a day’s scrutiny. Worse again, over a self confessed child sex predator that shows Sinn Fein has learnt little from past cases.
