Skip to content

O'Neill did not see McMonagle at Stormont event - report

Enda McClafferty
Northern Ireland political editor
PA Media Michelle O'Neill standing in front of a background with the logo of the Northern Ireland Executive. She is wearing glasses, a green top, a silver necklace, and a black blazer. She is looking off camera with a neutral expression.PA Media
First Minister Michelle O'Neill was accused of breaching the ministerial code

First Minister Michelle O'Neill did not see a former Sinn Féin press officer who was facing sex charges when they stood just metres apart at an event in Stormont, a report has found.

It followed an investigation carried out by the Assembly Commissioner for Standards Dr Melissa McCullough into claims the first minister had misled a Stormont committee.

O'Neill was accused of breaching the ministerial code in a complaint by the TUV MLA Timothy Gaston.

He questioned how the first minister had insisted to the committee she had not known about the whereabouts of Michael McMonagle after he left Sinn Féin despite being pictured at the same event in Stormont.

McMonagle had been suspended by Sinn Féin after he was arrested in 2021 on allegations of child sex offences.

He was jailed last year after being found guilty of a series of offence including attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity.

It later emerged that two Sinn Féin press officers had provided job references for McMonagle which helped him secure a job with the British Heart Foundation while he was still under investigation.

The two press officers later resigned from the party.

A photo from the event at Stormont showing Michael McMonagle standing to the left of the screen looking down at his phone, he is wearing trousers, shirt and a jacket. Michelle O'Neill stands to the right of the screen with her back to the camera, wearing a pink jacket. In the centre of the image are a young boy in in a wheelchair with his face blurred and his parents standing behind him.
Michael McMonagle (highlighted far left) attended the same event as Michelle O'Neill (in pink jacket with her back to the camera)

McMonagle and the first minister attended a British Heart Foundation event at Stormont in February 2023.

Despite being photographed just yards apart O'Neill insisted she did not spot McMonagle.

The Commissioner for Standards has now concluded the "first minister did not see McMonagle in parliament buildings on February 14th 2023 and had no interaction with him that day".

Dr McCullough added: "While the photograph may lead some to believe that the first minister must have seen Mr McMonagle due to their proximity both she and Mr McMonagle have affirmed that there was no interaction between them.

"What the photograph does not convey is that the Great Hall was quite busy on that day as the Assembly had been recalled to discuss the organ donation legislation."

Analysis

The report contains the first account from Michael McMonagle about how he failed to be spotted by First Minister Michelle O'Neill, despite standing just metres apart at Stormont.

McMonagle was interviewed by the Assembly's Commissioner for Standards, Dr Melissa McCullough, on Zoom for more than 20 minutes in November last year.

He said: "From memory, Michelle walked through the Great Hall on her way into the chamber. She stopped with the MacGabhann family and it made for good imagery so I took a few photos and video clips."

"I think I may have been holding my phone on a stick thing and that would have been the extent of it."

When asked about O'Neill's statement that she did not see him, McMonagle said: "I can't really speak to what she did or didn't see. She had said she didn't see me."

"I know there was no interaction between us so I take that at face value," he added.

Second complaint also dismissed

The commissioner investigated a separate complaint from the Ulster Unionist MLA, Doug Beattie, who also claimed the first minister had misled the committee.

He said claims by O'Neill that she only became aware of the references provided for McMonagle by the two Sinn Féin press officers the day before the story broke as "not credible".

But the commissioner found O'Neill was not aware of the references as the two Sinn Féin press officers failed to notify anyone within the party about their actions.

Dr McCullough did find that a former Sinn Féin HR director was later made aware of the references by the British Heart Foundation but she, too, failed to alert the first minister or anyone else in the party.