Former Fianna Fáil minister defends Catherine Connolly's hiring of woman with gun conviction
A former Fianna Fáil minister has leapt to the defence of presidential candidate Catherine Connolly amid criticism from the Taoiseach of her decision to hire a woman who had been jailed for firearms offences.
Ms Connolly hired Ursula Ní Shionnain in 2018 after her release from prison because she was “a person who had rehabilitated herself”.
Ms Ní Shionnáin had been convicted by the Special Criminal Court in February 2014 and given a six-year sentence for firearms offences, of which she served almost four-and-a-half years.
She was a member of the dissident socialist republican group Éirígí.
The court heard that she was travelling in a stolen van in 2012 with a co-accused and one of the weapons discovered in the vehicle was a pistol used in a murder ten years earlier.
There was no suggestion that Ms Ní Shionnáin was linked to the murder.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said Ms Connolly's decision to employ Ms Ní Shionnain raised "serious questions" about her judgement, but former Fianna Fáil TD Eamon Ó Cuív has defended Ms Connolly and confirmed he had recommended the hiring of Ms Ní Shionnain.
Mr Ó Cuív, a former Fianna Fáil deputy leader, is known for regularly visiting prisons, particularly dealing with Republican prisoners.
“If Catherine showed a lack of judgement, I did equally, because she asked me about her and I said that I was personally satisfied that she (Ms Ní Shionnain) had moved on,” Mr Ó Cuív said.
Mr Ó Cuív said Mr Martin was “entitled to his view” but he said that Ms Ní Shionnáin was an example of rehabilitation.
“Here’s a person who was let out of prison and she got on with her life, finished a PhD, so she’s now Dr Ursula Ní Shionnáin,” Mr Ó Cuív said.
“She’s held down a number of jobs and she’s getting on with her life in a positive way.
“So where is the lack of judgement? Because she has proven herself to those who had faith in her."
Ms Connolly denied she had been prevented from hiring Ms Ní Shionnáin by gardaí, saying that she had been employed for six months in Leinster House before "leaving of her own volition".
She said Ms Ní Shionnáin had worked in Leinster House but left after six months.
At this stage, the vetting process had not been completed and she did not have a permanent pass to enter Leinster House.
“She was absolutely perfect for the job, and I took her on,” Ms Connolly said. “It was for three days, and over the period of time, from day one, she filled out an application form, explained everything.
“The clearance process took some time, and in the end, she left of her own volition. She was there for almost six months, less than six months.”
I’ve had no contact with the gardaí in relation to this matter. Absolutely none.
“This woman filled out her application form from day one, declared everything and then there's a process, and that process went on for quite some time. It's not unusual. I've spoken to other people, and sometimes the process goes on for a year or two years.
“In this case, it went on and I checked I have emails that asked, ‘Where's the process at? It's going on for a very long time’. There was no outcome.
"The process just went on and on, and in the end, the person left, and my contact was simply with the superintendent, or whoever the relevant person is. My only intervention was to say, ‘When is the process going to be completed?’ It was very inconvenient.”
Speaking in Denmark on Thursday morning, Taoiseach Micheál Martin described the hiring of Ní Shionnain as “very serious”.
"It would indicate a very serious lack of judgment, and I think Catherine Connolly needs to clarify that in its entirety and be fully transparent in respect of it."
