THE daughter of a nurse killed in the Enniskillen bombing in 1987 has accused Sinn Féin of “nauseating double-standards”.
Aileen Quinton was commenting following Sinn Fein’s leader in the North, Michelle O’Neill’s organising of a vigil last week for Natalie McNally who was murdered in Lurgan.
Quinton insisted that O’Neill and Sinn Féin had shown double-standards by holding this vigil given the number of women killed by the IRA during The Troubles – including those of the Remembrance Day bombing in Enniskillen 36 years ago which saw Aileen’s mother, Alberta killed along with 11 others – with O’Neill six months ago stating there had been “no alternative” to the armed campaign.
“I like to oppose not just all women being murdered, but all people being murdered.” said Aileen. “Murdering people is wrong.
“[It’s not just about] Sinn Féin and highlighting their hypocrisy; it’s actually a challenge to all those who’d give them any credence for their stance.
“They need to actually catch themselves on and take a look at themselves.
“And exactly the same argument applies to the likes of the PUP on the loyalist side of the divide too.”
Of her own loss and of those killed in the Remembrance Day bombing in 1987, Quinton added: “How many nurses did they murder?
“In the Enniskillen bomb they murdered two retired nurses and a trainee nurse.
“All murdered in one bomb, that apparently there was ‘no alternative’ to.”
The vigil had been organised by O’Neill in response to the brutal stabbing of Natalie McNally.
At the vigil, O’Neill said: “We need to remember all victims of gender-based violence” and called for anyone with information to go to police.
“She was in her home where she should have been safe.
“Her death is the latest in the long and terrible number of murders inflicted on women.
“There should be zero tolerance of gender-based violence but also of the culture and attitudes that drive and normalise this violence.”
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