Fianna Fáil hits back at former TD over criticism he made in resignation statement

Fianna Fáil has hit back at its former TD, Marc MacSharry, over criticisms he made in a resignation statement published on Wednesday morning.

Sligo–Leitrim TD Mr MacSharry resigned as a member of Fianna Fáil over what he claimed was the flawed handling of a complaint made against him by a party councillor.

In a statement, Mr MacSharry said there had been a “failure” to properly investigate the complaint, which he said related to “robust language” used in discussions about Sligo University Hospital between him and local party councillors.

“Instead of arranging an investigation of this local political dispute, the Taoiseach used the complaint for political gain at national level to delay and prevent my readmission to the parliamentary party,” he said.

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A spokeswoman for the Taoiseach said: “We strongly reject the assertions made by Deputy MacSharry in relation to the written complaint received by the party”.

Mr MacSharry had been a prominent internal critic of the Taoiseach Micheál Martin, before his resignation from the parliamentary party. His resignation from Fianna Fáil entirely has surprised colleagues.

Speaking privately, some believe the incident was mishandled by both the party and Mr MacSharry. “Micheál shouldn’t have allowed it to blow up as big as it has, but then Marc wouldn’t necessarily contain himself either,” said one source. Another TD, speaking on the condition of anonymity said the process for readmitting Mr MacSharry became “excessively messy” and was “pretty unnecessary”.

“However, none of that takes from the fact that Marc hasn’t changed his tune one bit. His shots at the Taoiseach and other senior members of our party continue to be way below the belt.”

“There’s no winner,” a third said, describing it as a “just a f*cking badly managed mess”.

Mr MacSharry had resigned the party whip last year after his request for a meeting of the parliamentary party over an opposition motion of confidence in Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney was refused.

He had been tipped to be readmitted into the parliamentary party last month, but a meeting of Fianna Fáil TDs and Senators was told an issue had arisen, which it later emerged related to a complaint that had been made against Mr MacSharry. Barry Cowen, the Laois-Offaly TD who proposed his readmission, said it was an “unfortunate and disappointing conclusion”. James O’Connor, TD for Cork East, said it was “regrettable” and that the party was “poorer” for his loss, and that he was an “exceptionally helpful individual” especially for new members.

Some fellow-critics of the party leadership said the issue was mishandled by the party. John McGuinness, the Carlow-Kilkenny TD said he was “unhappy” about it and that Mr MacSharry had been “treated badly”.

He said the Taoiseach had questions to answer and he would have to clarify the process that was put in place to assess the complaint. Others said Mr MacSharry should have focused his attention on critics outside the party. “He can be incendiary but unfortunately it’s always directed inside the tent”.

James Lawless, the Kildare North TD, was quoted by RTÉ as saying it was “hard to escape the conclusion that Marc brought a lot of this on himself”. Dublin Bay South’s Jim O’Callaghan said Mr MacSharry “is a hardworking and outspoken public representative, and his resignation is disappointing for Fianna Fáil and the Government”.

The complaint was made last month by a Fianna Fáil councillor in Sligo, Donal Gilroy, over messages sent in a WhatsApp group chat that included Mr MacSharry and party councillors based in Sligo.

The text of the messages show Mr MacSharry criticised Mr Gilroy in relation to comments he made on local radio about cardiology services in Sligo University Hospital.

His complaint to party officials, sent on October 13th and seen by The Irish Times, stated he considered the behaviour “to be bullying by Deputy MacSharry aimed at me personally”.

The councillor said he was making the complaint after reading media reports that Mr MacSharry was due to be readmitted into the parliamentary party.

[ MacSharry tells Fianna Fáil he wants ‘due process’ after complaint ]

The complaint centred on messages Mr MacSharry sent about Mr Gilroy, following a claim from the TD that he had secured commitments to improve cardiology services at Sligo University Hospital, in exchange for supporting the Government in a motion of no confidence in July.

The Government survived the vote, with Taoiseach Micheál Martin insisting no “side deals” had been done to shore up support of Independent TDs.

Mr Gilroy stated in his complaint that around this time he discussed cardiology services for the hospital on OceanFM radio station and was later criticised by Mr MacSharry in the WhatsApp group.

A copy of the message included with the complaint stated: “Good man Donal. Nothing like trying to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Ye fairly tried to f*ck me up there pouring cold water all over it, praising [Frank] Feighan and the others. It would sicken yer hole.”

In the text of another message sent with the complaint, Mr Gilroy said Mr MacSharry had said: “Donal. What the f*ck?? Again Ocean this morning on cardiology services. For f*uck sake to what end??”.

The complaint said Mr MacSharry went on to say the councillor should speak to a cardiologist and hospital management “before ye go on to f*ck me up time and again talking about cardiology”.

Mr Gilroy told The Irish Times that he had told Mr MacSharry’s cousin, Tom MacSharry, who is also a councillor in Sligo that he felt bullied following the October exchange and had said to him that he wanted an apology and was considering going to the media with the messages.

Mr Gilroy said he believed Mr MacSharry’s resignation would bring an end to the complaints procedure. “If they had continued their investigation they would have found that it was not acceptable and so he knew he couldn’t win,” he said. He said it was not his purpose to interfere in Mr MacSharry’s attempt to rejoin the party. “The person who started the process was him,” he said, adding: “The smoking gun is in his hand”.

“All I wanted was two words: I’m sorry.”

“The way I was brought up was that type of language is not acceptable”

In his statement on Wednesday resigning from Fianna Fáil, Mr MacSharry defended the language used.

Speaking privately, some believe the incident was mishandled by both the party and Mr MacSharry. “Micheál shouldn’t have allowed it to blow up as big as it has, but then Marc wouldn’t necessarily contain himself either,” said one source. Another TD, speaking on the condition of anonymity said the process for readmitting Mr MacSharry became “excessivey messy” and was “pretty unnecessary”.