Michelle O’Neill, the First Minister of Northern Ireland, has apologised for attending the funeral of former Sinn Féin chairman Bobby Storey. Speaking at the UK Covid Inquiry in Belfast, O’Neill acknowledged that her actions had caused hurt and anger, and apologised for the hurt that had been caused. O’Neill faced accusations of breaking coronavirus guidelines in June 2020 when she attended Storey’s funeral. She had previously apologised for the hurt caused by her actions and any undermining of the public health message, but had not apologised for attending the funeral.
In response to questions from the inquiry, O’Neill stated that she did not realise the hurt and anger her actions had caused at the time, but acknowledged that she should have been aware. Minutes of an executive meeting after the funeral revealed notes from O’Neill in which she asked her executive colleagues to “divorce their views of Mr Storey from her actions”. O’Neill stated that she was invited by the family, that she was honoured to attend and that Mr Storey was a significant figure.
The political fallout from the funeral is well documented and had reportedly damaged relations around the executive table. O’Neill had previously positioned herself as a “first minister for all”, but has faced criticism for her leadership as deputy first minister during the Covid pandemic. The UK Covid Inquiry has been shown an exchange of messages where Arlene Foster accused O’Neill of publicly undermining the health minister Robin Swann. However, O’Neill has denied that she and her executive colleagues played politics.
O’Neill also addressed the issue of school closures during the pandemic, stating that it “was too serious to sit back and do nothing”. She clarified that her decision to speak out about closing schools was to save lives and that a two-island approach would have served Northern Ireland better. Despite criticism of her handling of the Covid pandemic, O’Neill maintains that her attendance at Storey’s funeral was the only time that her leadership fell short during the pandemic
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