Granted, Ms McDonald was in a difficult position.

The Sinn Féin decision to refer a report into a complaint surrounding Laois-Offaly TD Brian Stanley to the gardaí meant that any wrong word could end up in a legal case.

It was a political and broadcasting high-wire act and one felt that Ms McDonald was aware of this fact as she took to the airwaves.

She told presenter Mary Wilson she was not aware of the specifics of the complaint, claiming the whole investigatory process “is at arm’s length to the party”. She said: 

I make no apology to anybody for the fair, impartial observance of the rules and standards of the party. 

She said that the preliminary conclusions of a party investigation into the matter had made no final findings or recommendations, including whether or not the matter should be referred to gardaí, but defended her party’s internal processes, saying “the buck does stop with me”.

Ms McDonald claimed the party became aware of the complaint in early August. However, a statement from Mr Stanley issued just hours later through a solicitor rejected that, saying Sinn Féin was aware on July 26 that a complaint had been made and Ms McDonald was informed on July 29 in person by the now former Sinn Féin TD.

Sinn Féin responded that the two had a brief chat on July 29 but that Mr Stanley only said that he believed a complaint would come. The party also says he was advised to go to the gardaí but chose not to. It has become a tit-for-tat mess.

That is to say nothing of the wider context of Sinn Féin, a party under intense pressure due to unrelated matters.

In the Dáil on Tuesday, Sinn Féin will be under the microscope on issues of child protection, stemming from the case of former press officer Michael McMonagle.

Last month, Mr McMonagle, aged 42, from Limewood St, Derry, admitted a series of offences, including attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity.

Mr McMonagle was first arrested in August 2021. Sinn Féin has said it suspended him as soon as it became aware of the police investigation.

He was later, however, given work references by two Sinn Féin staff members, allowing him to get a job with the British Heart Foundation.

Sinn Féin will be asked questions about who knew what and when. The party’s deputy leader, Michelle O’Neill, has already said she was “aghast” at the revelation three weeks ago and everyone in the party accepts that the references shouldn’t have happened.

But the Sinn Féin reaction to it felt slow. It took days for Ms McDonald to issue a statement, though party sources argue this was merely due to an incomplete picture being available.

Perhaps in reaction to that, she has sought to appear more decisive this time around, telling RTÉ that she was in “very much” in charge of the party.

Of course, it is admirable that she has not sought to duck the matter, but many of her answers raised further questions.

If the party’s process is overseen by a barrister and two members of the party, is it truly independent?

Why did Mr Stanley chair a meeting of the PAC last Thursday if the party was already in possession of a report that it now feels needs to be viewed by gardaí?

What is the actual timeline?

On top of all of this, it was revealed over the weekend that another party member had resigned after allegedly sending inappropriate messages to a 17-year-old.

The party member was suspended by Sinn Féin in September 2023.

The incident was referred to both the PSNI and social services.

While Sinn Féin was keen to point out that its handling of that matter had been praised by the PSNI, the fact is that the party is fighting fires on four fronts, including the resignation of Kildare South’s Patricia Ryan last week.

Ms Ryan’s particular internal battle, which saw 11 party members resign locally, now looks minor.

There are questions for Sinn Féin in all of the four controversies and only by answering them comprehensively, can Ms McDonald show where the buck stops at Sinn Féin.