‘I'm a law-abiding, honourable person,’ says McDonald
Mary Lou McDonald could not say whether she would attend a fundraising event again, knowing Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch would be there.
The Sinn Féin leader said she did not know that Hutch was at a white-collar boxing fundraising event at Croke Park in February 2014.
Former Sinn Féin councillor Jonathan Dowdall was also present at the fundraising event.
“The place was absolutely packed to the rafters," said Ms McDonald.
“I don’t know if you’ve been to these boxing events, but the light is dim, you don’t get to see.
"I’m not a person of huge height so I didn’t get to see who was in the room, so that’s all I can tell you.
When asked if she would have gone to the event if she knew Hutch would be there, she said: “I don’t know, to be honest with you.
“Would I have gone? I don’t know [is] the honest-to-God answer.” She said the event was for a charitable cause and she had met the family she believed was to benefit from the funds raised.
Ms McDonald said she is a law-abiding “honourable person", when asked if she thinks her image may have been tainted given that her name has been mentioned during the ongoing Hutch trial.
“My criminal record consists of being clamped, twice — once on the quays and once on the back of Dominic St flats — that’s my criminal rap sheet.
“I think that people judge their political leaders on the basis of the evidence over a long period of time and I’m a long time in public life," she said.
“Those that support me, those that will support us, know my track record on all manner of issues and I am an honourable person.
“I’m also a person who is entirely law-abiding,” she said.
Some people have a negative view of republicanism and they are entitled to that view, said Ms McDonald, speaking to the yesterday at Leinster House. “But the vast, vast majority of people see Sinn Féin as now, for the first time, leading Opposition here in the Dáil, as the largest party now across the island, as people of good faith, goodwill, honourable people who are up and at it and working hard and are about building a better future for everyone. That’s the work we do day-in and day-out.
“We are known to our communities, people know who we are, we’re not some mysterious figures,” she said.
When asked how she plans to get members of the public to trust that Sinn Féin has no links to the criminal underworld, given that the party and her name have been mentioned in the Special Criminal Court recently, Ms McDonald said people trust that her party supports the judicial system and An Garda Síochána.
She said she has consistently stood up against people “who are thugs” and have caused enormous fear and trauma in the communities she represents, adding, “people are very clear where I stand on all of this".
“Our communities really rely on good policing, good relationships with An Garda Síochána, proper resourcing of communities, and my political work is about all of that.
“People who know Sinn Féin, not just me, my colleagues across this city and across the State, know that we have a very long track record on that and people trust that,” she said.
Ms McDonald said the last time she spoke to Jonathan Dowdall was when he resigned as a Sinn Féin councillor in 2015.