twitter attack | 

Sinn Féin candidate deletes ‘f**k the gardaí’ tweet after party contacted

Josh O’Rourke, a Sinn Féin local election candidate for Dublin City Council, posted just over a year ago on Twitter: ‘f**k the gardaí. that’s the tweet.’

Today at 16:53

A newly-selected Sinn Féin candidate launched an attack against An Garda Síochána on social media which was deleted after it was pointed out to the party.

Josh O’Rourke, a Sinn Féin local election candidate for Dublin City Council, posted just over a year ago on Twitter: “f**k the gardaí. that’s the tweet.”

The tweet was deleted shortly after the Irish Independent contacted Sinn Féin to ask if they supported Mr O’Rourke’s view of gardaí.

Details of Mr O’Rourke’s comments come just days after Sinn Féin published their ‘Keeping Communities Safe’ policy document which calls for investment and recruitment of gardaí.

“Recent high-profile attacks on gardaí have added to concerns about community safety,” the document said. “Gardai are becoming demoralised, as they are under-funded and over-stretched,” it added.

In a statement accompanying the document, Sinn Féin’s justice spokesperson, Pa Daly, said gardaí are leaving the force in large numbers and “it’s clear that many don’t feel safe in the course of their duties”.

“It’s time to invest in our police so that they have the staffing levels and resources they need so that they can get on with their jobs safely,” he added.

Sinn Féin did not respond when asked if they believed Mr O’Rourke’s comment would encourage more men and women to become gardaí.

On Wednesday, Mr O’Rourke took to Twitter to post photographs of himself with Sinn Féin TD Denise Mitchell standing beside a poster of Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald. He posted the photos after he was selected to run in the local elections.

“I’m delighted to have been selected at convention by my friends and colleagues in Artane/Whitehall Sinn Féin, for my name to go forward to contest next year’s local elections in my community,” he posted.

The “f**k the gardaí” tweet appears to have been deleted along with several others.

The number of posts on Mr O’Rourke’s page decreased significantly after Sinn Féin was contacted by the Irish Independent about their candidate’s attack on gardaí.

In a statement issued on behalf of Mr O’Rourke by Sinn Féin, the candidate said: “I fully support the gardaí. They have a vital role to play in keeping our communities safe – they have my full support.”

Sinn Féin has a complicated relationship with gardaí dating back many years.

Former Sinn Féin TD Martin Ferris picked up Garda Jerry McCabe’s murderer, Pearse McAuley, when he was released in 1996.

Mr Ferris said he had no regrets over picking up the garda killer, who was returned to prison for a frenzied attack on his ex-wife and current Sinn Féin TD Pauline Tully.