Sinn Féin: McDonald to apologise to teen who received texts

At the weekend, the boy gave a first-hand account of the matter in a letter published by the Sunday Independent newspaper.

The text messages he received are believed to have been personal in nature but not sexually explicit.

The teenager wrote that it was “painful and frustrating” watching Ó Donnghaile step down for “health reasons” in December 2023.

McDonald had released a statement at the time of Ó Donnghaile’s resignation, paying tribute to the contribution he had made.

The teenager’s letter described McDonald’s tribute as feeling “like a mental stab”.

Questioned about the teenager’s letter on Monday, McDonald she had “heard very carefully” what the teenager had to say.

“I read the young person’s statement so of course I’m going to respond to that fulsomely and of course we will ensure that the record of the Dáil is absolutely accurate,” she told reporters.

“As for an apology for the young person – he will be given a full unequivocal apology from me.

“He’s a young person who ought to have been, who deserved to be fully comfortable within Sinn Féin.

“What happened to him was wrong. Niall’s behaviour was unacceptable and utterly inappropriate and no young person should have experienced that.”