Chris Heaton-Harris' praise for Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness is insulting to victims says Ann Travers

She was just one of many people reacting strongly to Chris Heaton-Harris' comments on Tuesday during a speech he gave at Queen's University Belfast.

In the speech, he said “Martin McGuinness, along with Gerry Adams, will be remembered for the courage and leadership they showed” around the time of the Good Friday Agreement.

Mr McGuinness was well known as an IRA commander, and his claim that he left the organisation in 1974 is widely disbelieved.

Mr Adams has consistently denied being a member of the IRA, although in 2019 he declared that “I have never disassociated myself from the IRA and I never will until the day I die”.

Reacting to Mr Heaton-Harris' comments, Ms Travers – whose sister Mary was shot dead by the IRA while leaving mass – said: “You are being insulting to many victims and survivors of the PIRA: the same IRA that Martin McGuinness went to his grave with their secrets, and the same IRA that Mr Adams justifies.

“We should not have to be grateful that the IRA stopped murdering us. Neither should we have to be grateful for loyalist terrorists not to be torturing or murdering.

“It should never have happened in the first place.

“Victims and survivors need support and acknowledgement that what happened to them was wrong. No ifs, no buts.

"If leaders can do that, then that will deserve praise.”

Also voicing similar views was 'Thought Criminal' (@PReynoAgain, 780 followers), who said: "what a disgusting cess pit the Tory party has become" adding that it was "the likes of John Hume and David Trimble [who] showed courage and leadership".

Neil Gillespie (@Tipler1983, 1,700 followers) said: "Listening to the SOS praise Adams and McGuinness for their 'courage' was hard. The PIRA tried, and failed, to kill two Conservative Prime Ministers."

And Sage Despatches (@SageDespatches, 3,800 followers) pointed to a recent blog post, describing claims about Mr McGuinness' role in the murder of Frank Hegarty, an IRA informer who was seeking permission to return to Londonderry from exile.

The piece recounted: "Frank Hegarty’s elderly mother was worried about what might happen to her son.

"His sister later said: 'Mammy was crying because she thought Frank would be harmed. McGuinness got down on bended knee and held her hand. He promised her Frank wouldn’t be hurt.'"

Mr Hegarty was killed soon after and dumped by a roadside.

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