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A woman who blamed the IRA for beating her son to death has claimed Sinn F\u00e9in has put her through hell.<\/p>\nA woman who blamed the IRA for beating her son to death has claimed Sinn F\u00e9in has put her through hell.<\/p>\n
Breege Quinn\u2019s son Paul was attacked in Co Monaghan in 2007.<\/p>\n
After the murder, Sinn F\u00e9in power-sharing minister Conor Murphy said Mr Quinn was a criminal. He has withdrawn the remarks and apologized to the family.<\/p>\n
Ms Quinn said: \u201cHe has \u2026 put our family through hell.\u201d<\/p>\n
She and her husband Stephen visited Stormont on Monday to meet politicians including the SDLP and Ulster Unionists.<\/p>\n
She added: \u201cConor Murphy does not have a mandate to criminalize people he is supposed to represent.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe does not have a mandate to call our son a criminal.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are once again calling on him today to say the simple words that Paul Quinn was not a criminal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Murphy said he spoke to the IRA in South Armagh about the killing.<\/p>\n
Ms Quinn asserted: \u201cHe must also go to the PSNI and the gardai to give the names of the IRA men he spoke to in Cullyhanna.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe must stop providing political cover for murderers.\u201d<\/p>\n
The killing became one of the talking points in the general election as Mr Quinn\u2019s mother called for the former Newry and Armagh MP to be removed from his post as a minister over the comments.<\/p>\n
Sinn F\u00e9in faced criticism from its political rivals over its response to the killing.<\/p>\n
Mr Murphy apologized for the remarks while Sinn F\u00e9in leader Mary Lou McDonald spoke to Mrs Quinn in a telephone call.<\/p>\n
On Monday, Ms Quinn said: \u201cIt must not be okay for any elected representative to call anyone a criminal and be rewarded with ministerial office time and time again.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt should not be okay for a minister to seek assurance about a crime from a paramilitary group that has supposedly gone away.\u201d<\/p>\n
She added: \u201cI hope Conor Murphy is listening so that we can move attention back to the men who killed our son Paul and who are walking freely around Cullyhanna and Crossmaglen while our son is buried in the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sinn F\u00e9in leader Ms McDonald said the investigation by the PSNI and Garda into the murder of Mr Quinn is ongoing and there is no suggestion Mr Murphy has not disclosed information on his murder.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe PSNI and the Garda\u00ed are perfectly capable of seeking out and speaking to any individual that they need to speak to. They don\u2019t need my prompting or anyone else\u2019s.<\/p>\n
\u201cConor has made it plain that he did speak with the police and authorities at the time of this awful murder and I think it\u2019s important to say this. There is no suggestion of an involvement by Conor covering up for anything.\u201d<\/p>\n