It is impossible to be anything other than profoundly dispirited by the anti-GAA instincts and lack of respect and compassion which have led to the suspension of the DUP’s Clement Cuthbertson from Mid Ulster council.
Mr Cuthbertson, who may well have been destined to remain a relatively obscure political figure, made disgraceful comments about a children’s GAA tournament in which he wrongly accused the late Francie Hughes, a highly respected chairman of the Coalisland Fianna club, of being in the IRA.
The Dungannon councillor said that the tournament for children under seven-and-a-years old had been named after an IRA hunger striker.
While one of the hunger strikers who died in the Maze prison in 1981 was indeed named Francie Hughes, it was nonetheless both bizarre and hurtful that Mr Cuthbertson automatically assumed that a 2022 children’s tournament in Tyrone was named in honour of the Bellaghy IRA man rather than a namesake, an esteemed club official who died three decades earlier.
As is so often the case, it was a social media post which got Mr Cuthbertson into difficulty, as he railed against what he described as the GAA’s “glorification of terrorism”.
The message was deleted 25 minutes after it was posted. That might suggest that Mr Cuthbertson had some measure of self-awareness to realise he had made a mistake. Or perhaps he hoped he could erase before anyone noticed his erroneous and unwarranted comments.
Either way, he did not extend an apology to Mr Hughes’s family, even when a relative contacted him to say the episode was “the last thing” they needed.
Francie Hughes “deserved to be recognised for future generations” because of his long involvement with the GAA, said his family. They also pointed out that as a councillor, Mr Cuthbertson should be “bringing communities together”.
Mr Cuthbertson dug in, attempting to use of a badge of a GAA club which was taking part in the tournament as feeble justification for his comments.
It appears that the councillor only got round to making an apology when, at a late stage in the process, he eventually engaged legal representation in relation to a complaint lodged with the NI Local Government Commissioner for Standards.
That process has now concluded with Mr Cuthbertson being handed a three month suspension for bringing himself and the council into disrepute, as well as for failing to show respect and consideration for others.
Mr Cuthbertson is no political novice. He has been on the council since 2013 and is sufficiently experienced and senior a figure to be considered as the leading DUP contender for the role of council chairman in June.
That is a position which plainly requires the office holder to represent the whole community. It would be useful to now hear a strong statement from the DUP about how it intends to repair relations in Mid Ulster following Mr Cuthbertson’s behaviour.
That should extend to undertaking some constructive education about the GAA and its positive contribution to society.
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