Portrait of former mayor Niall Ó Donnghaile removed from Belfast City Hall wall – The Irish Times

A portrait of former Sinn Féin Belfast mayor Niall Ó Donnghaile has been removed from the City Hall following a controversy surrounding text messages he sent to a teenager.

Group leaders on the council agreed to the decision on Thursday after Mr Ó Donnghaile admitted he quit Sinn Féin last year after the party received complaints that he had allegedly sent inappropriate text messages to a teenage party member.

Sinn Féin referred the matter to the PSNI and social services last September, but no criminal investigation was launched.

Sinn Féin vice-president Michelle O’Neill said the portrait’s removal was “appropriate” given what she described as Mr Ó Donnghaile’s “completely inappropriate” behaviour.

Mr Ó Donnghaile became Belfast’s youngest mayor in 2011 at the age of 25 and, like everyone else who holds that office, had an official portrait painted and exhibited to mark his year in the role.

He subsequently served as a senator in Seanad Éireann before resigning last December.

( Who is Niall Ó Donnghaile, the former Sinn Féin senator who resigned over ‘inappropriate’ texts to a teenager?Opens in a new window )

Sinn Féin is facing questions over its handling of the case, which emerged after the separate case of the party’s former press officer Michael McMonagle, who admitted child abuse earlier this year. McMonagle (42), of Limewood Street, Derry, admitted a string of offenses last month, including attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity.

Sinn Féin has backed calls for Mr Ó Donnghaile’s portrait to be removed from the Town Hall.

Asked about the proposed removal while speaking to reporters in Belfast on Thursday morning, Ms O’Neill said: “I think it is appropriate. His behavior was completely inappropriate, so I think we had no problem supporting the removal of the portrait.”

Asked whether she regrets that her party leader Mary Lou McDonald issued a statement paying tribute to Mr Ó Donnghaile’s contribution when he left in December, Ms O’Neill said: “I think Mary-Lou McDonald has attempted to set that record straight in terms of the considerations she had to take into account, especially in relation to his serious mental health, and that was the only consideration we had if he stepped back.

“It is appropriate that he has stepped back, but I am confident in how we conducted ourselves, how we referred him to the PSNI and social services, that that was correct and appropriate.

“I think that was appropriate, but we were concerned about his mental health and we also had the problem of being able to name him legally.”

In a statement, Belfast City Council said: “Following agreement at a meeting of party group leaders today (Thursday, October 17), the portrait of former mayor Niall Ó Donnghaile has been removed from the City Hall exhibition.” – PA