Reacting to the news that a repaired statue to Nazi-linked IRA man Sean Russell is to be unveiled at the weekend TUV chairman Ivor McConnell said:

“Republicans have a habit of commemorating people who most right thinking individuals would be embarrassed to be associated with. This was demonstrated a few years ago when the hunger strikers were commemorated widely. We will see further evidence of Republicanism’s strange idea of what constitutes a national hero at the weekend when a newly repaired statue to Sean Russell is unveiled in Dublin by the National Graves Association.

“Russell, as IRA Chief of Staff, travelled to Berlin at the start of the Second World War in order to establish links with the Nazis and died while returning to the Free State onboard a German submarine.

“Russell’s dream of an Ireland united by the guns of the Nazis thankfully never materialized. However, his legacy of employing Fascist tactics lived on. The indiscriminate slaughter of unarmed civilians and off-duty members of the security forces was something at which Republicanism excelled much more recently than the 1940s.

“Imagine the outcry in the Republic if Unionists erected a monument to one of Hitler’s buddies! Ulster Protestants will well remember how Mary McAleese branded us all “Nazis” – a slur totally without foundation and which she had to apologise for. Yet on Sunday in the capital of her state a monument to an Irish Nationalist Fascist is to be unveiled. President McAleese would need to take a long hard look at the Republic’s less than impressive track record on combating Nazism. While Northern Ireland stood shoulder to shoulder with those who fought for freedom the South sat the war out on the sidelines and offered condolences to the German Minister in Dublin following the death of Hitler.

“And let’s bear in mind that Sinn Fein/IRA have held commemorative ceremonies at the statue in the past. In October 2003 outgoing MEP and current Vice-President of Sinn Fein Mary Lou McDonald, alongside IRA bomber Brian Keenan, addressed a meeting in front of the statue.

“What do Sinn Fein/IRA have to say about their Nazi collaborating predecessor now? Are they prepared to condemn the National Graves Association’s decision to commemorate a Fascist? Indeed, will they themselves apologise for celebrating the exploits of this IRA Nazi?”