Tóibín slams Taoiseach for 'shameful' Seán Brown comments

Aontú Leader Peadar Tóibín has called on the Taoiseach to appeal directly to the British Prime Minister to secure a speedy and open inquest into the murder of Seán Brown and criticised his response to the calls from the Brown family for justice.

The Meath West TD raised the case in the Dáil this week, outlining the circumstances into Seán’s murder, and his family's fight for justice.

He said: "Seán Brown was a father of six, a lifelong GAA member and official and a highly respected member of the community. On 12th May 1997, whilst locking the gates of the Wolfe Tones GAA club in Bellaghy, County Derry he was abducted and viciously murdered. He was murdered because he was a Catholic and because he was the chairperson of his GAA club.

"Bridie Brown, Seáns wife, attended the recent GAA Congress in Donegal to plead for help in the search for justice. The family attended court 57 times in their search for justice and they've said that they've met with silence, excuses and denials.

"They have said that the police investigations were a failure, an insult and a cover-up of British state collusion. The High Court in the North says that there must be a Public Inquiry into Seán's murder but the Northern Secretary Hilary Benn is appealing that court order. Given the suffering the family has been put through in the long block for their search for justice, I think this latest move by the British government is disgusting. Will you directly appeal to the British Prime Minister that there is a speedy inquest into the murder of Seán Brown?"

An Taoiseach responded  - "Deputy Tóibín raised the Seán Brown case, I've raised that with Hilary Benn and again the issue there the Secretary of State is saying that he's appealing for broader issues not one specific to case of Sean Brown, who was viciously murdered and there was without question collusion there but the border issue of legacy more generally. How do we deal with legacy in a comprehensive way? So the talks and discussions have been around the Legacy Act; changes to the Legacy Act. Prime Minister Starmer and Secretary of State Benn have brought lots of different changes as they were elected and since the change of government in the UK to issue is whether the ICIR can be restructured to enable us to get a solution that would deal report investigations and with information retrieval and separate to that would earn the confidence of victims groups and I think ultimately because there's many, many other cases as well that are not getting closure."

Speaking earlier today Sean Brown's grandson Damán said: "We are deeply disappointed with this response from An Taoiseach, from a government that appears to forget about the ongoing legal case against the British government on the ICRIR, the British government seem set on covering up state corruption and murder of an honest Irish citizen, a chairman of a GAA club. It seems policy at that time was to murder innocent Gaels. The Taoiseach should be ashamed of his response."

Commenting on support for the Brown family, Uachtarán CLG Jarlath Burns states: "We as an Association are fully committed to supporting them on their journey and search for truth and justice. Seán was one of our own and we make no apologies for doing all we can to assist the long-suffering , dignified but steadfast and resolute family that are the Brown family."

Offering her support, Deputy Leader Gemma Brolly stated: "I remember learning of the brutal murder of Seán Brown. I was 14 years of age and back then I could not get my head around why someone would attack an innocent volunteer of the GAA, I remember the fear instilled in our communities by such a heinous act and yet I now often travel to Wolfe Tones Bellaghy to watch my 14 year old daughter play football and camogie. For how many generations will this crime against truth and justice be allowed to continue? At the end of it all, Seán Brown was an avid GAA volunteer, a family man. He could have been my father or yours and it is with that mindset and steadfast determination that we stand with the Brown family. We will not rest until Bridie Brown and her family have answers, until they have truth and justice."

Deputy Toibin concluded by reiterating Aontú’s wholehearted support for truth and justice for Seán and his family. He recently announced that the party will reintroduce its Bill from the previous Dáil that would create a Commission of Investigation into British state force collusion during the Troubles in the new Dáil.