This week’s Northern focus on offensive use of language has moved onto another B-word after it was reported that Sinn Féin MP Michelle Gildernew called Gregory Campbell a “bollocks”.
The Fermanagh South Tyrone MP made her comment at the same public meeting in Enniskillen on Monday night where the Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams issued his “break these bastards” remark, which was widely interpreted as an attack on unionists.
The DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds said that the comments by Mr Adams and Ms Gildernew demonstrated the DUP strategy on promoting the North’s union with Britain was “driving Sinn Féin to swearing”.
Impartial Reporter journalist Rodney Edwards who reported Mr Adams’ “bastard” remarks has now reported how at the same meeting Ms Gildernew, a former Minister of Agriculture in the Northern Executive, attacked East Derry MP Mr Campbell over his “curry my yogurt” lampooning of the Irish language.
“All Gregory has to do is be a bollocks,” Ms Gildernew said on Monday night. Edwards reported how following her remark, Mr Adams turned to her and said with a smile, “I don’t feel as bad saying ‘bastards’ now you’ve said ‘bollocks.’”
Ms Gildernew also criticised Mr Campbell for saying Sinn Féin’s “wish list” of demands in the current Stormont talks would be treated by the DUP “as no more than toilet paper”.
She then referred to John O’Dowd, the Sinn Féin Minister of Education: “If John O’Dowd or I had made those remarks about anybody’s culture, tradition or language the first person to have a word with us would be Gerry Adams. And the leadership of this man compared to the leadership or lack of leadership of Peter Robinson ... honest to God, the mind boggles.”
“We need to keep moving these people forward. We have to keep moving them out of the territory where they are comfortable and Gregory would be very comfortable in the six county state forever and a day and they get to be a big fish in a small pond,” Ms Gildernew said.
DUP MP Mr Dodds said Mr Adams’ comment was a sign of “how the DUP strategy for promoting the union is succeeding and Sinn Féin’s united-Ireland strategy is failing”.
He said Ms Gildernew’s other B-word attack demonstrated how from just one meeting Sinn Féin had “lets its mask slip” on two occasions.
“Republicans are clearly frustrated with the DUP, but whilst Michelle Gildernew isn’t comfortable in the ‘six county state’ the vast majority of people want Northern Ireland to remain,” he said.
“Regardless of whether or not it drives Sinn Féin to swearing, we will continue to promote the benefits of the union and the existence of Northern Ireland. No republican tactic will ‘break’ us,” added Mr Dodds.
“The swearing from Sinn Féin representatives demonstrates Gerry’s promise of delivering a united Ireland by 2016 has been frustrated by the DUP and lies in tatters.”
Meanwhile Mr Campbell has told Raidío na Gaeltachta that he will not apologise for his “curry my yogurt” comments in relation to the Irish language and would do the very same again.
He said he was “not against those who use the language but those who abuse the language”. He criticised Sinn Féin members who start and end their contributions in Irish when speaking in the Northern Assembly on subjects that did not relate to the language.
He could not see how what he said was offensive and anyone who thought so needed a “humour bypass” as it was just a joke. He opposed an Irish language Act for the North and said that that Irish was very well catered for.
