Mary Lou McDonald treated me ‘appallingly’, says Brian Stanley

Former Sinn Féin TD Brian Stanley has accused the party president Mary Lou McDonald of treating him “appallingly”.

The now independent TD for Laois-Offaly quit the party last month amid a controversy relating to a complaint made against him.

He had made a counter allegation and Sinn Féin later referred the matter to the Garda.

Mr Stanley, who is contesting the general election as an independent, told reporters in Co Laois on Friday that he was “delighted” the case had been referred to gardaí and insisted there was no Garda investigation into him personally.

He also accused Sinn Féin of breaching the confidentiality of the party’s internal complaints process.

When it was put to him that Sinn Féin had reportedly provisionally found a claim of sexual harassment against him to be true, and that his alleged behaviour amount to gross misconduct, he replied: “I’m not going to get into it in detail but that’s for Sinn Féin, Sinn Féin are not judge, jury and…