RCN stays silent on its former chief Pat Cullen declining to condemn the IRA murder of nurses

On Wednesday, ​Sinn Fein candidate and former RCN boss Pat Cullen again declined an opportunity to condemn the IRA murder of civilians in the constituency she hopes to represent at Westminster.

Asked by Ulster Unionist candidate Diana Armstrong if she would condemn the murder of nurses by the IRA in the constituency, Ms Cullen did not do so.

Instead, she said “Look, I've said very clearly those were very dark days as a community nurse. I've held the hands of many people that have lived through those periods. I’ve felt, I've heard and I've seen their trauma have seen I've seen what it does to them. That's not go back there”.

Then Royal College of Nursing (RCN) chief executive Pat Cullen speaking to the media at RCN headquarters in central London in January 2023 following the announcement that nurses would stage two more strikes in a dispute with the government over pay. On Wednesday, the now SInn Fein election candidate Ms Cullen declined another opportunity to condemn the IRA murder of civilians in the constituency she hopes to represent at Westminster

The News Letter asked the RCN – given Ms Cullen's recent role in the organisation - if it would make its position on Ms Cullen's views clear. The RCN has not responded.

See also:

Pat Cullen declines to condemn IRA attacks on civilians in Fermanagh and Omagh

Editorial: Pat Cullen is shamed by her refusal to condemn the IRA Poppy Day bomb

Pat Cullen has again been urged to state her position on IRA violence. The former head of the Royal College of Nursing, now Sinn Fein election candidate for Westminster, recently asserted that suffering in the Troubles 'felt the same' for both sides.

Ruth Dudley Edwards: Gildernew is out, now unionists should hope Cullen will lose too

TUV West Tyrone Westminster candidate Stevan Patterson said: “Pat Cullen’s failure to condemn the murders of serving and retired members of the nursing and caring profession both at Enniskillen and in Omagh is nauseating but entirely predictable.

“Midwife Mary Grimes, who was murdered in the Omagh bombing, and Marie Wilson (a student nurse), Alberta Quinton (a retired nursing sister), Kit Johnston (a retired ambulance driver) and his wife ‪Jessie Johnston (yet another retired nurse) all of whom were ushered out into eternity in the Enniskillen Poppy Day Massacre should not have been murdered.

“That a candidate in the upcoming general election cannot say that is outrageous.

“I am today calling upon the Royal College of Nursing to publicly disassociate itself from Pat Cullen’s comments and take a stand for nurses who perished at the hands of evil terrorists.

“Unionists should reflect on the fact that some of those who seek their support in this election may express dismay at what Ms Cullen has said but the reality is that as long as they partner Sinn Fein in government such words will sound hollow.”