A man who lost his only son in the Omagh Bomb has warned Sinn Féin that it can’t unite the country if it glories in the violence of the past.

It comes after Sinn Féin climate spokesperson David Cullinane was recorded shouting IRA slogans while celebrating his election in Waterford on Sunday.

He has since defended the comments – although he did apologise to “anybody that was offended by it.”

On the Hard Shoulder with Ivan Yates this evening, Michael Gallagher spokesperson for Omagh support and self-help group said Sinn Féin should concentrate on the future instead of the past.

“You read out in the introduction how our only son Aidan died in the Omagh bomb,” he said.

“My youngest brother was 26 and married with two children and was assassinated by the Provisional IRA.

“These are difficulties we have to deal with on a daily basis. We have managed to reach out and reach beyond … We just feel that as a society we have to move on.”

Unity

He said Sinn Féin is now potentially a party of Government and Mr Cullinane’s words will not send out a good message to the unionist community.

“Ireland is a modern country. We have had some very progressive leadership over the last few parliaments and I think that is the role we need to continue.”

“We need to reach out to the people that are not our friends.

“The people we wouldn’t naturally reach out to and that is where I see the difficulty when you make statements such as the one that was made in Waterford.”

Sinn Fein's David Cullinane during a press briefing at Leinster House in Dublin. Image: Brian Lawless/PA Archive/PA Images

Peace

He said he understands Deputy Cullinane’s compassion for Irish history and the hunger strikers but warned that Sinn Féin needs to look to the future.

“We have got to rise above that,” he said. “We have got to make sure that we create a future where those things will never happen again. That our children will never hear the sounds of bombs or bullets in the street.

“This man could find himself in a very responsible position in Government and I think he should use that influence for good and not to look back.”

More than 3,500 people during the Troubles, more than half of them civilians.

Mr Gallagher said there are “many, many issues to be resolved” and warned that Deputy Cullinane’s comments were “at least, not helpful.”

“We are all proud to be Irish, but we don’t need to go out waving a Union Jack or a Tricolour or any flag,” he said.

“We just need to get on with what we need to get on with - and that is creating a better future for all of us.”