Ferris has no regrets about collecting McAuley from prison

Sinn Féin TD Martin Ferris said he has no regrets about meeting republican Pearse McAuley on his release from prison.

McAuley, one of the IRA men convicted of killing Det Garda Jerry McCabe in Co Limerick in June 1996, is back in jail after being sentenced to 12 years in prison for a frenzied attack on his estranged wife, Pauline Tully, in her home last Christmas.

Mr Ferris yesterday told Newstalk radio he had no regrets about collecting McAuley from prison in 2009.

However, he insisted that McAuley’s “terrible, brutal attack” on Ms Tully was indefensible.

Mr Ferris, a Kerry South TD, also claimed that there was a campaign against Sinn Féin.

“I think there is a deliberate campaign by the political establishment on this island to prevent the growth of Sinn Féin,” he said.

“It’s my opinion, I think I am correct, that all judges are appointed by the government in power.”