'People are fed up to the back teeth of the coat-trailing idolatry of terrorism and violence': SEFF

The MP for North Belfast, whose own father Pat Finucane was murdered by loyalist terrorists, is due to speak at the South Armagh Volunteers Commemoration in Mullaghbawn on Sunday.

Posters advertising the Ti Chulainn centre event describe it as including “music, refreshments and kids entertainment”.

IRA members from the area committed some of the worst sectarian atrocities of the Troubles, including the murder of ten Protestant workmen at Kingsmills, and a gun attack at Tullyvallen Orange Hall that killed five men as they attended a lodge meeting.

Colin Worton’s brother Kenneth was one of the victims of the1976 Kingsmills massacre.

He said: “For a mother to lose her son the way that she did, you couldn’t imagine what a mother would go through”.

Mr Worton said the ongoing commemoration of those responsible made them out to be heroes.

"To me they are not heroes,” he said.

"I honestly cannot get my head around that an elected MP would want to go and speak, obviously honouring terrorists, especially in south Armagh,” Mr Worton told the BBC.

Sammy Heenan said he was “appalled” that an MP would speak at such an event.

As a 12-year-old child in bed he heard his father, William, was being shot dead by the IRA in 1985 near Castlewellan. His mother had died three years earlier.

"I am absolutely appalled, once again, to witness Sinn Fein eulogise the depravity of republican terrorism,” he said.

"On one hand they are using the words ‘reaching out,’ and on the other hand they are adopting the mantra that there was no alternative. This relentless glorification of terrorism only causes tremendous hurt to innocent victims.”

Mr Heenan added: "John Finucane knows the pain, and witnessed the murder of his father, but yet he is going to an event to glorify those who murdered other people’s fathers and that is blatant hypocrisy.”

Kenny Donaldson of SEFF said: “We take no glee in the death of anyone including those listed on the ‘South Armagh Roll of Honour,’ they too were husbands, fathers, sons, brothers ... but we mourn the choices they made in life which included, in many cases, perpetrating the crime of murder.

“John Finucane is a son whose father was wickedly murdered in front of him, he knows the searing pain of loss. How then can he stand and observe an event which eulogises individuals who also stole away husbands, fathers, sons, brothers and potentially wives, mothers, daughters and sisters?”Mr Donaldson said that if the Sinn Fein MP is the main speaker at the commemoration then he must support the claim that there was “no alternative” to the terror those IRA members waged against their neighbours.He added: “We renew our request for John Finucane to stand aside from this event and we urge him to apologise to all fellow innocents of terror for his unjustifiable actions”.

Alliance MLA Sorcha Eastwood said that families and friends have the right to remember lost loved ones, “no matter who they were, but this is when it becomes something that steps into a different area, in terms of how it is done”.

Ms Eastwood said: “Yes, we do have a contested past, but for us the important thing is, there was always an alternative to people getting involved in proscribed organisations”.

Earlier this week, Sinn Fein MLA Conor Murphy said all parties have attended commemorations, and the event in question has been taking place for more than a decade with little controversy.

Mr Murphy made his comments following a submission to the NI Affairs Committee at Westminster from Arlene Foster.

Lady Foster said the attendance of politicians at such commemorative events sends an "alarming message" to young people.

A Sinn Féin spokesperson said: “Everyone has the right to remember their dead with dignity and respect. We will continue to stand with families who have lost loved ones in the conflict.”