'I made a huge mistake': Brian Tierney apologises at Derry & Strabane Council meeting

Following revelations that he provided a reference Kielan Mooney, who was given an eight-and-a-half year jail sentence for raping a female fellow Irish Defence Forces member, councillor Tierney announced that he would be stepping aside as an SDLP councillor.

At this month’s Full Council Meeting, Derry City and Strabane District Council’s Mayor, SDLP councillor Lilian Barr, drew members’ attention to a public meeting to address violence against women and girls, which took place on Monday.

Mayor Barr proposed that council reaffirms its commitment to ending violence against women and girls, declares the district as a “zero tolerance zone” for such violence, and partner with key stakeholders to design a “comprehensive awareness campaign” aimed at preventing violence.

During discussions around the proposal, a visibly emotional Councillor Tierney, who withdrew the reference upon learning the nature of the charges against Mooney, addressed the chamber remotely, apologised and conceded that he “should have checked the background” of the trial.

“I believed that I was acting in good faith, that I was being told the truth, and that there was no sign of any sexual violence when I provided that character reference,” Councillor Tierney said.

“I have written to to the survivor in this case to express my apologies and to outline the reasons why I provided that reference, because I have no doubt that my actions caused extra undue hurt to her and her family.

“I made a huge mistake, and the anger that people have expressed over the last number of days is not lost on me one single bit.

“This has been the hardest time of my life. I have tried over 11 years to represent the people of my community to the best of my ability.

“I want to correct this mistake, to show my remorse, and to support the victim and victims of any type of violence against women and girls.

“I believe that if something breaks you don’t replace it right away, you try and fix it, and I am determined to try and do that.

“People in the chamber will know my long association with [the SDLP] and the fact that I am no longer a member is not somewhere where I ever wished to be.

“I will now begin working publicly to try and correct the mistakes that I have made, and I ask people to give me the opportunity to do that.”

Sinn Féin Councillor Sandra Duffy said any anti-violence strategy must be a “whole-society approach and that includes our male colleagues, husbands, and fathers”.

She added: “Never stay silent, speak up and call it out, and don’t provide character references for someone charged with those offences for God’s sake.”

SDLP Councillor Catherine McDaid argued that elected members should not give character references in court, and this was something the SDLP have been “working on” at Stormont.

People Before Profit Councillor Shaun Harkin said Councillor Tierney was a “valued member”, but said that he should resign in order to “show proper accountability for his actions”.

Councillor Harkin proposed an amendment to Mayor Barr’s motion, for council to incorporate a number of suggestions from Alliance for Choice Derry, one of which was for members to call for councillor Tierney’s resignation. His proposal failed to secure a seconder.

Independent Councillor Gary Donnelly said he and councillor Tierney “clash regularly as our politics are very different”, but disagreed that council should call for his resignation.

“I genuinely believe that this is a mistake,” he said. “I don’t believe for one minute, having known him as a family man and community activist, that he deliberately wrote a letter for somebody who held somebody down and raped them. I wouldn’t play politics and ask him to resign.”

Sinn Féin Councillor Christopher Jackson said it was ultimately councillor Tierney’s decision whether or not to resign.

“Speaking to people over the last few days who are rightly very angry about the mistake he made, I don’t think that anger is going away,” he said.

“I think councillor Tierney has to reflect on that anger and the significance of the mistake he made, but I agree that it is not a matter for this chamber to decide on.”

Independent councillor Paul Gallagher said that, in his time as an elected member, he had been “lied to, controlled, and emotionally blackmailed to do references,” and argued that it should be the council’s corporate position to decline giving them.

UUP Alderman Darren Guy accused Councillor Harkin of “throwing councillor Tierney under the bus” by proposing a call for his resignation.

“There are 40 councillors and any one of us could be thrown under the bus,” he said. “We’ve all been lied to before because we’re easy targets.”

SDLP councillor Rory Farrell said councillor Tierney “would be the first to admit he has made a monumental mistake” and he has apologised publicly for “the hurt caused”.

“It’s a massive error on Brian’s behalf, but we have to remember that the family involved came out publicly and said he was misled, and not in full possession of the facts or aware of the seriousness of the offences.”

“If Brian Tierney knew that that animal was charged with various forms of rape, he would not have provided a reference. I know that, you all know that, and he’s being vilified.”

Independent councillor Shauna Cusack left the SDLP last year and said councillor Tierney did not deserve to lose his career due to a “mistake that any of us could have made”.

“Ironically I’m giving Brian a character reference here,” she said. “He is a good person, he made a mistake.”

Sinn Féin councillor Grace Uí Niallais argued that if councillor Tierney made such a “grievous error” as an employee of a private company he would be dismissed.

“This is a job and I just can’t see past the idea that you can regain confidence in people,” she concluded.

“If this was a private company it wouldn’t be going any further.

“There’s a lot of male comradery in this room, and people giving character references, but that does not mean you’re fit to do your job.”

Andrew Balfour,

Local Democracy Reporter.