DISSIDENTS have issued a death threat against one of the best known figures in the mainstream republican movement.
Former Sinn Féin mayor of Limavady Sean McGlinchey said police had informed him of the threat by an unknown republican group.
Mr McGlinchey, a former ex-IRA prisoner who served 18 years for his role in the car bomb in Coleraine in 1973, said he is “very disappointed” by the development.
A native of Bellaghy in Co Derry the Sinn Féin councillor, who represents the Dungiven area on Causeway Coast and Glens council, is the younger brother of murdered INLA leader, Dominic McGlinchey.
Mr McGlinchey said police told him they believed the threat should be taken seriously.
“They said it was specific and it was because of the things I said after the bomb attacks around Dungiven last year. It was also linked to the fact that I have engaged with police working at community level,” he said.
The former IRA man said he made no apologies for what he said or for his community work.
“They planted a bomb and there were children around; who did they think was going to be called in to deal with it.
“I am disappointed about this given my own history and my family background particularly because I have always believed I had a good relationship with other republican groups,” he said.
