The councillor who quit the SDLP after providing a character reference for a convicted rapist is a senior staff member in former leader Colum Eastwood’s office.
Brian Tierney, a one-time mayor of Derry & Strabane, resigned from the SDLP on Monday “after reflecting on the situation”.
He described the reference for former neighbour Kielan Murphy as a “huge error of judgement”.
Mooney (30) of Bloomfield Park in Derry was jailed for eight-and-a-half years earlier this month for raping a fellow member of the Irish Defence Forces.
He was found guilty at Dublin’s Central Criminal Court in December of three counts of raping the woman and one count of sexual assault at a Dublin hotel in July 2021.
Mr Tierney’s party membership has been suspended pending an internal review and it is believed that he will now sit as an independent councillor.
However, the SDLP has declined to comment on his employment status.
The Irish News understands Mr Tierney is a key member of staff in Mr Eastwood’s Derry office.
The Westminster register of interests of members’ staff does not specify his role in the Foyle MP’s team but previously he has been employed as a senior case worker.
Mr Tierney, who claims he was unaware of the “seriousness” of the case when he wrote the reference, is the nephew of former SDLP MLA John Tierney, who represented the Foyle constituency at Stormont from 1998-2002.
In a brief statement issued by the SDLP press office on Monday afternoon, Mr Tierney said: “After reflecting on the situation over the past few days I have made the very difficult decision to step aside as an SDLP councillor.
“Although the situation was misrepresented to me, I deeply regret the harm caused to the victim and everyone else affected in my giving of a character reference.”
He said the SDLP had “played a huge role in my life from a very young age” and that he still supported the party’s values.
“I will be doing everything possible to make up for the damage caused and to demonstrate genuine remorse for my actions,” he said.
An SDLP spokesperson said the party welcomed what it termed Mr Tierney’s “genuine desire to address the issues raised by the issuing of this character reference and his actions to reach out to those affected by this”.
“We are conducting a review around the provision of references,” the party spokesperson said.
“Tackling violence against women and girls remains a key priority for the SDLP and our thoughts are with the victim at the centre of this case.”
Ahead of the announcement of Mr Tierney’s resignation, Alliance MLA Eóin Tennyson had called for the SDLP to act.
Speaking in the assembky on Monday, the Upper Bann MLA said: “Leadership is not simply about how we respond to these issues when they appear in other parties, but how we respond when they befall our own.”
He said victims “deserve accountability and to see this issue treated seriously”.
“As we stand here today, it is difficult to fathom how Mr Tierney can remain an elected representative.
“Both he and his party ought to be considering his position.”
Foyle MLA Mark H Durkan said he believed the councillor made a “genuine mistake”.
