Republican News · Thursday 14 March 2002

Unionist protestors egg McGuinness

Sinn Féin Education Minister Martin McGuinness was the target of egg throwing Democratic Unionist Association students during a visit to Queen's University, Belfast on Tuesday, 5 March.

In a more serious incident, a number of Sinn Féin students accompanying McGuinness were physically assaulted by the protesters, including Cora Groogan the Deputy President-elect of Queen's students' union. Groogan was punched in the face by DUA demonstrators outside the Union building, who were ironically, claiming to be protesting against intimidation.

This was McGuinness's second visit to Queen's in the past three weeks and was in response to an invitation by the Queen's student Sinn Féin cumann, which had asked the Sinn Féin MP to address the student body.

Up to 300 students of all political persuasions attended the talk, which was followed by a lively question and answer session. McGuinness described the meeting, "as an excellent opportunity for him to listen directly to the views of our young people on the fullest spectrum of concerns that proved to be a very useful and indeed a very frank exchange of views and ideas on the future".

It was as the meeting ended that McGuinness and a number of Sinn Féin students were met outside the students union building by protesters from the Democratic Unionist Association, who showered McGuinness and students with eggs and ice cream. It was at this point that Cora Groogan was punched.

Emma Little, the outgoing Deputy President of the QUB Students' Union is also the chairperson of the DUA but she was not present at the anti-McGuinness protest.