KEY MEMBERS OF Sinn Féin will attend Brendan ‘Bik’ McFarlane’s funeral, but the party would not say specifically whether Mary Lou McDonald will be there. 

McFarlane died in hospital on Friday following a short illness. His funeral will take place in Belfast tomorrow. 

In a statement on Friday, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald paid tribute to the “lifelong Irish Republican and revolutionary”.

McFarlane was the leader of IRA prisoners in the Maze prison during the 1981 hunger strike, when he was serving a life sentence for murder.

In 1976, he was sentenced for his role in the gun and bomb attack on the Bayardo Bar on the Shankill Road in Belfast. Five people were killed in the attack while 60 others were injured. 

After his imprisonment, McFarlane also led a mass escape of 38 inmates from the Maze prison in 1983. He was later caught in the Netherlands.

After a legal battle spanning ten years, in 2008 McFarlane was cleared in Dublin’s Special Criminal Court of false imprisonment and firearms possession in relation to the 1983 kidnapping of businessman Don Tidey. 

In her statement on Friday, McDonald described McFarlane as a “giant of Irish republicanism” and a “formidable, thoughtful leader”. 

“That leadership was never more needed than in the brutality of the H-Blocks, and especially during the extremely difficult days of the 1981 Hunger Strikes. Bik always carried the memories of his ten brave comrades who laid down their lives with him. He never forgot the depth of their sacrifice,” McDonald said.

“He often reflected on the political and social impact of the Hunger Strike, how it changed the course of Irish history, and decisively influenced the direction of Irish republican politics.” 

McDonald continued: “His life was also about music. He had the mind of a revolutionary but the heart of a poet. Bik loved connecting with others through song and storytelling. He was a talented singer and songwriter. So many will remember him for his music.”

“We are absolutely heartbroken but we will remember Bik forever,” she concluded, offering her condolences to his wife Lene and their children Thomas, Emma and Tina. 

So long, Bik 💔

We are absolutely heartbroken but we will remember Bik McFarlane forever and a day.

He lived his life in pursuit of freedom, unity, peace and equality.

It was a life well lived, a life that shaped a legacy that will inspire generations to come. https://t.co/PT26KezpAq pic.twitter.com/l6MgtowfQm

— Mary Lou McDonald (@MaryLouMcDonald) February 21, 2025

McDonald’s comments were heavily criticised by former Fine Gael Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan.

He told the Irish Times that her remarks “heaping praise on such a controversial figure demonstrates the distance between Sinn Féin and the acceptance of the rule of law”.

Flanagan added that McFarlane was “directly and heavily involved in vicious sectarian crimes”.

Sinn Féin did not wish to respond to Flanagan’s comments.