A Fine Gael councillor for the Donegal South West constituency has come under fire after honeymoon photos were posted on the social networking site Facebook. The picture in question shows his new wife giving a Nazi salute beside a wax work statue of Adolf Hitler.
Barry O' Neill, who is currently honeymooning in Europe with Lorraine McCabe after marrying on December 30th. The photo has been removed and sources close to Barry say there was no harm meant, it was just meant to be 'a bit of craic'. One Facebook friend who has Jewish ancestry plans to make a complaint to Fine Gael about the photo insisting that "it is deeply offensive to everyone, not just Jews".
Use of the Nazi salute is a criminal offence in Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic.Barry O' Neill is said to be embarrassed that a picture intended to be funny could in fact offend people according to a close friend. At present his phone is switched off and he has not made any statement about the incident.
This is the second time that a Fine Gael member has caused controversy in recent months. December saw the mayor of Naas resign his position due to his refusal to represent African members of the community. In his opinion they have an 'agressive attitude'.
