Renua deputy leader Billy Timmins has accused Sinn Féin of attempting to colonise the 1916 commemorations by stealth.

He also queried why RTÉ gave Sinn Féin such publicity for its partisan commemorations.

Mr Timmins was commenting on the parallel reporting by RTÉ of the Sinn Féin re-enactment of the Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa funeral with the coverage of the State re-enactment. The former Army officer said the sacrifices made by the patriotic fathers of the Republic should not be degraded by false association with the IRA.

“Sinn Féin should respect all State commemorations and not compete with them. Their failure to do so when it came to the O’Donovan Rossa commemoration was disrespectful of the state, the President and the Army whom, presumably, they now recognise,” said Mr Timmins.

He added that if Sinn Féin did not cease from such actions it could only be assumed it was engaged in an ongoing attempt to create a sectarian Sinn Féin state within the State.

“Such activities suggest their current state of ‘allegiance’ to the institutions of the Republic is skin deep,” he said.