A Sinn Fein organised event to remember the death of IRA man Seamus McElwain who was killed by the SAS in 1986 has been criticised by a local victims' group.

Over 200 republicans attended the event in Rosslea last night, marking 30 years since Mr McElwain was shot and Sean Lynch, a former Stormont MLA, was seriously wounded.

Speaking following the event, Mr. Lynch said: “The large crowd was testament to the impact Seamus’ short life had on the local people.  We had an in-depth, dignified discussion around Seamus’ energy, enthusiasm and nobody disputed his fun loving personality and his desire for Irish freedom.

“Many members of the crowd were not even born when Seamus was killed and therefore this demonstrated that, like the 1916 volunteers, the 1981 hunger strikers and all of our fallen comrades, the memory of Seamus McElwain will live on around Fermanagh, Monaghan and further afield," he said.

Kenny Donaldson, the director of services with South East Fermanagh Foundation, condemned the event.

He hit out at Sinn Fein remembering Mr McElwain and said: "There was no war and no conflict in South Fermanagh because the minority community refused to retaliate to the dastardly deeds of the Provisional IRA murder squads."

"Their code was to their belief in God and to the organs of the State to do right by them. As of now they remain failed by the UK state and also the Republic of Ireland state which provided safe haven for serial killers to operate their campaign of ethnic cleansing,” he said.