SINN Féin is being criticised for selling t-shirts featuring the slogan 'IRA Undefeated Army' on its website.
The item is one of many articles of clothing, books, badges and posters available for purchase on the ‘Sinn Féin Bookshop’ online store.
The t-shirt shows men in balaclavas holding guns inside ‘IRA’ lettering with the words ‘Undefeated Army’ underneath.
It is described as 'a tribute to the men and women who led the struggle against British occupation of Ireland'.
But Fine Gael Senator Joe O’Reilly says the memorabilia sold on the website undermines Sinn Féin’s commitment to peace.
He told Newstalk Breakfast: "The entire justification of violence now, and justification of the IRA campaign... that when you retrospectively justify that campaign now, you implicitly – and you by extension – feed into the dissident agenda – feed into the view that if so much is achieved in the past, this should continue into the future.
Martin McGuinness Official Portrait Special Limited Edition Printshttps://t.co/2adyKuhTXF pic.twitter.com/Rv22btxn2L
— Sinn Fein Bookshop (@SinnFeinShop) June 14, 2017
"I think a political party has to abandon this kind of thing, and I think it's important it stops.
"There's a cohort of young males who have not experienced The Troubles, who have not been part of a generation that knew violence – and this has the potential to influence them, it has the potential to put them on that road.
"I don't think there's a justification for that kind of thing in the present context at the present time".
He added: "It's important as they [Sinn Féin] propose to enter government, as they go on with the politicisation and involvement with democratic politics, it is important that they for their sake – and indeed for the wider sake of our community – that they abandon these.
"I think t's important that the glorification of violence through a potentially vulnerable section of people is stopped; I think it's important that a kind of a retrospective justification of violence is not fed into supporting the current dissident agenda.
"If you like it's evolutionary, it's an important staging post and I think it should be done.”
