Sinn Féin's general election candidate in Louth, Cllr Arthur Morgan, has so far failed to contact the family of a man killed by the IRA 10 years ago, despite promising to meet them.
In a letter last week to local newspapers, Mr Eugene Oliver, on behalf of the seven children of Mr Tom Oliver, Castlecarragh, Riverstown, sought information about the identities of their father's killers.
Since then Cllr Morgan has been put under increasing pressure on the issue by other candidates, particularly following a local opinion poll which showed him taking a seat.
During a combative interview on LM FM local radio on Monday, Cllr Morgan said he would be prepared to meet the family to discuss "any and all issues surrounding this issue. Any and all issues."
Offering his sympathies to the family, he refused numerous requests to call on those with information about the killing to come forward to the authorities.
Acknowledging that the IRA carried out "the action", the councillor said he did not know the killers' identity. "How would I know that? The IRA is a secret organisation."
However, he said it had to be remembered that the killers would "not spend more than a couple of days in jail" under the Good Friday agreement, if they were ever found.
The killing of Mr Oliver, whose body was found in 1991 near Belleek, Co Armagh, 15 miles from his home, caused outrage on the Cooley Peninsula, and a number of those suspected of being implicated in his death were ostracised.
Asked repeatedly to call on those with information to come forward, Cllr Morgan declined. "It is a simple question, and there is a complex way of answering it," he told LM FM.
Instead, he said he was seeking a South African Truth and Reconciliation-type commission to inquire into all of the deaths caused by the Northern conflict, "including the Dublin, Dundalk and Monaghan bombings".
In last week's letter, Mr Oliver jnr said Sinn Féin had rightly campaigned for a full judicial inquiry into the brutal murder of a Dundalk man, Mr Seamus Ludlow, in 1976.
Despite suggestions then and later that the murder was carried out by the IRA, it is now believed to have been committed by members of the Ulster Defence Regiment.
"Arthur Morgan is rightly encouraging people to assist in every possible way to bring Seamus Ludlow's killers to justice. What does Mr Morgan as the Sinn Féin candidate have to say about another cowardly, local, brutal, kidnapping and murder - that of my father?" his letter asked.
"What is the difference between the murders of Seamus Ludlow and Tom Oliver? Sinn Féin recently celebrated 30 years of the 'greatest guerrilla army in the world' and presented distinguished service awards to the families of 'volunteers' who died.
"Does Arthur Morgan, as the Sinn Féin candidate in Louth, have anything to say to my mother, my six sisters and myself, who were widowed and left fatherless by that brave army?" said Mr Oliver.
Following the 1991 killing, the IRA claimed that Mr Oliver had passed information to the Garda about an arms dump.
The allegations were strongly rejected.
• The latest MRBI poll in Kerry North shows Sinn Féin candidate Mr Martin Ferris topping the poll and set to take a seat, possibly on the first count, writes Anne Lucey.
It also shows an increase in support for Fianna Fáil candidate Mr Tom McEllistrim on recent poll performances, but a drop for the Fine Gael candidate and sitting TD, Mr Jimmy Deenihan.
The poll, conducted last week, found support for Mr Ferris at 28 per cent, former Tánaiste Mr Dick Spring at 23 per cent, Mr Deenihan at 21 per cent, Mr McEllistrim at 18 per cent and his running mate Senator Dan Kiely, Fianna Fáil's front runner in north Kerry, at 9 per cent.
The party had heavily supported Senator Kiely, leading to accusations by the McEllistrim supporters of their candidate being sidelined.
Independent candidate Mr James Kennedy, who has highlighted the asylum-seeker issue, comes in at 1 per cent.
Fianna Fáil votes are likely to transfer tightly, with as much as 60 per cent of Senator Kiely's vote going to Mr McEllistrim, the poll shows.
There is now a strong possibility the party could retain its seat in the constituency.
Mr Ferris, a convicted gunrunner, is now almost certain to take a seat in Kerry North, although perhaps not at the expense of Fianna Fáil as previously thought.
The poll was carried out for Radio Kerry among a sample 400 voters.
