TD apologises after claiming British never 'bombed or shot' Irish people
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info
TD Cathal Crowe has apologised in the Dáil after he claimed the British Army, "never retaliated by bombing and shooting the civilian population of Ireland" during a debate about Gaza.
The comments from the Clare TD sparked criticism from Sinn Féin when he spoke during a Labour motion on the situation in Gaza on Wednesday. He said: "What is happening is not a war anymore; it is ethnic cleansing, genocide and, more recently, the weaponising of food.
"The British army was a bad actor on this island for many centuries but even in the worst of days, when its cities were being bombed by the terror organisations of the IRA, it never retaliated by bombing and shooting the civilian population of Ireland."
Sinn Féin's Aengus Ó Snodaigh called for the Fianna Fail TD to apologies following his statement. The Ceann Comhairle provided Mr Crowe with the chance to clarify his statements on Thursday morning, reports the Irish Mirror.
Deputy Crowe said: "I apologise profusely to anyone that may have been offended by my comments. The speech I made was during the debate that this house had had on Gaza."
"I was speaking without a scripted speech, and instead, using a series of bullet points. I began by stating that the Israeli eye-for-an-eye approach has been reprehensible, and that the bombing of hospitals, schools and tents, alongside the killing of babies, including many newborn babies in hospitals, amounts to genocide and ethnic cleansing.
"I then wanted to make the point that brutal, bad and all as the British armed forces have been on this island for a very long time, they never resorted to sending over the Royal Air Force tanks and missiles to pummel Irish cities.
"I wanted to convey the magnitude and the visceral hatred which has been behind the Israeli Defence Forces actions in Gaza and I also wanted to convey the huge disproportionality that the Israeli state has adopted following their reprehensible Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023.
"Regrettably, speaking largely off the cuff, I clumsily and wrongly stated, 'They never retaliated by bombing or shooting the civilian population of Ireland'. Let me be very clear, it was not my intention to say this, and I didn't realise how woeful all of that sounded until late last night when I received the transcript of what I had actually said.
"It was a genuine slip up on my part, but it was wrong, and I wish to unequivocally and profusely apologise." Mr Crowe said that he taught and studied history and led a boycott in 2020 to oppose a planned state commemoration of the Royal Irish Constabulary.
He continued: "I know that the British armed forces have been involved in many heinous attacks on Irish people historically.
"Bloody Sunday in Croke Park 1920, the massacre of 26 civilians at Derry's Bogside in 1972 and the countless other actions in recent history and further back in history for which they're responsible. I make this apology entirely of my own volition and it is genuine."
Join our Dublin Live breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive your daily dose of Dublin Live content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
For all the latest news from Dublin and surrounding areas visit our homepage.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Journal
an hour ago
- The Journal
Activist aid ship Madleen reaches Egyptian coast as it heads for Gaza
AN AID SHIP carrying twelve activists, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, has reached the Egyptian coast and is nearing the besieged Palestinian territory, organisers said today. The Madleen, part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, left Sicily last week with a cargo of relief supplies 'to break Israel's blockade on Gaza'. 'We are now sailing off the Egyptian coast,' German human rights activist Yasemin Acar told AFP. 'We are all good,' she added. In a statement from London, the International Committee for Breaking the Siege of Gaza – a member organisation of the flotilla coalition – said the ship has entered Egyptian waters. The group said it remains in contact with international legal and human rights bodies to ensure the safety of those on board, warning that any interception would constitute 'a blatant violation of international humanitarian law'. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Yas (@yaseminacr_) Advertisement French-Palestinian MEP Rima Hassan, who is on board the vessel, urged governments to 'guarantee safe passage for the Freedom Flotilla.' Israel's aid blockade of the Palestinian enclave since 2 March has resulted in the deaths of many children due to starvation. More than 90% of the enclave's 2.3 million people are facing acute food shortages, according to aid groups. The Palestinian territory was under Israeli naval blockade even before Hamas's 7 October 2023 attack. Israel has enforced its blockade with military action in the past. A 2010 commando raid on the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara, which was part of a similar aid flotilla trying to breach the blockade, left 10 civilians dead. In May, another Freedom Flotilla ship, the Conscience, reported coming under drone attack while en route for Gaza, prompting Cyprus and Malta to send rescue vessels in response to its distress call. There were no reports of any casualties. Earlier in its voyage, the Madleen changed course near the Greek island of Crete after receiving a distress signal from a sinking migrant boat. Activists rescued four Sudanese migrants who had jumped into the sea to avoid being returned to Libya. The four were later transferred to an EU Frontex vessel. Related Reads US vetoes UN ceasefire resolution as aid centres closed again today in Gaza Flotilla: If we don't act now, we'll be complicit in the annihilation of the Palestinian people Israel vows to 'protect' maritime space as Gaza-bound aid boat reports drones overhead On Wednesday, one of the activists on the boat claimed the vessel was being tightly tracked by Israeli overhead surveillance drones . Israel had said it was ready to 'protect' the country's maritime space. Launched in 2010, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition is a coalition of groups opposed to the blockade on humanitarian aid for Gaza that Israel imposed on 2 March and has only partially eased since. Israel has faced mounting international condemnation over the resulting humanitarian crisis in the territory, where the United Nations has warned the entire population of more than two million is at risk of famine. © AFP 2025 Need more information on what is happening in Israel and Gaza? Check out our new FactCheck Knowledge Bank for essential reads and guides to navigating the news online. Visit Knowledge Bank
Irish Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
The problem with Gerry Adams and Sinn Fein wanting to 'put manners' on media
Gerry Adams has always denied being a member of the IRA. There, that's that out of the way. These days it's good practice to get your disclaimer in early. Especially if you're in the journalism business. Anything else could be construed as bad manners. And 'manners' is what Gerry's €3 million libel battle with the BBC all boiled down to in his own words. The case he took in the Dublin High Court 'was about putting manners on the British Broadcasting Corporation' he announced minutes after a jury awarded him €100,000 in damages. They had agreed that a Spotlight programme had defamed Gerry by alleging he sanctioned the murder of IRA spy Denis Donaldson in 2006, eight years after the Good Friday Agreement had sealed his place among the peacemakers. Gerry's grandiose reaction to the decision was described as 'chilling' by the National Union of Journalists. For a man who has dealt in secrets during a lifetime of politics, it was certainly candid. This was Gerry saying the quiet part out loud. Because as long as the press has been around, there have been those in political power who fantasise about 'putting manners' on it. Not least the many other members of Sinn Fein who have taken libel actions against the Irish media in recent times, as they are of course entitled to do. They would also be entitled to ask the Press Ombudsman to adjudicate their grievances instead. It's a process that exists to put manners on journalists without damages or the €3 million tab for lawyers' fees. Weeks before Gerry's big win at the High Court, Sinn Fein TDs also voted in the Dail against the reform of Ireland's defamation laws. Their biggest issue was getting rid of juries like the one that gave Gerry a hundred grand last week. They take the view that a group of lay citizens are best qualified to stand judgement on that most precious of things to the Irish – our reputation. Over the years juries have deemed it to be vastly more valuable in compensation terms than literally losing life or limb. Sinn Fein believes that people should be summoned from their day jobs as butchers, bakers and candlestick makers, and asked to rule on this wickedly complex area of civil law that divides and defies legal experts. And be relied upon to not lose the run of themselves when awarding damages. I've been in the high court before when juries were asked not to lose the run of themselves. When advised to use the yardstick of a family holiday or a small car to assess damages, they have returned with eye watering six-figures sums. That's quite the family vacation. But there is a bigger problem I have with Gerry's swagger at sticking it to the BBC and Sinn Fein's general animosity towards the media. 'Putting manners' on the press has become a dark obsession among others who view journalists as 'the enemy of the people'. And they are willing to use far less legitimate methods than a high court jury to do it. Last year was the deadliest on record for media workers around the world with over 200 reporters killed, the vast majority in Gaza where the press have become legitimate targets. In the world's biggest democracy, the American media is bearing the brunt of an authoritarian crackdown. Respected outlets are banned for refusing to report a warped view of reality sanctioned by the ruling regime. Handpicked lackies and sycophants are favoured to replace experienced reporters because they ask the right questions. Amnesty international this week named Northern Ireland – where Sinn Fein leads the Government - as one of the most intimidating places to be a reporter because of threats from crime gangs. Meanwhile hatemongers attack and intimidate journalists 24 hours a day in the unpoliced laneways of cyber space where they replace news and facts with their own disinformation and conspiracies. Against that climate, we need political leaders to choose their words and actions carefully when they have a beef with the media. Politicians whose first instinct is not to join in the 'let's put manners on them' pile-on. And who remember there are alternatives to multi-million libel lotteries before you march to the High Court behind the battle cry: Tiocfaidh ár Law!
The Journal
3 hours ago
- The Journal
Israeli forces retrieve body of Thai hostage from Gaza as Netanyahu admits supporting militants in Gaza
ISRAELI FORCES HAVE retrieved from the Gaza Strip the body of Natthapong Pinta, a Thai taken hostage during Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack, officials said Saturday. A military statement said the army and the Shin Bet security agency carried out an operation on Friday and 'recovered the body of Natthapong Pinta from the Rafah area' of southern Gaza. 'Nattaphong Pinta was abducted alive by terrorists… from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023, and was murdered while in captivity,' the statement alleged, blaming the Mujahideen Brigades, an armed group close to Hamas ally Islamic Jihad. Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement that the hostage's body was 'returned to Israel' in 'a special operation' in the Rafah area. 'Natthapong came to Israel from Thailand to work in agriculture, out of a desire to build a better future for himself and his family,' Katz said. He was 'brutally murdered in captivity by the terrorist organisation Mujahideen Brigades', the minister charged. The military statement alleged that the militant group which stormed Nir Oz during Hamas's 2023 attack was to blame for the deaths of several other hostages. 'The murderous Mujahideen terrorist organisation abducted, held and murdered Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, whose bodies were returned as part of the last hostage deal, as well as the bodies of Gad Haggai and Judi Lynn Weinstein, which were returned earlier this week,' the statement said. 'The Mujahideen terrorist organisation has also murdered and is holding the body of another foreign national,' it added. The statement said Natthapong's family and Thai officials had been notified of the operation to recover his body. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum campaign group urged Israeli authorities in a statement to 'do what is needed to reach an agreement' to free the remaining captives. Of the 251 hostages taken during Hamas's attack that triggered the Gaza war, 55 remain in captivity, including 31 the Israeli military says are dead. According to the Nir Oz community, 117 residents were killed and more than 60 percent of its houses destroyed during the Hamas attack. The 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures. According to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, at least 54,677 people have been killed in the territory since 7 October 2023, also mostly civilians. Israel arming militant anti-Hamas group Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted that Israel is supporting an armed group in Gaza that opposes the militant group Hamas, following comments by a former minister that Israel had transferred weapons to it. Israeli and Palestinian media have reported that the group Israel has been working with is part of a local Bedouin tribe led by Yasser Abu Shabab. Advertisement The European Council on Foreign Relations (EFCR) think tank describes Abu Shabab as the leader of a 'criminal gang operating in the Rafah area that is widely accused of looting aid trucks'. Knesset member and ex-defence minister Avigdor Lieberman had told the Kan public broadcaster that the government, at Netanyahu's direction, was 'giving weapons to a group of criminals and felons'. 'What did Lieberman leak? … That on the advice of security officials, we activated clans in Gaza that oppose Hamas. What is bad about that?' Netanyahu said in a video posted to social media on Thursday. 'It is only good, it is saving lives of Israeli soldiers.' Michael Milshtein, an expert on Palestinian affairs at the Moshe Dayan Center in Tel Aviv, told news organisation AFP that the Abu Shabab clan was part of a Bedouin tribe that spans across the border between Gaza and Egypt's Sinai peninsula. Some of the tribe's members, he said, were involved in 'all kinds of criminal activities, drug smuggling, and things like that'. Army spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin on Friday confirmed the military supported arming local militias in Gaza but remained tight-lipped on the details. 'I can say that we are operating in various ways against Hamas governance,' Defrin said during a televised press conference when questioned on the subject, without elaborating further. Milshtein said that Abu Shabab had spent time in prison in Gaza and that his clan chiefs had recently denounced him as an Israeli 'collaborator and a gangster'. 'It seems that actually the Shabak (Israeli security agency) or the (military) thought it was a wonderful idea to turn this militia, gang actually, into a proxy, to give them weapons and money and shelter' from army operations, Milshtein said. He added that Hamas killed four members of the gang days ago. The ECFR said Abu Shabab was 'reported to have been previously jailed by Hamas for drug smuggling. His brother is said to have been killed by Hamas during a crackdown against the group's attacks on UN aid convoys.' Israel regularly accuses Hamas, with which it has been at war for nearly 20 months, of looting aid convoys in Gaza. Hamas said the group had 'chosen betrayal and theft as their path' and called on civilians to oppose them. Hamas, which has ruled Gaza for nearly two decades, said it had evidence of 'clear coordination between these looting gangs, collaborators with the occupation (Israel), and the enemy army itself in the looting of aid and the fabrication of humanitarian crises that deepen the suffering of' Palestinians. The Popular Forces, as Abu Shabab's group calls itself, said on Facebook it had 'never been, and will never be, a tool of the occupation'. 'Our weapons are simple, outdated and came through the support of our own people,' it added. Milshtein called Israel's decision to arm a group such as Abu Shabab 'a fantasy, not something that you can really describe as a strategy'. 'I really hope it will not end with catastrophe,' he said.
