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Irish Independent
3 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Independent
Taoiseach Micheál Martin urges calm after Fianna Fáil TD says British Army never shot Irish civilians
He was reacting to the claim by one of his own backbenchers, Cathal Crowe of Co Clare, that British Army troops never shot any civilians in Ireland – for which he has since apologised. But Mr Martin, who revealed Mr Crowe contacted him to express his regret at embarrassing the Fianna Fáil party, said people should 'calm down'. Commenting at the Bloom festival, Mr Martin said there has been 'a bit of an over-the-top reaction', in response to Mr Crowe's absolution for the British Army. 'We don't need any lessons in terms of Northern Ireland and the pain and the violence – and yes, the British state was responsible for Bloody Sunday, Ballymurphy, and much, much more,' Mr Martin said. 'I think he was talking in the context of Gaza. Thank God that Gaza never happened in Northern Ireland to the same extent, although one person killed is one person too many. 'As far as I'm concerned, there was horrendous violence in Northern Ireland perpetrated by the State and by the Provisional IRA and by Loyalists like the Glenanne gang. 'There were reprehensible murders, and shocking bombings like Enniskillen, Birmingham, the Dublin-Monaghan bombing, Belturbet, and right across Britain. 'A lot of innocent people were murdered and slaughtered by the IRA. People in Derry and in Ballymurphy were murdered by the British army. We resolved that through a peace process and through reconciliation. 'When I spoke with [US] president [Donald] Trump, and he referred back to the viciousness of what went on in Ireland over 30 years, I made the point to him: We managed to build a peace out of all that vicious violence. 'Peace can work, and the same needs to happen in the Middle East.' Mr Martin said Mr Crowe had been anxious to correct his remarks after speaking 'off the cuff'. 'Cathal Crowe is a very solid TD and doesn't need to be reprimanded. I think people need to be careful about overreacting here. 'We have a peace process in Ireland that is sustained, and we are at peace with Britain. I'm building reconciliation in Northern Ireland through the Shared Island programme, so there's no need to be re-fighting old wars.'
Irish Examiner
3 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
Fianna Fáil TD apologises for inaccurate Dáil claim about British army actions in Ireland
A Fianna Fáil TD has apologised for claiming in the Dáil yesterday that no British soldiers had ever shot or bombed the civilian population of Ireland. Clare TD Cathal Crowe has formally corrected the Dáil record over his comments after significant criticism was levelled against him. During a speech in the Dáil on Wednesday on Gaza, Mr Crowe said the ongoing bombardment of Gaza and withholding of aid is the 'worst we have seen in our lifetime.' Mr Crowe then compared the actions of the Israeli Government to the actions of the British army in Ireland. '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,' Mr Crowe said. His comments were seized upon by Sinn Féin, with the party's Gaeltacht spokesperson Aengus Ó Snodaigh describing Mr Crowe's speech 'as appalling as it is untrue.' 'In his attempt to rewrite history, Teachta Crowe is erasing the countless victims of British state violence in Ireland, North and South, victims and families who continue to fight for justice to this day,' Mr Ó Snodaigh said. 'The conflict in the North of Ireland was defined by the brutal murder of civilians by the British army, from the Ballymurphy massacre to Bloody Sunday, not to mention when prisoners at Long Kesh were subjected to bombing with CR gas.' Mr Ó Snodaigh particularly highlighted the case of Seán Brown, a GAA official who was shot dead in 1997 by loyalist paramilitaries, calling for Mr Crowe to take up advocacy for his family and 'demand justice' rather than 'erasing their truth.' He called for Mr Crowe to make a full apology for his 'vicious lie' and formally correct the Dáil record. In his apology, Mr Crowe told the Dáil that he wanted to correct the official record and to 'apologise profusely to anyone that may have been offended by my comments.' Mr Crowe said he made his speech without a script and was speaking from a list 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 new 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.' Mr Crowe said he wanted to convey the 'huge disproportionality' in Israel's response to Gaza since the October 7 attack. He added that he had 'clumsily and wrongly stated' that British forces had never bombed or shot Irish civilians. '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,' Mr Crowe said. He added that it was a 'genuine slip-up' but still wrong, and he apologised 'profusely' and 'unequivocally.' Read More Independent TDs vote against Government to back Sinn Féin bill on Israeli government bonds
