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Irish Independent
29-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Independent
‘A genuine slip-up' – Cathal Crowe apologises after claiming the British Army never bombed or shot civilians in Ireland
Cathal Crowe, from Clare, shocked Deputies when he made the remark – adding immediately afterwards that he was something of a historian – during a discussion of the Israeli army's activities in Gaza. Today, Mr Crowne apologised to 'the victims of British terror and atrocities' in the Dáil. He said he wanted to correct the record over the remarks. "My apology is also to those of you who care about Irish history and the accuracy with which it should be conveyed,' he said in a personal statement. 'I 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. 'Regrettably, speaking largely off the cuff I clumsily and wrongly stated that 'they never retaliated by bombing and 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 was 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 today unequivocally and profusely apologise." The British army 'has been involved in many heinous attacks on Irish people historically', he said. His own family 'also suffered at the hands in the past of the British military', he added, referring to atrocities in Clare during the War of Independence. Mr Crowe said: 'My apology is to the victims of British terror and atrocities. My apology is also to those of you who care about Irish history and the accuracy with which it should be conveyed.' He is a former history teacher, and previously called for a boycott to oppose former Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan's efforts to commemorate the Royal Irish Constabulary. The event caused and outcry and was soon scrapped.
Irish Examiner
23-05-2025
- Irish Examiner
Canadian prime minister's grandfather was one of the first men to join gardaí
One of the country's leading historians and genealogists has discovered the new Canadian prime minister's grandfather was one of the first men to join the Garda force when it was established in 1922. Jim Herlihy, a former garda who has written many groundbreaking books on that force and its predecessor the RIC (Royal Irish Constabulary), said his research shows Canadian PM Mark Carney's grandfather, Robert, was born in Aille, Aughagower, Co Mayo on June 12, 1902, and that had joined the Garda at the age of 19. 'He was the 87th man to join the then 'civic guards' when he signed on in February 1922,' Mr Herlihy said. Robert was the son of Patrick Carney (1859-1938) and Bridget Moran (1856-1911) who lived in Aughagower. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's Mayo connections are extremely solid. File photo: Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP 'Robert emigrated from Belfast to Quebec, Canada on the Canadian Pacific ship 'Montnairn' (Ticket no.16356) on July 18, 1925,' Mr Herlihy said. HISTORY HUB If you are interested in this article then no doubt you will enjoy exploring the various history collections and content in our history hub. Check it out HERE and happy reading Robert married firstly Eleanor Moran (1894-1961) from Mace, Westport, Co Mayo on April 28, 1926, in Vancouver. His second marriage was to Edith Palfreyman (1906-1984) also in Vancouver. She was also from Westport. Mr Herlihy's research shows Robert was listed as a 'Steam Railway Policeman' in Vancouver 1931 Census and he then went on to join the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, more famously known as 'The Mounties'. Robert Carney's name at the bottom of the passenger list for the Canadian Pacific ship 'Montnairn' (Ticket no.16356) on July 18, 1925. 'Robert died on December 4, 1977 in Vancouver and is buried in the city's Saint Peter's Roman Catholic Cemetery and his son, Robert James Martin Carney, (Nov 3, 1933 – Dec 9, 2009) was Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's father,' Mr Herlihy added. Mr Herlihy revealed some years ago who instigated the infamous 1920 'Burning of Cork' which at the time is estimated to have caused £2m worth of damage and put 2,000 people out of jobs. He reviewed letters written by British cadet officer Charlie Schulze, in which he confirmed that he had led his colleagues in K Company to set fire to buildings in retaliation for an earlier IRA ambush on 20 British Auxiliaries at Dillon's Cross. Ironically, Schulze's father had fought for the Germans against the British in the First World War. Garda Robert Carney's grave. Mark Carney's Mayo connections are extremely solid and he's the first cousin of Pat Carney, father of Tom Carney, who operates Carney's Quarry in Aughagower. Mr Carney has never visited Aghagower, although his father did around 40 years ago. But it's hoped that the new Canadian PM will make an official visit there in due course. A number of previous American presidents with Irish roots have 'come home' to see their ancestral past. They include John F Kennedy (1963 to ancestral home in New Ross, Co Wexford); Richard Nixon (1970 to Timahoe, Co Laois); Ronald Reagan (1984 to Ballyporeen, Co Tipperary); Barack Obama (2011 to Moneygall, Co Offaly) and most recently Joe Biden (April 2023 who has relatives, the Blewitts from Co Mayo and Finnegans from Co Louth). It is yet unclear if Mr Carney will attend the 40th anniversary of the Air India disaster which claimed the lives of all 329 passengers and crew onboard when a bomb exploded on the aircraft off the Cork coast. However, he is expected to be invited to the special commemoration by Irish authorities which will take place on June 23 at a memorial listing all the dead at Ahakista, which is the nearest point in West Cork to the crash site. The Boeing 747 was blown up by Sikh separatists as it was travelling from Canada to Delhi, India. In 2005, then Canadian prime minister Paul Martin attended the annual memorial service in Ahakista. The same day, his country declared June 23 would be recoginised as Canada's National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism. Read More Clodagh Finn: Lessons in the extraordinary power of forgiveness
Irish Independent
27-04-2025
- Irish Independent
Obituary: Cyril Jones, Miltown Malbay grocery owner who was fascinated by local and aviation history
Jones was born in 1936 on the town's Church Street. In 2020, he quietly unveiled a plaque to mark the centenary of the destruction of his family's home by the Black and Tans and the Royal Irish Constabulary auxiliaries on September 22, 1920. The combined force had been coming for his father, John 'Jackie' Jones, who was the IRA's local head of intelligence, and a close friend of Ignatius O'Neill, in retribution for the Rineen ambush led by O'Neill earlier that day just north of Miltown. The ambush on an RIC lorry killed five RIC constables and a Black and Tan. Hours later, shots were fired into the Jones's house, lodging a bullet into the kitchen table. Fleeing into the back fields, the Jones family then watched as their home and business was burned down. The family began rebuilding in 1923 and Jones kept a six-inch-long piece of timber from the rescued kitchen table to show history enthusiasts and display during memorials. In January 2020, Jones came out in support of a decision by then mayor of Clare, Cathal Crowe of Fianna Fáil, to boycott a national commemoration service for the RIC that had been due to take place that month at Dublin Castle. The event was eventually dropped. Jones was educated at St Flannan's College in Ennis. After boarding school, he joined the family business. In a 2019 book he wrote with his wife Patsy, called Lovely Old Miltown Malbay, Jones recalled an 'illegal' jaunt with his shopkeeper father during the 'Emergency' to buy wheat in Kilkenny, due to shortages in Miltown; the pair kept on minor roads to avoid detection. The cargo facility on the west Clare railway proved a boon for the Jones business, until the railway's closure in 1961. The family had a yard off Miltown's Main Street that it once used to distribute Guinness, tea and coal to the entire region. After marrying Patsy Burke, whose own family run the Armada Hotel in nearby Spanish Point, Jones took over the family business. A lifelong pioneer, he ditched the bar to focus fully on developing the grocery business. In the 1960s, he linked up with Musgraves to join the fledgling VG retail group, eventually turning it into a SuperValu store. His son John and daughter-in-law Claire moved the grocery business to a large greenfield site in 2013. Jones is also remembered for his success on the field — he was a sub for the Clare minor football team that reached the All-Ireland final in 1953 and played senior football for Clare from 1956 to 1963. He was a leading Clare goalkeeper and won titles with St Joseph's Miltown GAA Club, including the 1959 Clare senior football championship. ADVERTISEMENT Learn more After retiring from the sport, he moved on to coaching and managing Miltown and Clare. He spent six years successfully campaigning for the introduction of smaller goals and pitches for Clare underage teams in the 1980s and roped in Pat Spillane in a campaign for a coaching course. At his funeral, his local club gave Jones a guard of honour as his coffin was brought down Church Street. 'As a mentor, Cyril guided underage teams with an in-depth knowledge of the game allied to a determination to improve each and every player he coached, his quiet unassuming character creating bonds with his players that have stood the test of time and added greatly to the character of our club,' St Joseph's said in a statement. Jones's son John took over the reins of the grocery business in the 1990s. Cyril started researching wartime plane landings and crash-landings in west Clare, seeking out eyewitness accounts. In the book he co-wrote with his wife, Jones recalled being at the scene in April 1945 when a Canadian pilot, who had run low on fuel, crash-landed a spitfire outside the town. The pilot was taken to the local garda barracks, where he was given a welcome meal by the wife of a local garda. Fifty years later, Jones tracked down the pilot and exchanged letters with him. This fascination with wartime aviation prompted him to learn how to fly and he secured a private pilot's licence at the age of 50. In 1991, he was a co-founder of the Spanish Point Flying Club. Until his death, Jones was often to be found on the SuperValu floor, where visitors and locals alike would seek him about to find out more about their ancestral homesteads and local heritage. While fighting prostate cancer, he set about replacing the cast-iron street signs in the traditional Irish script — known as cló Gaelach — that had gone missing since the Gaelic League erected them at the turn of the 20th century. Cyril Jones died peacefully at home on April 3, surrounded by his family and under the care of Milford Care Centre. He is survived his wife Patsy, son John, daughters Majella and Sinéad, brother Brendan, eight grandchildren, his daughter-in-law Claire and sons-in-law Matt and John. Funeral-goers noted Jones had died the same day and at the same age as Kerry GAA great Mick O'Dwyer, who he once faced on the field.
