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RTÉ News
3 days ago
- Politics
- RTÉ News
Fianna Fáil TD apologises over claim British army 'never retaliated' in Ireland
Fianna Fáil's Cathal Crowe has apologised after he "wrongly" stated that the British Army "never retaliated by bombing or shooting the civilian population of Ireland" during a Dáil debate on the war in Gaza. The Clare TD said he wanted to "clarify" remarks he made last night where he compared Israel's attacks in Gaza and the actions of British forces in Ireland. Mr Crowe criticised Israel's "eye-for-an-eye approach" in the aftermath of the Hamas-led 7 October 2023 attack on southern Israel, and added that the British Army never retaliated against civilians 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. However in a personal statement in the Dáil today, he said he wished to "correct the Dáil record and apologise profusely to anyone who may have been offended by my comments". Mr Crowe said he wanted to "convey the huge disproportionality the Israeli state has adopted" in Gaza since the 7 October attack. "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," he added. However, Mr Crowe said he got that comparison "wrong" while he was "speaking largely off the cuff". "I was speaking without a scripted speech and instead using a series of bullet points." Mr Crowe studied history in university and later went on to become a history teacher. He added that in 2020 he led a boycott of a planned State commemoration of the Royal Irish Constabulary. The Clare TD acknowledged that British forces "have been involved in many heinous attacks on Irish people historically" and that his family also "suffered at the hands of British military in the past". "My apology is to the victims of British state terror and atrocities. My apology is also to those who care about Irish history and the accuracy with which it should be conveyed." Last night, Sinn Féin's Aengus Ó Snodaigh called on Mr Crowe to apologise and correct the record, describing the statement as "appalling" and "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. Mr Ó Snodaigh also said the "Government is historically ignorant to the point of being offensive". Mr Crowe's apology also comes as - describing what is happening as "the genocidal activity of the Netanyahu government" and that there is "an act of evil going on".
The Journal
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Journal
Fianna Fáil TD claims in Dáil that British Army never shot civilians in Ireland
FIANNA FÁIL TD Cathal Crowe yesterday claimed in the Dáil that the British Army never bombed or shot civilians in Ireland. He made the remark during a Labour motion calling for the Irish government to bring an emergency resolution to the UN General Assembly, calling out the blockade of humanitarian aid in Gaza. The motion was co-signed by Sinn Féin, the Social Democrats, the Green Party and Independent TD Catherine Connolly, while the government did not oppose it. Speaking during the debate, Crowe remarked that while the 7 October 2023 should be condemned, the Israeli state has since adopted an 'indefensible eye-for-an-eye approach'. 'What is happening is not a war anymore; it is ethnic cleansing, genocide and, more recently, the weaponising of food,' said Crowe. He then added: '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.' The Journal / YouTube Crowe later said: 'I, too, studied history in college. The Israeli people have a very tragic history of their own. 'Looking at the CVs of several Cabinet ministers, they are children of survivors of the Holocaust. 'They should understand better than anyone what genocide, the loss of life, the weaponising of food and the killing of children involve. They do not.' Sinn Féin TD Aengus Ó Snodaigh TD has called on Crowe to apologise for the remarks and to 'correct the record' for his 'false' and 'appalling' remarks to the Dáil. 'I fear for what the schoolchildren he taught learned from this self-proclaimed 'passionate historian' if this is the level of ignorance and revisionism he displays as in elected office,' said Ó Snodaigh. 'In his attempt to rewrite history, 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.' Ó Snodaigh remarked that the Troubles were 'defined by the brutal murder of civilians by the British army, from the Ballymurphy massacre to Bloody Sunday '. Advertisement The Sinn Féin TD also pointed to the British forces opening fire on a GAA match in Croke Park on the Bloody Sunday of 1920, killing 14 people. Ó Snodaigh also said that the British forces 'went on to facilitate the bombings of 1974 which took the lives of people in Dublin and Monaghan'. A total of 34 people, including a full-term unborn child, were killed in three no-warning bombs across Dublin and Monaghan on 17 May, 1974. Operation Denton is investigating the activities of the Glenanne gang, which is suspected of being involved in the bombings. Head of the investigation Iain Livingstone told RTÉ last year that there was collusion between the gang and the British security services. This review was expected to be published by the end of April but is now due to be published at the end of October. 'Crowe made these comments in the context of the 'many centuries' of British activity in Ireland, apparently unaware of Oliver Cromwell and the thousands massacred in Drogheda and across the country,' said Ó Snodaigh. 'The historic parallels between British actions here and Israel's actions in Palestine might be difficult to understand for someone whose party seems comfortable celebrating William the Conqueror. 'It's probably time, however, for Fianna Fáil to drop the title of 'Republican Party' if they are unaware of the British ever shooting civilians in Ireland.' Ó Snodaigh called on Crowe to make a 'full apology to the victims of British violence specifically and to the wider Irish public'. 'I would also invite him to actually take up the cause of Seán Brown and all those killed by British forces and use his position to demand justice, rather than erasing their truth.' Séan Brown, 61, the then chairman of Wolfe Tones GAA Club in the Co Derry town of Bellaghy, was ambushed, kidnapped and murdered by loyalist paramilitaries as he locked the gates of the club in May 1997. No-one has ever been convicted of his killing. Preliminary inquest proceedings last year heard that in excess of 25 people had been linked by intelligence to the murder, including several state agents. It was also alleged in court that surveillance of a suspect in the murder was temporarily stopped on the evening of the killing, only to resume again the following morning. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
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
The Journal
20-05-2025
- Politics
- The Journal
Sinn Féin blasts 'offensive' Government plan to commemorate birth of William the Conqueror
A PLAN TO commemorate the first Norman king of England William the Conqueror 1,000 years on from his birth has been met with dismay from Sinn Féin. Describing the announcement as 'offensive', Sinn Féin TD Aengus Ó Snodaigh said it beggared belief given the 'legacy of William's successors invading and subjugating Ireland in the name of his English crown', with the Normans responsible for '900 years of occupation' in Ireland. The plan was announced today by Housing and Heritage Minister James Browne, who said the Normans 'left their mark in monumental ways' as he announced that organisations can now submit projects for the 2027 commemoration. The Normans, who landed in Wexford's Bannow Bay in 1169, were responsible for the foundation of many Irish towns and the 'European Year of the Normans' proposes exhibitions, live performances, cross-border artistic residencies, re-enactments, student exchanges and more. However, Ó Snodaigh slammed Browne's plan as amounting to 'scraping the barrel of colonialism, imperialism and English royalism' for the sake of 'themed tourism'. While Ó Snodaigh said we should 'take pride in the rich architectural, cultural, and literary heritage' of Anglo-Norman Ireland, the party draws the line at focusing the commemoration around England's first Norman king. In a statement tonight, the Dublin South Central TD referred back to Fine Gael's aborted 2020 plan to mark the Black and Tans. Advertisement 'Only a short time has passed since Fine Gael tried to commemorate the Black and Tans, and now Fianna Fáil is trying to go further by dedicating an entire year in celebration of 1,000 years since the birth of William the Conqueror,' said Ó Snodaigh, who is the party's spokesperson for Gaeilge, Gaeltacht, Arts and Culture. What will they think of next: A Festival of Cromwell? A Famine Queen Jubilee? Ó Snodaigh said that William himself was a 'foreign king who never set foot in Ireland, and had nothing to do with Ireland,' but in spite of this his birth will be 'given a higher honour than bestowed by an Irish Government on any figure from Gaelic Irish history'. He blasted the government for letting recent anniversaries pass by 'with little more than a whimper', referencing the recent 1500th anniversary of the birth of Ireland's patron saint Colmcille. Similarly, Ó Snodaigh said the '900th anniversary of the founding of the first settlement of Galway by the legendary High King Toirdhealbhach Mór Ua Conchobhair' went unmarked 'officially by any organ of the State'. 'The website of the Normandy region behind the Millenium celebrations clearly states that 2027 was chosen as the year of 'Normans, People of Europe' to mark the millennium of the birth of William the Conqueror,' Ó Snodaigh said. He accepted that there was a plan for tourism behind the commemoration plan, but said that celebrating England's William the Conqueror is simply a 'step too far'. 'This is not a commemoration for Ireland. Marking the birth of a future English king is not for us, even if it was 1,000 years ago. Rather we should always be remembering those great figures of Ireland's past who actually lived here and contributed positively to our island story, celebrating our Irish history and identity, and the links that stretch before the Norman invasion: the Gaels' place in Europe.' The Dublin TD pointed to 'brave Irish heroes of Norman descent' who rebelled against England, listing out the Desmond Rebellion of the 1360s through to 'United Irishman Lord Edward Fitzgerald, in whose Leinster House our Dáil now meets'. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
