‘IT’S FINE HE BROKE RULES ...WE DID IT OURSELVES!’
KERRY TDs have come out in defence of local Deputy Pa Daly who admitted to breaking the Covid-19 travel restrictions to attend the funeral of a ‘close’ friend.
The Sinn Féin TD, from Tralee, confessed to travelling 60km each way to attend the funeral of Sinn Féin activist Seán Máirtín Bácéir in Dingle last week.
Independent TD Danny HealyRae last night said his colleague had done ‘nothing wrong’ and admitted he himself had attended more than ten funerals since the lockdown began, many more than 50km away.
Deputy Daly told Kerry’s Eye newspaper that he broke Covid travel rules to attend the funeral and helped carry the coffin from the hearse to the graveyard out of ‘respect’ to the grieving family. Mr Bácéir died tragically when he fell off a ladder at his home in Ballydavid, West Kerry.
Under the coronavirus opandemic regulations, a person is not permitted to ‘leave his or her place of residence without reasonable excuse’.
Carried the coffin out of respect
A reasonable excuse includes attending the funeral of a family member or somebody who lives in the same house as you.
The funeral took place on Friday morning in Carrig Church before the burial in Milltown Cemetery in Dingle, according to a notice posted on RIP.ie.
In a statement issued to Kerry’s Eye, Mr Daly wrote: ‘I can confirm that I did attend the funeral of Seán Máirtín Bácéir on Friday last and I did help carry his coffin from the hearse into the graveyard. I did this out of the respect that I had for Seán Máirtín and his family.’
Former Sinn Féin TD Martin Ferris was also a coffin bearer.
Deputy Daly did not respond when contacted by the Irish Daily Mail, but a source close to him said it was ‘inappropriate’ for him to do so because the family was still grieving.
It is understood Mr Bácéir canvassed for Pa Daly and Martin Ferris for many years.
Independent Kerry TD Danny Healy-Rae insisted that Mr Daly did ‘nothing wrong’ and confessed to the Mail that he has broken the travel restrictions to attend funerals over ten times.
‘I don’t blame Pa. He did nothing wrong. I have to say, I have done so myself in recent weeks.
‘I didn’t go into the church. I just blessed myself when the coffin was passing.
‘I have gone further than 50km. I had to go to one outside of the county [Kerry]. I would have attended more than ten since the lockdown began. I would go to more of them if I could.’
Michael Healy-Rae said it would have been disrespectful for Pa Daly to refuse to carry Mr Bácéir’s coffin.
‘If a person is a very close friend and they are asked by the family to be involved in a funeral service – sure there is nothing wrong with that,’ he said.
Fianna Fáil TD for LongfordWestmeath Joe Flaherty said people are struggling to grieve adequately under restrictions.
Mr Flaherty was one of around 100 mourners who stood in a guard of honour for 96-year-old Longford man Ned McEvoy last month. Mr Flaherty called for ‘common sense’ reforms to the guidelines as some churches had enough room to host more than ten people while maintaining adequate social distancing.
‘It’s difficult to ease restrictions, every church is different but common sense has to be used… the cathedral in Longford could hold up to 1,000 people. Putting ten people in there is a drop in the ocean,’ he said.
Yesterday in the Dáil, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin said it was clear people were increasingly breaking the Covid restrictions. ‘In a number of communities we are seeing restrictions being broken,’ he said.
The Gardaí did not comment on whether they had the power
‘Common sense has to be used’
to investigate people who have publicly declared they have broken the travel restrictions.
A spokesman said: ‘The COVID-19 Pandemic remains a public health crisis and An Garda Síochána continues to appeal to all citizens to comply with Public Health Regulations and Guidelines...’
SF failed to respond to our questions relating to Pa Daly.
Last week, the Mail reported the Church of the Guardian Angels in Blackrock, Co. Dublin, allowed people attend daily Mass.