FINE GAEL PLAN ON RIC INSULTING, ILL-JUDGED
REFLECTS ON THE CLIMBDOWN BY FINE GAEL OVER ITS PLANS TO COMMEMORATE THE RIC
It was as much insulting as it was embarrassing the Government’s plans to hold a commemoration event for the RIC and the Dublin Metropolitan Police force this week.
It should never have been mooted in the first place and the general public along with the vast majority of politicians lashed the idea from the very start. The justification of the event, which hopefully will never take place, was cringe worthy, right up to the last minute.
It now appears that Justice Minister Charles Flanagan and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar were the prime movers behind the planned commemoration, a ceremony to have taken place at Dublin Castle.
The whole charade began to unravel when invited public representatives started rejecting invites. Sligo County Council Cathaoirleach, Tom MacSharry said he did not wish to be associated “with any event that would indirectly commemorate the actions of the Black and Tans.”
It began to snowball early on Tuesday last when junior ministers such as Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran said he wasn’t going to take part and later in the day it became clear that the historians, tasked with coming up with ideas to celebrate the centenary of various events leading from the 1916 Rising through to the War of Independence had never suggested a event but had merely said an academic conference might be enough.
Historian Professor Diarmaid Ferriter said the expert advisory group on commemorations never suggested there should be a State event for the Royal Irish Constabulary and the Dublin Metropolitan Police.
“What we had in mind was an academic event - a conference or seminar - that would look at the issue of policing in Ireland during the revolutionary period, including the role of and disbandment of the RIC and the foundation of the Civic Guard, which became An Garda Síochána.”
He said the advisory group “should not be used by the Government as a mudguard to provide cover for itself when it receives negative reaction to its solo runs in relation to commemoration.
That Fine Gael decided to run with a public commemoration ceremony for a police force that plundered many villages and towns in the country, tales of which were handed down through generations, just beggars belief.
We surely have a right as Irish people to decide what aspects of our history we wish to remember in a public way and the RIC and Black and Tans will never find favour in that regard.
The Black and Tans were an auxiliary police force set up by the British in 1920 made up of ex-soldiers. Officially called the “RIC Reserve,” their black tunics and khaki trousers earned them their name after a pack of foxhounds in Co Limerick. They often operated independently of the RIC and became a byword for terror and atrocities inflaming public opinion.
Another police back-up force, the Auxiliaries, began in July 1920, smaller than the Black and Tans and styled as more elite comprising ex-army officers. They too often acted independently or with the Black and Tans and became similarly reviled for their criminal acts. The RIC was disbanded in 1922 and the DMP merged with An Garda Siochana in 1925.
How more out of touch could Varadkar and Flanagan be, that they seriously expected the public to accept an event to remember the men who committed crimes against Irish men, women and children?
Instead of gracefully admitting they got it completely wrong they have been critical of those who opposed the idea and now say it is being merely postponed. It should be cancelled and never ever be talked about again. Such an own goal for a Fine Gael party facing into a general election. Varadkar even has the audacity in the face of immense public criticism to suggest the public’s reaction had set back Irish unity.
Local senator and Fine Gael general election candidate, Frank Feighan says he regrets the event is not going ahead but is very definitely in a minority with this opinion.
Sinn Féin TD for Sligo-Leitrim Martin Kenny said he noted the tone of the Minister for Justice’s statement and the use of the word “postpone”, which suggests that this event will take place at a time in the future.
“The RIC and the Black and Tans were a repressive force in this country and the people of this nation do not want to commemorate or honour them. It is an embarrassment to suggest that we should. If anyone who had an ancestor in one of these repressive forces wants to remember them or pay their respects in any personal way, it is totally appropriate for them to do so. However, the RIC and the DMP served the British on this island and if they are to be commemorated as a force, then the British can do it.
“Charlie Flanagan should be aware that if he wants to commemorate them, he is not doing in my name or in the name of the Irish people,” said Deputy Kenny who is party’s justice spokesperson. He criticised the Taoiseach saying: “It is a ludicrous suggestion that the achievement of a united Ireland and the commemoration of the RIC and DMP are connected.
“The Taoiseach is showing, not for the first time this week, that he is out of touch with public opinion. Support for Irish unity is growing day by day as people realise that the next chapter of our history is unification.”
Minister Flanagan said “given the disappointing response of some” to the planned event on 17 th January, he believed it could not now take place in “an atmosphere that meets the goals and guiding principles of the overall commemorative programme.”
“I know that, regrettably, this decision will be a cause of hurt and upset to many people. I commit to proceeding with an alternative commemoration in the months ahead.
“It has always been clear that the later period of the commemorative programme, including the War of Independence, the Anglo-Irish Treaty, partition and the foundation of Northern Ireland and the Civil War, would be particularly challenging.”
The point the Minister is missing is that no one minds commemorating our past but there just cannot be a public event to recall what was an appalling part of our history. And, he was completely out of order to attack those who wanted nothing to do with the event.
Minister Flanagan spoke of there being a “modest and solemn commemoration on 17 January” “There is no question but that there are very real sensitivities involved here. I acknowledge that. But there are sensitivities on both sides. The RIC has found itself on the wrong side of history.
“The intolerance that was often characteristic of Ireland in the past sometimes forced people to deny their own family histories and airbrush parents, grandparents and siblings out of the picture for doing no more than serving as an army officer or police officer to support their families. It should be noted that the vast majority of Irish people who served as army and police officers did so with honour and integrity.
“That is why it is disappointing to see some public representatives abandon the principles of mutual understanding and reconciliation in an effort to gain headlines.
“This attitude, combined with a distortion of the nature of the commemoration, is ill becoming of any public representative and represents a step backwards to a more narrow-minded past characterized by a hierarchy of Irishness.”
The Minister’s judgement was completely off the rails and he should not be blaming others for this debacle. He should not be insulting the intelligence of the public who know full well the history of the RIC and the Black and Tans.
As Minister Moran stated: ““We are at a very sensitive period in our historic 100 year anniversaries and the planned commemoration of members who served in the RIC and the Dublin Metropolitan Police (DMP) prior to independence while being led by good intentions, has failed to recognise the deep-seated feelings surrounding the force.
“We must respect the sincerely held feelings of people on the matter and note the historical record of how policing was carried out in the State from when the RIC was formed in 1836 and which ultimately led to the declaration in April 1919 by Dáil Éireann to boycott the police service.”
“I believe it would be wrong that this difficult period of Irish history that we are about to commemorate and which led to our independence to ignore the firmly held convictions by the general public.”
And, local councillor Declan was more forthright in his opinion. “Anyone with even the scantiest knowledge of Irish history will know that following the establishment of the First Dail and the declaration of independence, the R.I.C. acted as a force of traitors and was responsible for maintaining martial law and for arresting and imprisoning without trail political activists who were opposed to British rule in Ireland.
“Popular resistance to R.I.C. repression was evident throughout the country. Indeed by September 1920 only eight of the thirty-four R.I.C. barracks in county Sligo remained in use.
“The R.I.C. special reserve later known as the Black and Tans was responsible for countless murders and atrocities They terrorised communities and burned and sacked many small towns and villages.
“Here in Sligo the R.I.C. was responsible for destroying creameries, halls, stores and shops in many parts of the county.
“On the 21st of November 1921 the R.I.C. shot dead 13 unarmed civilians and wounded 60 others who were attending a GAA match in Croke Park.” Cllr Bree also pointed out that RIC members murdered the Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Tomas Mac Curtain in March 1920.
The Expert Advisory Group on Centenary Commemoration has been guiding the Decade of Centenaries for over seven years. The second phase of the Decade of Centenaries, covers the period 2018-2023. The group is made up of Dr. Maurice Manning, Chairperson; Dr. Martin Mansergh, Vice- Chairperson; Prof. Mary Daly; Mr. Francis Devine; Prof. Diarmuid Ferriter; Dr. Leeann Lane; Dr. Sinéad McCoole; Prof. Eunan O’Halpin; Dr. Eamon Phoenix; Mr. Gabriel Doherty and Dr. Mary Harris.