Irish government climbdown after police commemoration backlash

Due to take place next week at Dublin Castle, the event was described by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar as a “commemoration ... not a celebration” of the hundreds of men who died in the years preceding partition.

“It’s about remembering our history, not condoning what happened,” he said on Tuesday morning in response to the fierce backlash from republicans.

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin described the event as an “error in judgment” that had caused “unnecessary controversy,” while Sinn Fein branded the commemoration “an insult to those who fought for Irish freedom”.

Confirming the cancellation on Tuesday night, Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan said: “I know that, regrettably, this decision will be a cause of hurt and upset to many people. As a next step, I will consult further ... with a view to organising an event that is inclusive and fully respectful of all the traditions and memories on this island.”

Former police officers on both sides of the Irish border have expressed disappointment at widespread opposition to what they viewed as an important milestone in the reconciliation process.

Members of the Dublin Metropolitan Police (DMP) who lost their lives were also to be commemorated.

Stephen White, chairman of the RUC George Cross Foundation, said: “I find it disappointing, that in a post-conflict situation, there are those who appear not to be able to recognise that the individuals concerned were simply police officers doing their duty.”

The former assistant chief constable added: “It is a shame that in this day and age there are still people who want to politicise the sacrifice of ordinary men and women.”

Gerry Lovett of the RIC and DMP Commemoration Committee, a retired Garda officer, said the backlash was a “great disappointment” considering that “Angela Merkel and French President Macron can stand side by side and commemorate the dead of France and Germany”.

TUV leader Jim Allister said: “The climbdown by the Dublin government over commemorating the RIC is a telling signal to unionists as to how they and their history would be treated in an all-Ireland.”

Mr Allister added: “If a predominantly Roman Catholic state police force from the south is so vilified by republican agitators, in a supposedly enlightened and modern state, that its government toadies to such bigotry, we can all imagine how unionist culture and traditions would fare in such a republican Utopia.”

In a Twitter post, DUP MP Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said branded the decision a “retrograde step,” and added: “We managed to get through the WW1 centenary, Somme and Easter Rising centenaries without this happening. Clearly there is a long way to go on reconciliation when we can’t even agree to commemorate those who died on either side 100 years ago without this.”

Ulster Unionist MLA Doug Beattie tweeted: “I think this is a real shame & throws up questions about how unionists would be welcomed in any UI (United Ireland).”

Mr Beattie’s party leader Steve Aiken later issued a statement, expressing disappointment at what he called the “deeply regrettable” comments made by Fianna Fail and Sinn Fein representatives.

“Describing members of the Royal Irish Constabulary as ‘colonialists’ and ‘oppressors’ when the vast majority of these men came from the island of Ireland, and served their communities with dedication, is an insult to their memory and their descendants.

“These types of comments do nothing to build reconciliation and demonstrate that some elements of society with the Republic of Ireland remain openly hostile to the British identity or those perceived to be associated with it.”