Senator ‘proud’ of British Army service hits back at Twitter trolls

Galway independent senator Gerard Craughwell was forced out of the Royal Irish Rangers in 1974 by a campaign of death threats against his family.

His military service was highlighted when he stood for election 2014 and he has faced a campaign of harassment on social media since then – including a number of messages on Friday denouncing the track record of the British Army while praising the republicans who “resisted imperialism”.

In the face of a tirade of abuse, Mr Craughwell gave a robust defence of his military service, responding to one tweet with the retort: “This resistance you speak of is that where a gunman shoots from behind a crowd and kills a young journalist.”

He also hit back saying: “Those who condemn British forces, who clearly committed some atrocities, should remember despite your best efforts you cannot airbrush out the atrocities on the Republican side. Ever stopped to think how Jean McConville felt being marched to her execution?”

Mr Craughwell spent five years in the Royal Irish Rangers before returning home to join the Irish Defence Forces.

“I was forced out in 1974 when my family were getting threats morning, noon and night. So I left and came home,” he said.

“I come from a family of 11 and it was unfair to put my family under that pressure. They went through three to six months of hell with threats coming late at night and in the middle of the night.

“There were messages that I had been shot, and other messages that I was going to be shot.”

Commenting on the Twitter abuse, 65-year-old Mr Craughwell told the News Letter: “They need to get over themselves.

“I work with the Sinn Fein representatives on the Senate and I work very well with them.

“I would also have relationships with some of my former colleagues in the Royal Irish Rangers, and the week before last I was in Ballymoney for the launch of a book on the history of the Royal British Legion. Then in Coleraine they unveiled a monument to the Ulster Defence Regiment which I attended.”

One of Mr Craughwell’s Twitter posts on Friday said: “Let’s set the record straight. I joined the Royal Irish Rangers and served with Irish men North & South, Protestant & Catholic unionist & republican. I served with pride until I was forced to leave due to threats on my life.”