Fianna Fáil TD Cathal Crowe has apologised in the Dáil to “the victims of British terror and atrocities” over remarks he made during a debate on Gaza.
In a personal statement the Clare TD corrected the record over remarks he made in a comparison between Israeli attacks on Gaza and the British army’s actions in Ireland over centuries.
He said in the Dáil that the British army never retaliated to IRA attacks by “bombing and shooting the civilian population of Ireland”.
[ Four killed as crowds of Palestinians storm UN warehouse in search for foodOpens in new window ]
Mr Crowe said he wanted to apologise “profusely” to “the victims of British terror and atrocities. My apology is also to those of you who care about Irish history and the accuracy with which it should be conveyed.”
Midway through his interview with Brendan O’Connor, Bono confesses
Summer 2025: 100 great restaurants, cafes and places to eat around Ireland
Homes in Kildare affordable housing scheme above price limit for State-backed mortgages
Cáit O’Riordan: ‘I quit the Pogues at 21. I got sober ... didn’t see Shane much’
During debate on a Labour Party motion calling for a UN peacekeeping force to be deployed to Gaza he described the Israeli “eye for an eye” approach to the “reprehensible Hamas attack” as no longer war but “ethnic cleansing” and “genocide”.
Mr Crowe said in his personal statement that he wanted to “convey the magnitude and the visceral hatred which has been behind the Israel Defense Forces’ actions in Gaza”.
“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”.
But “regrettably, speaking largely off the cuff I clumsily and wrongly stated ‘they never retaliated by bombing and shooting the civilian population of Ireland’.”
He said: “It was a genuine slip-up on my part, but it was wrong and I wish to today unequivocally and profusely apologise.”
A former history teacher, he said he led a boycott to oppose a planned state commemoration of the Royal Irish Constabulary.
Mr Crowe said the British armed forces “have been involved in many heinous attacks on Irish people historically” and his own family “also suffered at the hands in the past of the British military”.
Later Tánaiste Simon Harris rejected claims the Government is not doing enough for the people of Palestine.
He hit out at Independent TD Catherine Connolly, accusing her of “just throwing brickbats at me” while “we’re working to support the people of Palestine”.
Mr Harris said the Government would bring the Occupied Territories Bill to the Foreign Affairs committee next month and “we’re going to pass it as quickly” as possible.
During finance questions, Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe accused Sinn Féin finance spokesman Pearse Doherty of “thuggish” behaviour as Mr Doherty claimed the Minister’s response to legislation to prevent the bank having any involvement in Israeli bonds was “pathetic”.
Increasing pressure on the Government follows the vote on Wednesday night when two Government-supporting Independents, Barry Heneghan and Gillian Toole, backed Sinn Féin’s Bill to prohibit the Bank’s involvement which was defeated by 87 to 75 votes.
During Leaders’ Questions Ms Connolly called for the Government “to lead” and said “you’re waiting for a morally corrupt and inept EU to take action. They’re the second biggest supplier of arms to the genocide.”
In heated exchanges she said “it is time for us to reflect, to stop the cognitive dissonance where we praise ourselves for taking the best action in relation to Palestine” and ask why an independent sovereign state buys into a narrative “that is utterly false in relation to Israeli forbearance”.
Mr Harris said Ms Connolly could not rise above her “visceral” dislike of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to accept “we are the first Government in the European Union to say what Israel is doing is genocide”.
