Parties clash over patriots’ funeral date

A row has erupted over the timing of a state funeral for 10 Irish patriots executed by the British for their part in the War of Independence 80 years ago.

Labour Party leader Ruairi Quinn described the choice of October 14 for the ceremony, the same weekend as Taoiseach Bertie Ahern’s Fianna Fail party is holding its annual conference, as a ‘‘distasteful piece of political opportunism’’.