Fianna Fáil TD apologises for inaccurate Dáil claim about British army actions in Ireland

Cathal Crowe says he misspoke during a debate on Gaza, formally correcting Dáil record after strong criticism

Clare TD Cathal Crowe has formally corrected the Dáil record over his comments after significant criticism was levelled against him. Picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins

A Fianna Fáil TD has apologised for claiming in the Dáil yesterday that no British soldiers had ever shot or bombed the civilian population of Ireland.

Clare TD Cathal Crowe has formally corrected the Dáil record over his comments after significant criticism was levelled against him.

During a speech in the Dáil on Wednesday on Gaza, Mr Crowe said the ongoing bombardment of Gaza and withholding of aid is the “worst we have seen in our lifetime.”

Mr Crowe then compared the actions of the Israeli Government to the actions of the British army in Ireland.

“The British army was a bad actor on this island for many centuries but even in the worst of days, when its cities were being bombed by the terror organisations of the IRA, it never retaliated by bombing and shooting the civilian population of Ireland,” Mr Crowe said.

His comments were seized upon by Sinn Féin, with the party’s Gaeltacht spokesperson Aengus Ó Snodaigh describing Mr Crowe’s speech “as appalling as it is untrue.”

“In his attempt to rewrite history, Teachta Crowe is erasing the countless victims of British state violence in Ireland, North and South, victims and families who continue to fight for justice to this day,” Mr Ó Snodaigh said.

“The conflict in the North of Ireland was defined by the brutal murder of civilians by the British army, from the Ballymurphy massacre to Bloody Sunday, not to mention when prisoners at Long Kesh were subjected to bombing with CR gas.” 

Mr Ó Snodaigh particularly highlighted the case of Seán Brown, a GAA official who was shot dead in 1997 by loyalist paramilitaries, calling for Mr Crowe to take up advocacy for his family and “demand justice” rather than “erasing their truth.” 

What's your view on this issue?

You can tell us here

He called for Mr Crowe to make a full apology for his “vicious lie” and formally correct the Dáil record.

In his apology, Mr Crowe told the Dáil that he wanted to correct the official record and to “apologise profusely to anyone that may have been offended by my comments.” 

Mr Crowe said he made his speech without a script and was speaking from a list of bullet points.

“I began by stating that the Israeli eye for an eye approach has been reprehensible and that the bombing of hospitals, schools and tents alongside the killing of babies, including many new newborn babies in hospitals, amounts to genocide and ethnic cleansing.

“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.” 

Mr Crowe said he wanted to convey the “huge disproportionality” in Israel's response to Gaza since the October 7 attack.

He added that he had “clumsily and wrongly stated” that British forces had never bombed or shot Irish civilians.

“Let me be very clear, it was not my intention to say this, and I didn’t realise how woeful all of that sounded until late last night when I received the transcript of what I had actually said,” Mr Crowe said.

He added that it was a “genuine slip-up” but still wrong, and he apologised “profusely” and “unequivocally.”