No Bloody Sunday ceremony at Croker

THERE are no plans by the Irish or British governments for a ceremonial gesture to mark Bloody Sunday before the Six Nations rugby international between Ireland and England on February 24, it was confirmed yesterday.

Speculation had mounted that Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain might take part in an event to mark the November 21, 1920 atrocity at Croke Park.

A British government spokesman said yesterday: “There is no ceremonial gesture being considered by the Irish and British governments in the context of the forthcoming Six Nations international between Ireland and England at Croke Park.”

Last weekend, Ireland hosted France in the first-ever rugby match at the 80,000-seater venue. The encounter ended with Les Bleus winning 20-17, ending Ireland’s hopes of a first Grand Slam since 1948.

The historic game went ahead after the GAA’s Rule 42 ban on so-called foreign sports such as soccer and rugby being played at the headquarters of the GAA was lifted in 2005.

The Ireland rugby team needed an alternative venue as their traditional Lansdowne Road home was due for redevelopment, opening up the possibility that the side could be forced to play their home matches abroad.

The Bloody Sunday atrocity followed the assassination of 14 British intelligence officers in Dublin on the orders of the IRA leader, Michael Collins.

In a revenge attack during a Dublin versus Tipperary football game, British troops opened fire on the crowd at the stadium, injuring hundreds and killing 14 civilians, including Tipperary captain, Michael Hogan.

Yesterday, Northern Ireland Democratic Unionist Party MP, Sammy Wilson, said it would be foolish for Mr Hain to apologise for the Croke Park attacks without demanding a quid pro quo from the Irish Government over the killings which preceded it.

“Has he demanded any apology for the murder of the British soldiers immediately before the Croke Park incident? A lot of people who were behind and supported those murders of the soldiers later became members of the Irish Government,” he said.

“So if he is going to apologise, it is going to have to be even-handed, with the Irish Government apologising to the families of those soldiers — some of whom were hauled out of their beds to be gunned down.”

The redevelopment of the ageing Lansdowne Road stadium means that the Republic of Ireland will play Euro 2008 football qualifiers at Croke Park in coming weeks.

Republican Sinn Féin, which broke away from the Sinn Féin party in 1986, has already said it will stage a demonstration outside the stadium when the English play Ireland.