Mountbatten anniversary and apology
Senator Mary Ann O’Brien commemorates the 1979 murders of Lord Mountbatten and others and asks whether the Taoiseach will meet Prince Charles and offer an apology. Senators debate whether the State should apologise for the IRA’s actions, with Senator Mooney insisting it should instead condemn them.
Violence, evil, cruelty, terrorism, murder and destruction of human life are the words I think of when I recall the events of the bank holiday weekend in 1979 when a grandfather who was holidaying in Ireland and treating his children to a boat trip to fish in the afternoon was brutally murdered. The rest is tragic history. Lord Louis Mountbatten, his grandson Nicholas Knatchbull, Doreen Brabourne and a local boy, Paul Maxwell, were all murdered when their boat was blown up. Forgiveness, peace, kindness, grace, compassion and bravery are the words I think of when I think of Prince Charles who is coming to visit the west of Ireland next Tuesday with his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall. He is travelling to visit the scene at which his very close godfather and uncle was brutally slaughtered, as I have just described. I hope Senators will join me in a moment of reflection to think of the other people, the soldiers, who were brutally murdered on that fateful day. I hope the Taoiseach will come forward next week and be there to apologise for the heinous crime on behalf of the nation.
Comment on this
I hope the Taoiseach will go and meet Prince Charles and apologise on behalf of the IRA.
Comment on this
Will the Taoiseach be visiting Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall to mark this momentous occasion?
Comment on this
On a point of order, I have every respect for Senator Mary Ann O'Brien and I agree with everything she has said. However, the Taoiseach, who represents this country-----
Comment on this
----- should not be aplogising for the heinous actions of a group that took the lives of innocent people, including an innocent boy in my part of the country. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anamacha. We do not have anything to apologise for.
Comment on this
We have everything to do to condemn what it did, unequivocally and unambiguously. Even present-day Sinn Féin has stated it was an unjustifiable act.