Dublin City Councillors vote against attending RIC event
Dublin City Councillors have voted not to participate in an upcoming RIC and Dublin Metropolitan Police commemoration event.
At a meeting this evening, councillors backed the emergency motion by a majority of four to one.
It comes as a number of politicians said they will not be attending the Dublin Castle event on Friday week.
The Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan has insisted the event is not a celebration.
Minister Flanagan said: "The approach to the Decade of Centenaries has made clear that there is no hierarchy of Irishness and that our goal of reconciliation on the island of Ireland can only be achieved through mutual understanding and mutual respect of the different traditions on the island.
"As part of the Decade of Centenaries (2012-2023), under the guidance of the Expert Advisory Group on Centenary Commemoration, I, on behalf of the Government, will host an event to commemorate the place of the Royal Irish Constabulary and Dublin Metropolitan Police in Irish History,
"This event is one of a large number of events taking place during this decade to acknowledge and commemorate significant events or developments in the history of our island one hundred years ago.
"It is not a celebration. It is an acknowledgement the historical importance of both the DMP and the RIC, and is in no sense a commemoration of the “Black & Tans” or the “Auxiliaries”," he said.
