INDEPENDENT Ministers are to boycott a State commemoration of members of the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) and Dublin Metropolitan Police (DMP), Independent.ie can reveal.

There is growing unrest within government over the plans to remember the pre-Independent police forces next week in Dublin Castle with three Independent ministers indicating they will not be attending the event.

They include Office of Public Works (OPW) Minister Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran, who has responsibility for Dublin Castle where the event is due to take place on Friday week, January 17th.

In a statement Mr Moran confirmed he would not be attending the event and called for it to be postponed “to allow for greater reflection on how best to deal with the wider issue of such commemorations”.

He said the public debate in recent days “reflects the serious sensitivities and concerns that people have some 100 years after the country’s struggle for independence”.

Mr Moran said: “We are at a very sensitive period in our historic 100 year anniversaries and the planned commemoration of members who served in the RIC and the Dublin Metropolitan Police (DMP) prior to independence while being led by good intentions, has failed to recognise the deep-seated feelings surrounding the force.

“We must respect the sincerely held feelings of people on the matter and note the historical record of how policing was carried out in the State from when the RIC was formed in 1836 and which ultimately led to the declaration in April 2019 by Dáil Éireann to boycott the police service.

“I believe it would be wrong that this difficult period of Irish history that we are about to commemorate and which led to our independence to ignore the firmly held convictions by the general public.”

Finian McGrath, the Disabilities Minister, confirmed to Independent.ie on Tuesday morning that he would not be attending the event.

Seán Canney, another Independent minister in government, said he would not be attending the event. “I don’t support it and I won’t be attending,” Mr Canney said.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar again defended the planned commemoration in two tweets posted on Tuesday morning.

“The RIC/DMP commemoration is not a celebration. It’s about remembering our history, not condoning what happened. We will also remember the terrible burning of Cork, Balbriggan, partition and the atrocities of the Civil War,” he wrote.

“We should respect all traditions on our island and be mature enough as a State to acknowledge all aspects of our past.”

Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan insisted on Monday it wouldn’t be a “celebration” of either organisation and that it was “in no sense a commemoration” of the notorious Black and Tans paramilitary force that backed up the RIC.

The event – part of the Decade of Centenaries – will be attended by surviving family members of those who served in the RIC and DMP – as well as historians and politicians.

Politicians across the country have indicated they will boycott the event including several Fianna Fáil mayors. Sinn Féin has called on the event to be abandoned, while a majority of Dublin City Councillors voted on Monday to oppose the holding of the event.

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