Councillor calls on Donegal to ignore request to fly flag half mast for royal funeral

A local councillor has called upon Donegal County Council to boycott plans to fly flags at half mast for the Queen's funeral, which takes place today.

The request from Department of the Taoiseach was made to Donegal CoCo and sent on to all departments, including local councillors. The request, as reported by Donegal Daily, reads:

 I would appreciate if you could arrange for the flying, at half-mast, of the National Flag from all buildings, if any, under your control equipped with a permanent flagpole on Monday 19 September 2022, the day of the funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Please note that if the EU flag is also flown from your building, this should be taken down while the National Flag is at half-mast.

If you have a National Flag that is illuminated, it should be similarly half-masted on the day and then returned to full mast the following morning.

The request was not well received by local Independent county councillor Michael Mac Giolla Easbuig who contacted both the Cathaoirleach of Donegal County Council, Liam Blaney and Chief Executive Officer of Donegal County Council, John McLaughlin about the issue, and said he would continue lobbying other councillors, requesting that they join him in ignoring the request. According to Donegal Daily, the Councillor said:

You’d think the government would have learned their lesson when they tried to honour the Black and Tans? The Queen of England had reigned for 70 years and overseen the slaughter of so many as the head of the British Army with their battle cry – for Queen and Country. They have invaded scores of countries from Africa to Asia. And now this council and country want to fly a flag at half mast for an individual who honoured the very commander who murdered innocents on the streets of Derry on Bloody Sunday and also overseen a British military who were heavily involved in the Dublin and Monaghan bombings? The Dublin Government defines itself, the 26 counties, as a Republic. The definition of a republic is to oppose a monarch and the existence of a monarch. The families of those who have lost loved ones at the hands of the British military will today be outraged at this idea. Also the idea that this woman was just a public figure like a nice old granny holding the hands with Paddington Bear is a very naive perception of her.

The Queen's funeral takes place today (Monday 19th September) at 11am. Header image via Shutterstock READ NEXT: There's a Gaeltacht in Ontario, Canada - the only one outside of Ireland