THERE have been calls for the Catholic Church to clarify its policy on the use of the Irish tricolour during funerals for deceased members of the Irish Defence Forces.
It follows a row in Monaghan, where a Derry priest has reportedly banned the use of a tricolour during Requiem Masses.
The policy of Fr Leo Creelman came under the spotlight in recent days on the Joe Finnegan Show on the Northern Sound radio station.
It followed the funeral of Denis Barry, who spent 40 years in the Irish Army and completed 13 overseas tours.
Joe Finnegan told his listeners that Mr Barry had been a regular caller and campaigner for the Irish Defence Forces, and had expressed his concerns for some time prior to his death over the ban on the Irish tricolour entering the church for funeral Masses in the area.
A request for Mr Barry’s remains to be carried into St Macartan’s Cathedral last weekend draped in the tricolour was declined.
As a result, and according to the former soldier’s wishes, the funeral instead took place in a Co Monaghan funeral home, where Fr Creelman officiated.
The incident has prompted former members of the Irish Army to speak out over the apparent inconsistent application of the ban by certain priests around the country.
The issue of flags and republican funerals has been a controversial one in the north for decades, with the Catholic Church introducing a ban in the 1980s on the placing the tricolour and other flags on coffins inside churches during Requiem Mass.
The application of the rule came under scrutiny in 2017, when the tricolour was permitted to be draped over the coffin of Martin McGuinness inside Long Tower Church in Derry during the veteran republican’s funeral.
It has been reported that Fr Creelman, who is originally from Coleraine, had told funeral organisers in Monaghan that permitting the Irish flag for defence force funerals could open the door to non-military funerals, including the funerals of republicans.
It’s understood that the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference issued an opinion on the matter in 2015, which appears to permit the Irish national flag to be used during funerals for serving and former army personnel, provided the appropriate permissions are obtained from army hierarchy.
But it remains unclear whether individual priests are bound by that opinion.
A spokesperson for the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference said: “When the regulations of the defence forces permit it, there should be a general permission to place the national flag on coffins of serving members of the permanent defence forces; serving members of the reserve defence forces; retired members of the permanent defence forces who have received permission from the adjutant general’s office; and serving members of An Garda Síochána.”
