AN RTÉ radio presenter has apologised for laughing while reading a quote from former taoiseach Liam Cosgrave about hunger strikers saying "water was too good" for them.
Sean O'Rourke admitted that there was "some reaction" to his delivery of the infamous line during his Friday radio broadcast on RTE Radio 1.
He apologised "for giving the impression" that he was disrespecting hunger strikers.
His delivery provoked a storm of outrage among republicans on social media and led to several formal complaints to the state broadcaster, including from West Tyrone MP Barry McElduff and former Sinn Féin publicity director Danny Morrison.
The radio journalist yesterday announced that he was going to "clarify" his remarks on his `Today with Sean O'Rourke' morning show.
"I just wish to clarify something from Friday's programme - it got some reaction - and that's the quote I read out about the late Liam Cosgrave's telling the then Cardinal Conway, also now dead, that "water was too good" for hunger strikers," he said.
"The point of reading out those words, which - they did cause me to laugh - it was to highlight how Cosgrave, a devout Catholic, was prepared to dismiss so bluntly the efforts of Church leaders to influence his government's attitude towards hunger strikers.
“There was a big hunger strike going on in 1977 (in Portlaoise) And it wasn’t in any way, reading out that quote, intended to disrespect the prisoners undertaking hunger strike either then or later, and I’m sorry if … or for giving that impression to some of our listeners.”
RTÉ said it would not be responding publicly.
"Sean apologised on air this morning - we have no further comment to make," a spokeswoman said.
