Monaghan County Council demand Joe Brolly apologise for comparing Clones to Calcutta
Monaghan Council Council are demanding an apology from Joe Brolly after he compared Clones to the Indian city of Kolkata.
Writing in his weekly Sunday Independent column on June 5, the outspoken GAA pundit took aim at the Co Monaghan town after attending Derry’s Ulster final victory over Donegal in St Tiernach’s Park.
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The former Derry All-Ireland winner highlighted traffic issues in Clones, claiming residents in the town were charging spectators for parking on their lawns.
He made reference to a young boy charging €5 to park outside his house, parking cars with “no gaps between them” and no exit lane for the cars afterwards.
“Welcome to Calcutta, Ireland,” wrote Brolly, who also bemoaned the slow journey home, adding: “Six or so miles outside Calcutta, driving at an average speed of 4mph…”
The article prompted local Fine Gael councillor Richard Truell to bring forward a motion to the Monaghan County Council demanding an apology from Mr Brolly.
The motion was passed at a meeting of the council on Tuesday night with councillors agreeing to write to Mr Brolly and the newspaper to express its “deep disappointment” at the remarks.
Speaking to Northern Sound, Cllr Truell said: “There’s reference in the article about a young boy sitting on a stool and he’s looking for a fiver for the car park.
“More power to the young boy. So what if there's cars squeezed all over the lawn, they may as well make the most of it. It only happens once or twice a year.
“What does Mr Brolly expect?
“Whenever we go up to Casement Park to park a car, it’s going to cost a lot more than five euro let me tell you, in West Belfast.”
Calcutta, now known as Kolkata, is one of the most populous cities in India, but Brolly seems isn’t backing down from his provocative statements.
Instead, he told The Journal: “Upon reflection, I would like to extend my apologies to the people of Calcutta. In no way did I intend to demean them by comparing them to Clones.”
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