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Cork's Lord Mayor John Sheehan will not attend the official commemoration of the Royal Irish Constabulary in Dublin on January 17th.

Cllr Sheehan says he could not attend the ceremony while wearing the same mayoral chain that was once worn by Tomás MacCurtain, the Cork mayor who was dragged from his home and assassinated by RIC officers in March 1920.

"I have declined the invitation from the Minister for Justice," the Lord Mayor told CorkBeo.

"I do not believe it would be appropriate to attend events commemorating the RIC as an institution and then to attend the commemoration of the death of Tomás MacCurtain a few weeks later".

"I would be doing this wearing the same chain that was once worn by my predecessor, who was killed by RIC officers".

MacCurtain was taken at his home in Cork City on his 36th birthday, on March 20th, 1920 and shot in front his wife and son. An official British inquiry into the shocking assassination concluded that he had been shot by RIC officers who had disguised themselves.

Later in 1920, on the night of December 11-12th, the centre of Cork City was effectively burnt out by British forces including Black and Tans and Auxiliaries in retaliation for an ambush by Republican forces carried out at Dillon's Cross. The RIC was accused of standing aside and Cork city firemen were shot at by British forces as they attempted to put out the flames.

The current mayor, Dr John Sheehan, says there will be many events to mark the War of Independence and Cork will play its part to the full.

"These events will be as inclusive and respectful as we can possibly make them. There are plans for a scholarship programme to fund study of the role of all organisations involved in the War of Independence, to look at how the Black and Tans and the Auxiliaries came to Cork and to Ireland. Who they were, how they were recruited and what motivated them," said Mayor Sheehan.

"We are interested in telling the full story, with respect to those who took part".

The decision to commemorate the Royal Ulster Constabulary has drawn fire from many quarters and a number of prominent politicians and local representatives have declined to attend.

Mayor of Clare Cllr John Crowe - a history teacher - has said he will boycott the commemoration service for the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC), saying the event is "historical revisionism gone too far"

The Government is coming under increasing pressure to rethink its decision to hold the event at Dublin Castle, remembering members who served in the RIC and the Dublin Metropolitan Police prior to independence.