Flying Tricolour at half-mast defended

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: The Government has said that its decision to fly the Tricolour at half-mast yesterday was appropriate, despite the fact that the British Queen Mother was not a head of state.

Sinn Féin described the move as "inappropriate". "The Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, and President McAleese have both extended their sympathies to the British royal family on their recent bereavement. That is appropriate and sufficient," a party spokesman said. The Labour Party, however, said the Queen Mother was "held in great affection not just by people in Britain but also by many people in Northern Ireland". In this light, it said, the Government decision "was a reasonable gesture of sympathy".

A Government spokesman quoted official guidelines: "The national flag is frequently flown at half-mast on the death of a national or international figure on all prominent Government buildings equipped with a flagpole. The same was done to mark the death of Diana, the Princess of Wales, in 1997 and that of President Francois Mitterrand of France in 1996, he said.