02 January 2023 , 16:19
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Leinster Rugby have issued an apology after a pro-IRA song was played following their recent meeting with Connacht. Leinster took on Connacht on Sunday and secured a convincing 41-12 victory over their Irish rivals.
The win consolidated Stuart Lancaster's team's position at the top of the United Rugby Championship, but despite the positive result the club have received plenty of criticism in the aftermath. Their post-match celebrations led to the Wolfe Tones’ ‘Celtic Symphony’ being played.
As a result, the 1989 song has strong links to the Irish Republican Army, with the lyric 'Ooh ah up the 'RA' heavily repeated throughout.
Following the backlash, Leinster have since apologised for the use of the song, apologising for its use and for 'any offence caused'. The statement read: "A song was played over the PA at the RDS Arena this evening that shouldn’t have been played.
“Leinster Rugby has taken measures to ensure it doesn’t happen again and apologises sincerely for its use and for any offence caused." Leinster are not the first team to face criticism for using the song in recent months.
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Leinster defeated Connacht on Sunday (Peter Fitzpatrick/Action Plus/REX/Shutterstock)In December, the Irish women's football team were fined €20,000 for singing the Wolf Tones song in the dressing room after defeating Scotland to qualify for the World Cup. Ireland manager Vera Pauw also apologised for the use of the song.
Speaking after the incident in October, Pauw said: "We apologise from the bottom of our hearts to anyone who has been offended by the content of the post-match celebrations. I have spoken with players this morning and we are sorry collectively for any hurt caused."
"This is something that goes very deep into the history of Ireland. As soon as you hurt people, you do something wrong and we've done something wrong here."