Monaghan County Council demand Joe Brolly apologise for comparing Clones to Calcutta

This week, the council passed a motion calling for Brolly and the Sunday Independent to apologise for the comments.

The motion was brought forward by Fine Gael councillor Richard Truell who said it was “insulting to the people of county Monaghan.”

After the motion was passed, councillors also agreed to write to Mr Brolly and the newspaper to express its "deep disappointment.”

It comes following the GAA pundit penned the piece about the recent Ulster final at St Tiernach’s Park.

The former Derry footballer said that people were being charged to park on laneways, fields and driveways, miles away from the game grounds.

He also said that it wasn’t easy as people were parked “six or so miles outside Calcutta, driving at an average speed of 4mph.”

Speaking to Northern Sound, Truell said: “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?” he continued.

“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.”

Calcutta, now known as Kolkata, is one of the most populous cities in India.

Speaking to The Journal, Brolly instead decided to apologise to the people of Calcutta.

“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.”

In 2019, the outspoken GAA star previously referred to Clones as the “Bangladesh of Ulster” and a “capital of gombeenism.”