I'm no war-monger, says James McClean as he defends refusal to wear poppy

Ireland star James McClean, who is from Derry

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November 08 2014 01:02 AM

Irish soccer international James McClean was at the centre of more controversy last night after he yet again refused to wear a poppy on his shirt for his club's game against Bolton Wanderers.

McClean, a native of Derry's nationalist Creggan, wrote a personal letter to Wigan Athletic chairman, Dave Whelan, which was published on the club's website.

In his statement, the Irish international hit back at his critics, who have alternatively described him as a 'war monger, anti-British or a terrorist'.

McClean wrote: "I have complete respect for those who fought and died in both World Wars - many I know were Irish-born.

"I mourn their deaths like every other decent person, and if the poppy was a symbol only for the lost souls of World War I and II, I would wear one.

"But the poppy is used to remember victims of other conflicts since 1945 and this is where the problem starts for me.

"For people from the North of Ireland such as myself, and specifically those in Derry, scene of the 1972 Bloody Sunday massacre, the poppy has come to mean something very different. Please understand, Mr Whelan, that when you come from Creggan like myself or the Bogside, Brandywell or the majority of places in Derry, every person still lives in the shadow of one of the darkest days in Ireland's history - even if like me you were born nearly 20 years after the event. It is just a part of who we are, ingrained into us from birth.

"For me to wear a poppy would be as much a gesture of disrespect for the innocent people who lost their lives in the Troubles - and Bloody Sunday especially - as I have in the past been accused of disrespecting the victims of WWI and WWII.