Opinions were divided after Canada’s ambassador to Ireland manhandled a protester at a ceremony in Dublin in May.
Some hailed the “ambadassador,” while others said Kevin Vickers, best known for his role in ending the 2014 attack on Parliament Hill, was “way out of line.”
But the incident caused days of paperwork for Ireland’s foreign ministry as it dealt with reporters in two countries, reported Canadian media coverage to Dublin and dealt with complaints in two countries, documents released to Global News show.
“As a person with a deep affection for Canada and having two children who are Canadian citizens, I was appalled by the ambassador’s behaviour,” one person wrote to Irish officials. “He assaulted a man making a protest at a very contentious ceremony.”
Another person was supportive, writing that “… the conduct of the lone protester was disgraceful and Ambassador Vickers’ quick action prevented further Irish embarrassment.”
READ MORE: Canadian ambassador Kevin Vickers gets mixed reaction for grabbing Irish protester
Officials at the Irish embassy in Ottawa spent several days reporting Canadian media coverage of the incident to Dublin, noting the following day that it was starting to fade as a news story, and “hopefully it will die out in the coming days.”
Irish officials withheld five documents related to the Vickers incident from Global News on the basis that their release “could reasonably be expected to affect adversely the international relations of the State” and “the records concerned contain information given in confidence, on the understanding that it would be confidential and in cases where its disclosure would be likely to prejudice the sharing of information in future.”
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These are mostly messages back and forth between the foreign ministry in Dublin and the Irish embassy in Ottawa; one is a message from the Irish foreign ministry’s press office to the minister’s office.
The documents were released under Irish freedom-of-information laws.
In one document, the Irish embassy in Ottawa is asked directly by a reporter whether the Irish foreign ministry had complained about Vickers, and avoids answering.
A career RCMP officer, Vickers was named sergeant-at-arms of the House of Commons in 2006. In October of 2014, he fatally shot gunman Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, who had entered Parliament with a rifle after shooting Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, a ceremonial guard at the Cenotaph.
Following the incident, Vickers was named ambassador to Ireland.
READ MORE: Canadian Am-badass-ador? Kevin Vickers nabs protester in Dublin
Canada’s code of conduct for diplomats reminds them that “any adverse perception of their actions may have an effect on Canada’s reputation. The potential for public scrutiny requires that representatives use good judgement and common sense.”
Vickers stayed in his Dublin post after an extensive reshuffling of Canadian ambassadors on July 19.
The ceremony, which commemorated British soldiers who died during a 1916 rebellion in Dublin, was controversial in Ireland. Nationalists strongly objected to any recognition of the British side in a conflict that led to Irish independence.
Former Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers helped tackle a protester during a ceremony on Thursday morning honouring British soldiers in Dublin, Ireland.
Global News filed an access-to-information request about documents related to the incident with Global Affairs Canada, but officials there recently applied a 210-day extension, which delays release until late January of 2017.
“The request is for a large number of records and meeting the original time limit would unreasonably interfere with the operations of the Department,” wrote access-to-information director Warren Mucci.
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