Barron ‘frustrated’ by lack of co-operation

A JUDICIAL investigation into bombings and murders in the Irish Republic during 1972-73 that resulted in eight deaths was severely hampered by the refusal of British authorities to co-operate with the enquiry.

At the launch yesterday of the second report by Judge Henry Barron’s inquiring into allegations of collusion between British security elements and loyalist paramilitaries in the early 1970s, it emerged that the judge’s repeated efforts to gain information from British authorities had been fruitless.

In the first report dealing with the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings that claimed 33 lives, Judge Barron was highly critical of the lack of co-operation he had received from the British authorities. In his second enquiry he had been similarly “frustrated”.

Yesterday’s report dealt with two bombings that occurred in Dublin in late 1972 and in early 1973, as well as the bombing of Belturbet, Co Cavan, in December 1972. Also the enquiry dealt with the murders of three other people.

Presenting the report in Dublin yesterday, both the Oireachtas Justice Committee chairman Sean Ardagh (FF) and Fine Gael’s justice spokesman Jim O’Keeffe criticised the refusal of the British authorities to assist Judge Barron’s enquiry. Mr O’Keeffe demanded that Taoiseach Bertie Ahern raise the matter with British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Mr Ardagh said the enquiry - had found no evidence to establish collusion between loyalists and British security forces - he accepted a definitive finding could not be made because of the lack of co-operation. The report will now be the basis for hearings to be held by the Justice Committee.

CIÉ bus driver George Bradshaw, 30, and bus conductor Thomas Duffy, 23, were killed by an explosion near Eden Quay, Dublin, in December, 1972. A few weeks later, in January 1973, another bus conductor, Thomas Douglas, 21, died when a bomb was detonated in Sackville Place. A teenage boy and girl died as a result of injuries sustained in the Belturbet bombing in December 1972.

Responding to the report, the Taoiseach said he hoped the report “helps the healing process for relatives and victims.”

Labour Party justice spokesperson Joe Costello was also scathing of the lack of co-operation. “This is the second report where Judge Barron has reached such a conclusion,” he said.

Sinn Fein’s Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin said: “The Irish Government should not stand for this,” he said.