Village ‘should be known for joy’ to Mountbatten

A rescuer who pulled bodies from the water following Lord Mountbatten’s assassination has said the murder site should be known for the joy it brought the royals, not just the horror.

On the eve of Prince of Wales’ emotionally charged visit to Mullaghmore, Co Sligo, where the 1979 IRA bombing began one of the bloodiest days of the Troubles, locals spoke of time for healing.

The atrocity claimed four lives — Mountbatten, Doreen Brabourne, the 83-year-old mother-in-law of his daughter, his grandson Nicholas Knatchbull, 14, and Paul Maxwell, 14, from Enniskillen, who was in the village for the summer and worked on the royal’s boat.