Calls for inquiry into 30-year-old bombings

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern faced pressure tonight for a public inquiry into two bomb atrocities dating back more than 30 years.

Responding to a report from former Supreme Court judge Mr Justice Henry Barron on attacks in Dublin and Monaghan on the same night in May, 1974, Mr Ahern described the incidents as “unspeakable outrages and despicable and cowardly acts of inhumanity.”

But he said a joint Dáil committee would now study the Barron findings – which directed strong criticism at both the British and Irish authorities – and report back within three months ahead of any decision being taken about a public inquiry.

In advance of the premier’s reaction, a backbench member of Fianna Fáil, who has actively campaigned for the families of the bomb victims, said a public inquiry would be “beneficial.”

Mr Ahern commented: “It is some 30 years since the Dublin and Monaghan bombings of 17 May 1974 but that has not diminished the need for answers and clarity about what happened on what was one of the blackest days in our recent history.

“Not only were innocent lives lost on that terrible day but for many the legacy of pain and suffering remains. Victims and families were left devastated. Many people never recovered. Some still suffer pain to this day.

“The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Women’s Rights will now consider, including in public session, the report of the Independent Commission and report back to the Dáil and Seanad within three months with its findings on whether the report addresses all of the issues covered in the terms of reference of the inquiry; the lessons to be drawn and any actions to be taken in the light of the report, its findings and conclusions and, whether, having regard to the report’s findings, and following consultations with the inquiry, a further public inquiry into any aspect of the report would be required or fruitful.”

Mr Ahern said Mr Justice Barron would report early in the New Year on other Dublin bombings, in 1972 and 1973, and on the other cases referred to him.

Earlier, Dublin Fianna Fáil backbencher Pat Carey said “In my view there is emerging evidence to suggest a public inquiry would be beneficial if we are to bring closure to the trauma experienced by the families, to try and establish the truth, if that is possible.”

Sinn Féin TD Caoimhghín O Caolain said the Barron report was an indictment of successive Irish and British governments. He claimed: “The publication of the report is firstly a tribute to the dedication of the survivors and the bereaved of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings.

“But for their persistence there would never have been such an investigation and the victims would indeed have been largely forgotten by Irish society.

“For almost 30 years the victims and their families have been seeking truth and justice. Our sympathy and solidarity is with them on this day as they relive the terrible events of 17 May 1974.

“As a native of Monaghan town I will never forget that terrible day.

“The findings of the report point to the involvement of agents of the British armed forces in the Dublin-Monaghan bombings. The British thwarted any proper investigation of the bombings. They failed to co-operate properly with Judge Barron.

“Equally serious is the report’s scathing criticism of the role of the authorities in this State.”

The Labour opposition party’s Joe Costello said the principal conclusion to be drawn was that the victims and survivors of the bombings were very badly let down by the institutions of the state.

He added: “What is very clear is that the Garda investigation into what was the greatest mass murder in the history of the state was totally inadequate and that there did not appear to have been any real determination on the part of the authorities to see those responsible brought to justice.

“Even allowing for the very difficult conditions in which the Gardai were operating at the time, the account of the investigation is a sorry chapter of shortcomings and failure.

The conclusion of the report that it is likely that there was collusion between those responsible for the bombing and members of the RUC and UDR is truly shocking, if not altogether surprising in view of the evidence suggesting this produced by the media over the years.

While the search for the truth must continue, and while the sub-committee now established to consider the report will do everything possible to secure the truth, we all have to face the shocking prospect that we may never know the full story behind these shocking events.”

Justice Minister Michael McDowell said it was “a matter of regret” that the Barron report had drawn attention to inadequacies in the police investigation of the bombings.

But he welcomed the report’s publication and said it was now “a matter for people to draw their own conclusions” about the document.

Mr McDowell said it would not be possible for him to account for the course of an investigation some decades ago, but it was a matter of regret to him that the report had found inadequacies with the Garda investigation.

The minister pointed out that since that time there had been “profound changes” in Garda structures, criminal justice legislation, available technology and co-operation between police forces.

He added: “While obviously there will be concern and disappointment about what the report says about the Garda investigation, we should not lose sight of the fact that in the course of the last 30 years the Gardaí have proved vital in preserving the security of the State and, indeed, some of its members have been called on to pay the ultimate sacrifice in that battle.”

Mr McDowell also said that he was disturbed by what the report had to say about the absence of files in his department dealing with the bombings even though it was virtually certain that any significant information on any such files would have been provided by the Garda Síochána and thus would very likely have been available to the inquiry

He had been assured that, while it is not possible at this time, and in the absence of people involved at the time, to establish definitively what files may have existed in the department, all relevant papers that could be located in the department had been provided to the inquiry.

Mr McDowell said he would not be commenting further as the report was now to be examined by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice.

But he pointed our that while in opposition, he had always supported the members of the Justice for the Forgotten in “their quest for the truth.”

The Minister stressed that he “remained very conscious of the suffering that was caused to the injured and bereaved victims of the atrocities,” and hoped that Mr Justice Barron’s comprehensive report would go some way towards redressing the terrible wrong done to them.