1974 bombings relatives take case to Europe

A relatives’ group of people killed and injured in the 1974 Dublin-Monaghan bombings said today they would be taking their case to the European Court of Human Rights.

Justice for the Forgotten (JFF) claimed they now have evidence to back up claims of collusion in the loyalist bombings which killed 33 people.

Greg O’Neill, JFF solicitor, said: “We have moved beyond the suspicion and speculation.

“Having spent 11 years working on this case in different forms, the families and their lawyers are satisfied we have now prima facie evidence of collusion and participation in the bombings.”

The group said it would be lodging two complaints with the European Court.

Firstly, that there is prima facie evidence the British government in 1974 colluded in the bombings.

Secondly that the United Kingdom had breached its obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights by failing to co-operate with inquiries.

The group also repeated its demand for a full public inquiry into the bombings and criticised the Irish government of the time.

Mr O’Neill said: “We urge the Oireachtas to call for, and the Government to establish in this State, nothing less than a public tribunal of inquiry into those grave matters which require immediate investigation.”

The Dublin bombs on May 17, 1974, killed 26 people in three streets, including a pregnant woman.

The Monaghan bomb on the same day killed seven people.

A report last December by Mr Justice Henry Barron was critical of the then Irish government at the time of the bombings and of the original garda investigation, but found no evidence of collusion at a senior level.

An Oireachtas committee on the Barron Report earlier this year claimed there were significant issues within the State that needed investigated.

It also found that the issue of collusion must be fully and properly investigated.