Commission: Govts failed bomb victims' relatives

Successive governments have failed the relatives of loyalist bombing victims in Dublin and Monaghan for almost 30 years, it was claimed tonight.

David Andrews, board member of the Remembrance Commission and former foreign minister, said he felt obliged to apologise for the lack of action to expose the truth.

Mr Andrews said the Commission held an important meeting with the Justice For The Forgotten (JFF) lobby group and survivors of the 1972 and 1974 atrocities.

“It is a scandal that official Ireland has ignored you for so much time,” he told the families.

“I was part of official Ireland myself, and I would like to apologise certainly for what hasn’t happened over the last 30 years. The sooner closure is brought to the matter the better.”

A total of 36 people were killed when loyalist terrorists bombed the centre of Dublin and Monaghan in separate attacks between 1972 and 1974.

Justice For The Forgotten claimed they were being denied their rights by governments who refused to establish a public inquiry.

Bernie McNally, JFF chairperson, said that the issue was getting to the truth.

“Before we get closure we have to get some kind of truth and that will be hard,” Ms McNally said.

“The fact that official Ireland has tried at this stage to get the truth and pulled out all the stops, that will help the families.”

But she claimed it was a disgrace that the victims’ families and survivors were left to carry their quest for the truth to the European Court.

Gertie Shields, whose aunt was killed in one of the attacks, said compensation was not what the families were looking for.

“Time is rolling on, that’s the message I want to give, 30 years is an awfully long time to wait,” Miss Shields said.

“Money was never the issue though, the whole thing was to establish an inquiry. We should be setting our own house in order first. There was such a long period of time when nothing was done and with that a lot of damage. The indictment really is with the Government of the time.”