McEntee Commission - Question of collusion still exists

The long-awaited report of the McEntee Commission into the 1974 Dublin and Monahan bombings was released yesterday.

A function of the inquiry was to clear up as much as possible confusion about the role of the Garda Síochána in relation to allegations of possible collusion between some gardaí and individual members of security forces in the North who were suspected of colluding with the actual perpetrators of the worst atrocity in this jurisdiction since the foundation of the State.

The inquiry was established after Mr Justice Henry Barron had concluded that there was no proof of collusion between the bombers and the authorities in the North, but there were grounds for suspecting links to individual members of those forces. He also found that the Irish “Government of the day showed little interest in the bombings”, and demonstrated no inclination to follow up suggestions that the British authorities had intelligence identifying those responsible.