Still forgotten... victims of worst mass murder in our history

IN the High Court dismissal of a claim by survivors of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings that the handling of a report compiled by the commission of investigation amounted to a breach of the state’s human rights obligations (Irish Examiner, September 10), Ms Justice Mary Laffoy ruled the plaintiffs did not have a legally enforceable right of access to the commission archive, in addition to a prohibition on disclosure until 30 years after the dissolution of the commission.

I pass no judgment on the legal issues raised in the case as I am not competent to do so, but my ignorance of the law will not preclude me from commenting on the moral obligations of both state and society to the victims of the biggest mass murder in Irish history.

The recent controversial withdrawal of funding to Justice for the Forgotten, the group which campaigns on behalf of the families of those killed and injured in the bombings, runs counter to the spirit of the Good Friday Agreement which states it is essential to acknowledge and address the suffering of the victims of violence as a necessary element of reconciliation. Those bereaved must still be wondering why they have been treated so shabbily over the years. Just months after the Dublin and Monaghan atrocity, the garda investigation was effectively wound down, garda files relating to the bombing went missing and Mr Justice Henry Barron in his report said “the government of the day did not show much concern for those killed and injured in Dublin and Monaghan”.