Time for truth on 1974 bombings

This Friday will be the 40th anniversary of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, in which 34 people were killed, including a pregnant woman and her unborn child, as well as a family of four (a four-month-old baby, her 18-month-old sister and their parents).

The bombings caused maximum carnage on Dublin’s busiest day and at its busiest time — rush hour, Friday, between 5.30pm and 6pm. Three, massive bombs went off without warning, and a further bomb, a diversion to allow those responsible to escape, exploded a short while later in the border town of Monaghan.

This was the biggest mass murder in the history of the Irish State. The Taoiseach, Liam Cosgrave, said in the Dáil a few days after the bombings: “It was, without exception, the worst single outrage in these islands, since the end of the Second World War.”

In fact, in terms of human casualties, it has been the worst single atrocity of the Troubles. However, this atrocity has been brushed under the carpet by our political establishment.

Those in power at the time failed to bring those responsible to justice and all investigations were wound down in weeks, without any credible explanation or follow-up.

Only in recent years, as a result of efforts by the families and friends of the victims, has any effort been made to revisit the events.

However, these efforts fall far short of what is required by any democratic regime that prioritises the protection of its citizens.

In 1999, the Barron inquiry, headed by Justice Henry Barron, was established to examine the bombings. This inquiry, while limited in scope, revealed extremely worrying facts, including the discovery that all files had simply disappeared from the Department of Justice.

While it may seem inconceivable that these files have vanished, they are apparently the only files missing from that period, so no effective efforts have been made to get to the bottom of this serious breach in State security.

In his report, Judge Barron also noted that the Government of the day “showed little interest in pursuing those responsible for the attacks”.

The failure of our political establishment to pursue this matter is one of the greatest political scandals in the history of the State. Senior politicians, in power at the time, displayed scant regard for their duties and also little concern for the families of the victims.

In 1981, Cosgrave refused to attend an Oireachtas sub-committee discussing the issue, saying that he had retired from public life.

He may have retired from public life, on a generous State pension, but he still had a duty to account for his time in office. Similarly, Paddy Cooney, Justice Minister at the time of the bombings, challenged the finding of the Barron Report. He also, has a duty to help uncover the mystery of the files missing from his department.

Many of the victims of that terrible day were young people. These murders need to be given the attention they deserve, and their families and loved ones deserve justice and the truth.

If abuse of the penalty points system and other, less serious issues, can be the focus of such massive political and media attention, then surely a failure, and possible cover-up, by the State, relating to the loss of so many innocent lives, is deserving of similar attention.

Patricia McKenna

Iona Road

Glasnevin

Dublin