Service marks 30 years after Birmingham bombings

A memorial service is taking place today to mark the 30th anniversary of one of mainland Britain's worst terrorist atrocities.

Hundreds of people, including survivors, will gather in Birmingham at 4pm to remember the 21 people who died when two bombs ripped through two city centre pubs.

Dozens more were injured in the attacks on The Tavern in the Town and the Mulberry Bush on November 21, 1974, which were blamed on the IRA and led to reprisal attacks on the city's large Irish community.

Six Irish men - Hugh Callaghan, Paddy Hill, Gerard Hunter, Richard McIlkenny, William Power and John Walker - were convicted of carrying out the atrocity in 1975.

But in 1991, the Appeal Court quashed their convictions, bringing to an end one of Britain's most infamous miscarriages of justice.

In the last week, calls have been renewed for the IRA to admit their responsibility and apologise for the bombings.

Today's service at the Anglican St Philip's Cathedral, where a small memorial bearing the names of the dead lies in the churchyard, will be led by the city's first Irish-born Lord Mayor, Cllr Mike Nangle.

Mr Nangle, who will light a candle and lay a wreath on behalf of the city, said the occasion would be marked by all sections of the community.

He added: "People who have lost their relatives or were injured on that terrible day have to live with what happened every day of the week for the rest of their lives.

"I hope this service to commemorate loved ones will provide them with some small measure of comfort.

"As first citizen, my message to the families is that I will be grieving with them at the cathedral, along with James Eames, Lord Mayor at the time of the bombings, who did a great deal to reach out to families affected during that period."

The service itself will hear a sermon from the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Birmingham, the Most Reverend Vincent Nichols.

He is expected to talk about the need for reconciliation and forgiveness and condemn the cause that led to the bombings.

He will tell the congregation: "We are right to remember them, to pray for them, to hold them in first place.

"In particular we pray for those present here this afternoon who were personally caught up in these events.

"Lives were destroyed and changed that night in a most brutal fashion, which no cause could ever justify. The passing of time does not alter that.

"Yet it is also right for us to remember that the shockwaves from those atrocious bombings went far wider, too.

"When we look closely, there are few who have not been touched by the events we remember. So many have their own story, their own emphasis, their own point of view which time will not dull nor the memory forget.

"Yet today we come to a cathedral to remember these events. This is not a court room, nor a police station, nor a political headquarters, nor a private family home.

"Each of those places will remember in its own way. But our place of gathering is a church, a house of God, at whose centre stands the person of Jesus Christ.

"In his light how do we now reflect? What do his words stir in our hearts? What does his Holy Spirit ask of us today?"

Other faiths across Birmingham will also be holding memorial prayers for the victims and their families.

A Buddhist remembrance ceremony will be held during the Festival of Hungry Ghosts while a candle will be lit by the spiritual director of Birmingham Buddhist Vihara during Abhidhamma Day at the Dhammatalaka Peace Pagoda.

Hindus will be saying prayers at the Krishna Temple, in Sparkbrook, and a Jewish Kaddish will be held during the Shabbat Service at Birmingham Liberal Synagogue.

The victims were also remembered during Friday prayers at Birmingham Central Mosque, Clifton Road (Shi'a) mosque and Dar ul Barakaat (Ahmadiyya) Mosque, with special Sikh prayers arranged at Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha, on Soho Rd.