Dublin and Monaghan bombings
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Dublin and Monaghan Bombings on May 17, 1974 were a series of terrorist attacks on Dublin and Monaghan in the Republic of Ireland which left 33 people dead, and almost 300 injured, the largest number of casualties in any single day in The Troubles. Although no organization claimed responsibility for the attacks, loyalist paramilitaries from Northern Ireland were widely blamed.
Contents |
[edit] Chronology
Three car bombs exploded within a few minutes of each other on Parnell Street, Talbot Street and South Leinster Street in the centre of Dublin. They were followed shortly after by a fourth car bomb in Monaghan, a small town in the Republic of Ireland just south of the border with Northern Ireland.
- 1730 hrs - Dublin - three car bombs exploded, almost simultaneously in Parnell Street, Talbot Street, and South Leinster Street. 23 men, women and children died in these explosions and 3 others died as a result of injuries over the following few days.
-
- The first of the three Dublin bombs went off at approximately 5.28pm in Parnell Street. Eleven people died as a result of this explosion.
- The second of the Dublin bombs went off at approximately 5.30pm in Talbot Street. Fourteen people died in this explosion.
- The third bomb went off at approximately 5.32pm in South Leinster Street. Two people were killed in this explosion.
- 1900 hrs - Monaghan - one more car bomb exploded in North Road, Monaghan, County Monaghan. This bomb killed five people initially with another two dying in the following weeks.
Some accounts give 34 or 35 dead; 34 by including the child of Collette Doherty who was nine months pregnant, and 35 by including the later still-born child of Edward and Martha ONeill. Edward was killed, Martha survived.[1]
In Northern Ireland, Sammy Smyth, then press officer of both the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and the Ulster Workers Council (UWC) Strike Committee, said,
"I am very happy about the bombings in Dublin. There is a war with the Free State and now we are laughing at them."[2]
[edit] Events after the bombings
[edit] Documentary investigating the bombings
Around 20 years later, Yorkshire Television made a programme on the bombings in co-operation with a number of retired officers in the Gardaí, the police force of the Republic of Ireland. The programme claimed that the bombings were the work of the Ulster Volunteer Force, a loyalist paramilitary organisation. This hardly came as any surprise, although the programme did name a number of UVF members who took part in the bombings, who had since been killed in the Troubles. However, they also claimed that loyalist paramilitaries did not have the ability to carry out bombings like that at that time (e.g. forensic examination showed that the bombs had been built with some sophistication). The Garda officers claimed that the UVF had been assisted by elements in British intelligence. After this, there were questions asked in the Dáil, the parliament of the Republic of Ireland.
[edit] The Barron Report
A confidential report was commissioned by the Irish government and compiled by a judge, Justice Barron. This has raised many questions as to why the Irish Government would cover up an attack that attempted to destabilise it. Many reasons have been aired, most likely is the refusal of some Gardaí to accept that British security forces were involved.
It is believed that the Barron report contains strong criticism of the Gardaí investigation, namely the controversy over forensics and power-struggle in their ranks at the time. As bombings leave very weak forensic evidence, immediate tests are vital to identify substances used. The Gardaí sent it to the Irish State Laboratory, which was underfunded and understaffed. Nonetheless evidence it gathered pointed to sophistication in the bombings, even though it only received samples 3 days after the bombings. For whatever reason, the Irish State Laboratory's results were not trusted and controversially sent to a Belfast forensics lab. The Belfast lab did not fully substantiate the State Lab's findings as it received the samples a full 11 days later, which it later criticised in its report, saying optimum time is within six hours of the bombing.
[edit] Relatives still seek public inquiry
A campaign has been mounted by relatives of the victims to have a public inquiry and to force the publication of Justice Barron's report. Until recently, all attempts were resisted by successive Irish Governments unwilling to antagonise the British, leading to more speculation. However the Irish government has recently demanded that the British government hand over official documents relating to the bombings. They handed over some, but stalled on the rest, claiming security concerns, despite the time elapsed. After lengthy delay, in June 2005 the Irish government announced it had run out of patience and would bring a case against the British government to the European Court of Justice, to force them to release the files. Many of the suspects are now dead, and lines of enquiry now over 30 years old.
The Irish Government established the Commission of Investigation: Dublin and Monaghan Bombings 1974 in May 2005 and its work is ongoing.
[edit] Responsibility claimed 19 years later
On 15 July 1993 the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) claimed sole responsibility for carrying out the bomb attacks (in response to the suggestion that they could not have possibly committed the attack without help from the British Authorities), which caused the largest loss of life in a single day during the present round of the conflict.[3] No charges or prosecutions have ever been made in connection with the attacks.
[edit] References
- ^ CAIN Sutton record of the events available here.
- ^ Quoted from CAIN timeline of events available here. Sammy Smyth was killed by the PIRA two years later, see CAIN details available here.
- ^ BBC News report available here.
[edit] Further Information/Sources
Commission of Investigation: Dublin and Monaghan Bombings 1974
