ABANDONED & FAILED
»»Higgins’ fury that no one held to account for blasts »»Wreaths mark 50 years since 35 people murdered
BY
PRESIDENT Michael D Higgins said it is “unacceptable” that nobody had been held accountable for the Dublin Monaghan bombings — adding relatives of victims had been “abandoned and failed”.
A wreath-laying ceremony was held in the capital to mark the 50th anniversary of the deadly attacks on May 17, 1974, when three no-warning bombs went off across the city centre and another in Monaghan town.
No one has ever been convicted over the bombings but the loyalist UVF admitted responsibility in 1993.
It remains the biggest loss of life on any single day of the Troubles.
The ceremony took place in Talbot Street, Dublin, where an official memorial honours the 35 people killed in the bombings, including two unborn babies.
Another 300 people are estimated to have been injured in the blasts.
Mr Higgins added: “Even in the context of the many atrocities committed at that time, the Dublin and Monaghan car bombings of 1974 were crimes of a particular level of savagery, executed consciously upon workers and civilians with total disregard for human life and suffering.
“Like the families of so many other victims and survivors of the conflict, so many of you here today have been trying to find answers about what happened.”
Mr Higgins said it is a “matter of profound regret” and “unacceptable” that no one had been held accountable for the blasts.
The president added systemic failures at State level include possible collusion between security forces and loyalist paramilitaries, the disappearance of important forensic evidence and a refusal to supply information.
He said: “The manifest failure of both the British and Irish governments to initiate suitable responses in the aftermath of the attacks has left a legacy that cannot be left unaddressed.
“I share with the relatives gathered or
Justice demands that they deserve the truth, no more, no less MICHAEL D HIGGINS AT DUBLIN EVENT YESTERDAY
represented here their feeling of being abandoned and failed by the system, of their being denied justice for the loss of loved ones.”
Mr Higgins added the relatives need more than an empathetic ear, adding:
“Justice demands that they deserve the truth, no more, no less.”
He also criticised the British
Government’s Legacy Act, and said: “That unilaterally sourced legislation has resulted in families who have spent decades fighting for an effective investigation into their cases, not only facing further uncertainty and delays but of the deprivation of legal rights.”
Mr Higgins added there was a collective responsibility to deal with legacy issues in an ethical manner.
He said: “A strategy of feigned amnesia, or hoping time will deliver one, is simply not an option, nor is any strategy of continuing the protection of previous evasions or failures to act.
“It is not morally acceptable, nor is it politically feasible, to request that those affected by such tragedy should forget about the past, draw a line or move on in the name of any naive desire for a supposed closure that may never be attainable.”
Mr Higgins said the families’ call for
the full truth to emerge should be supported, “however embarrassing or painful it may be”.
Taoiseach Simon Harris and deputy premier Micheal Martin also attended the event organised by the Justice for the Forgotten group which represents bereaved families and survivors.
PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher and Iain Livingstone, who leads the Operation Denton probe, were among other attendees. Former Taiosigh Leo Varadkar and Bertie Ahern were also present. Mr
Harris said: “Today, 50 years on from that dark day, I remember all those who lost their lives and were injured, and think of their families.
“I know their hurt has been compounded by a lack of truth and of justice for the victims since, and of immediate support for the families in the difficult years that followed.”
Before the Dublin ceremony, Mr Martin and Mr Boutcher attended a memorial Mass at nearby St Mary’s Pro-cathedral, led by Archbishop Dermot Farrell who read out the names of those killed. Earlier, Mr Martin pledged all Government-held files in connection with the bombings should be released to inquiries.
He said: “I’ve a general view that any files we have in Dublin, or within the Department of Justice or in An Garda Siochana, should be released to all inquiries in respect of atrocities.”
Mr Martin told RTE’S Morning Ireland radio programme that the UK’S Legacy Act had created a “huge challenge”.