Anniversary of Dublin and Monaghan bombings
RELATIVES of those who lost their lives in the Dublin and Monaghan bombings are marking the 35th anniversary of the atrocity with a wreath-laying ceremony in Dublin today.
The wreath-laying is due to take place at 11.30am in Talbot Street followed by Mass in the Pro-Cathedral.
A total of 33 people including a pregnant woman died when four car bombs went off in Dublin and Monaghan on May 17 1974.
The first three bombs exploded in Dublin at the same time, killing 26 people. Ninety minutes later, a bomb planted in Monaghan detonated resulting in the loss of seven lives.
The UVF claimed responsibility for the atrocity in 1993 but allegations of British intelligence collusion have surrounded the mass murder for three and a half decades.
Members of the Justice for the Forgotten group – which was set up in 1996 to establish the truth about the bombings – are using today’s event to back the creation of a legacy commission by both the British and Irish governments in equal terms.
Group chairwoman Bernie McNally welcomed the recent Eames-Bradley proposals for a legacy commission and said a bilateral approach between the two governments was crucial because so many atrocities took place on both sides of the border.
“At this stage of our campaign, we believe this to be the best way to access information and to resolve the outstanding question in relation not only to the Dublin and Monaghan bombings but also to all cross-border bombings of the 1970s,” she said.
