Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Last week on 17 May we marked the 42nd anniversary of the Monaghan and Dublin bombings. Thirty-four lives were taken by no-warning bombs placed in busy streets. This was the largest single-day loss of life over some 30 years of the Troubles. I extend my continuing sympathy and solidarity with all the survivors and the bereaved of that terrible day.

These and other British-sponsored bombings have never elicited the release of critical documentation held by the British Government, its armed forces and North-of-Ireland-based agencies. This is despite the efforts of Mr. Justice Henry Barron, who conducted an inquiry into the atrocities and whose report, when considered by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Women’s Rights, prompted that all-party committee to conclude that "we are dealing with acts of international terrorism that were colluded in by the British security forces". Television programmes broadcast by BBC and RTE last year showed the pervasiveness of collusion, a practice of the British Government and its security forces, the consequences of which are felt by families and survivors across Ireland today.

Collusion is not an allegation that can be dismissed as propaganda. It is a fact of the conflict. It was committed on a large scale and with impunity. There is clear evidence that points to collusion being not only practice but policy. It was planned and directed with full political authority. This is no more evident than in the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. The demands contained in two all-party motions adopted unanimously in the Dáil speak volumes of the chasm between the Irish and British Governments on the matter. The Irish Government collectively demands justice on behalf of the victims and in the name of the people of Ireland, but the latter claims national security reasons for its non-co-operation and even on occasion denies that any such documentation exists. There are many aspects to engaging with this legacy, but central to the Sinn Féin approach has been the facilitation of information disclosure, truth and justice for families. The British Government’s blanket veto on providing information to the families of victims of the conflict is unacceptable and remains the biggest single obstacle to dealing effectively with the legacy of the past.

The Taoiseach has failed to uphold the rights of families of Irish citizens killed and injured through acts of collusion. He has failed to hold the British Government to account for its refusal to fully co-operate with the inquiry into the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. This is the case despite the fact that he and the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade have a strong mandate from the Oireachtas to pursue this issue with real determination with the British Government. The Irish Government is not a minor player in the peace process. It is a co-equal guarantor and partner in that process. The Irish Government must not let the British Government walk away from its role and responsibility in the conflict. It must secure the right to truth for all citizens and ensure the mechanisms agreed as part of the Stormont House Agreement are implemented.

I also note and welcome the fact that at last week’s commemoration on Talbot Street, which I attended, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Charles Flanagan, called for full British Government co-operation in order that the truth could be established and those responsible pursued, if that were still possible. Actions speak louder than words. I call on the Taoiseach and this Government to pursue the full realisation of the demands of these all-party motions and to raise the matter again, urgently and with real resolve, with the British Government.

I acknowledge once again the tenacity and courage of the campaigning group Justice for the Forgotten, and Margaret Urwin in particular. I wish to conclude by remembering all the victims of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings and not least those who lost their lives in my home town of Monaghan on that fateful Friday in May 1974: Archie Harper, Peggy White and Jack Travers, all of whom I knew personally, Patrick Askin and Thomas Croarkin, whose families I know well, and Thomas Campbell and George Williamson. May the Lord have mercy on all their souls and grant peace and justice to their grieving and campaigning relatives and friends.

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