Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move:

That Dáil Éireann: recalling the motion it adopted unanimously on 10th July, 2008 which:

— noted "the interim and final reports of the sub-Committee of the Joint Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Women's Rights on the report of the Independent Commission of Inquiry into the Dublin-Monaghan Bombings and the three related Barron Reports, including the Inquiry into the Bombing of Kay's Tavern, Dundalk, and commends the sub-Committee for its work";

— urged "the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to allow access by an independent, international judicial figure to all original documents held by the British Government relating to the atrocities that occurred in this jurisdiction and which were inquired into by Judge Barron, for the purposes of assessing said documents with the aim of assisting in the resolution of these crimes"; and

— directed "the Clerk of the Dáil to communicate the text of this Resolution, together with copies of the aforementioned reports, to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, with a request that the matter be considered by the House of Commons";

recalling the motion it adopted unanimously on Wednesday, 18th May, 2011 which:

— noted "that the question of obtaining access to information held by the British Government on the bombings has been pursued for many years";

— requested "the Government to continue to raise the matter with the British Government and to press it to comply with the request of Dáil Éireann and reaffirms the support of Members on all sides of this House"; and

— acknowledged "that the cooperation being sought is taking place in the context of transformed relationships on this island and between Ireland and Britain based on mutual respect, on partnership and on friendship";

recalling the all party motion it adopted unanimously on 25th May, 2016 which:

— noted "that Tuesday, 17th May, 2016 marked the 42nd Anniversary of the Dublin-Monaghan bombings"; and

— called on the Government to pursue the implementation of the 2008 and 2011 all party motions and to urgently raise the matter with the British Government;

notes that:

— the 50th Anniversary of the Dublin-Monaghan bombings will take place on 17th May and, with the passage of such time, the growing need to provide all information necessary to assist families; and

— Operation Denton is tasked with carrying out an overarching, thematic analysis of the Glenanne Gang and the extent of any state collusion, which includes reviewing the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, and other bombings and killings that have been attributed to the Glenanne Gang;

calls on the Government to continue to ensure that all requests for material and assistance from Operation Denton to authorities in this jurisdiction are dealt with as a matter of priority;

further calls on the Government to urge the British Government to ensure that material relevant to the work of Operation Denton is provided to their investigators; and

requests the Government to continue to raise this important matter directly with the British Government, and directs the Ceann Comhairle, the Clerk, and the Cathaoirligh of relevant Committees to do likewise with their respective British counterparts, in order to actively pursue the implementation of the 2008, 2011 and 2016 all party motions.

This week marks the 50th anniversary of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. Friday, 17 May 1974 remains a date marked deep in the psyche of our nation, etched in unimaginable pain and loss and prolonged by a searing injustice. At 5.30 on that early summer's evening, three no-warning car bombs ripped through the centre of Dublin on Talbot Street, Pearse Street and the junction of Nassau Street and South Leinster Street. At approximately 7 p.m., 84 miles away in Monaghan town, a fourth car bomb exploded, and 33 people and an unborn baby were killed. In August, baby Martha O'Neill was stillborn at full term.

It was the most people killed in any one day of the conflict. Their names were: Patrick Askin, aged 44, County Monaghan; Josie Bradley, aged 21, County Offaly; Marie Butler, 21, County Waterford; Anne Byrne, aged 35, Dublin; Thomas Campbell, aged 52, County Monaghan; Simone Chetrit, aged 30, France; Thomas Croarkin, aged 36, County Monaghan; John Dargle, aged 80, Dublin; Concepta Dempsey, aged 65, County Louth; Colette Doherty, aged 21, Dublin; baby Doherty, full-term unborn, Dublin; Patrick Fay, aged 47, Dublin and County Louth; Elizabeth Fitzgerald, aged 59, Dublin; Breda Bernadette Grace, aged 35, Dublin and County Kerry; Archie Harper, aged 73, County Monaghan; Antonio Magliocco, aged 37, Dublin and Italy; May McKenna, aged 55, County Tyrone; Anne Marren, aged 20, County Sligo; Anna Massey, aged 21, Dublin; Dorothy Morris, aged 57, Dublin; John O'Brien, aged 24, Anna O'Brien, aged 22, Jacqueline O'Brien, 17 months and Anne-Marie O'Brien, five months, Dublin; Christina O'Loughlin, aged 51, Dublin; Edward John O'Neill, aged 39, Dublin; baby Martha O'Neill, stillborn, Dublin; Marie Phelan, aged 20, County Waterford; Siobhán Roice, aged 19, Wexford town; Maureen Shields, aged 46, Dublin; Jack Travers, aged 28, Monaghan town; Breda Turner, aged 21, County Tipperary; John Walshe, aged 27, Dublin; Peggy White, aged 45, Monaghan town; and George Williamson, aged 72, County Monaghan.

These were ordinary people going about the business of their everyday lives in a city and in a town where they had no reason to feel unsafe. Then their precious lives were wiped out. For 50 years, for five decades, for half a century, their heartbroken loved ones have fought courageously for the truth and justice that is still denied. Some of the families and more are in the Public Gallery with us this evening. We salute their bravery and resilience and we stand with them now and always.

The families have always gone toe-to-toe with the British state, which has, at every turn, blocked the truth, withheld evidence and prevented the release of important documents related to the bombings. The British Government has pushed ahead with callous amnesty legislation to shut down transparency, and the agenda is clear. While loyalist paramilitaries planted the bombs, they were aided by dark-hand agents of the British state. Collusion is no illusion, yet the British state continues to deny that the bombings in Dublin and Monaghan were part of its dirty war in Ireland. These inspirational families have also been profoundly failed by this State. The initial Garda investigation as so limited in remit as to render it useless from the get-go. Incredibly, it was wrapped up by the August bank holiday of that same summer.

Over the past five decades, successive taoisigh have openly admitted that they have not raised this travesty with their British counterparts. Understandably, the families and survivors felt abandoned, dismissed and forgotten, and the absence of the truth hangs in the air around them. It casts a long shadow over their lives. Bernie McNally, who survived the blast on Talbot Street, said:

To deny people the truth is just so wrong. And it will never go away until it is righted. It will always be there, it will always be hanging over us all.

This is the weight that the families and survivors carry around with them. The injustice and the contempt they have faced for 50 years is woven through the fabric of their everyday lives. It is now time to do right by the families and survivors. The British state must now provide all relevant information, evidence and documentation it holds regarding the Dublin and Monaghan bombings.

The Irish Government must insist and impress upon the British Government that this must happen without any further delay. Fifty years is a lifetime and family members of those who died have passed away without ever knowing the truth. Other family members have been born and have grown up with this injustice hardwired into their lives so now is the time for the light of truth, now is the time for justice for the forgotten.

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