Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

On Friday, 17 May 1974, three car bombs exploded in Dublin city centre. Less than 90 minutes later, outside Greacen's pub on the North Road, a fourth bomb exploded in Monaghan town. Some 34 lives were lost, including that of an unborn child. Nearly 300 were injured. Countless lives remain both physically and mentally scarred to this day.

On Friday, we will mark 50 years since the massacre of Irish citizens by a death squad involving members of British state forces. It was the worst atrocity in this State since the Civil War. Friday's anniversary will be marked by wreath laying by the President and speeches by Ministers, lord mayors and cathaoirligh. In recent years, we have seen the attendance of taoisigh at commemorations. I expect that tonight will be the fourth occasion since 2008 that the Dáil has adopted a resolution supporting the campaign for truth and justice with cross-party support. It would be easy therefore to now get the impression that this State has always stood with the victims and survivors; unequivocally, that was not the case.

All those who lost loved ones or who were injured as a result of the conflict deserve access to the truth. Whether they were victims of British state forces, loyalist paramilitaries or the IRA, the pain is the same. There cannot be a hierarchy of victims. I hope everyone in this House shares that sentiment because throughout those dark days and years there was a hierarchy and different approaches were taken to different events and losses. Almost immediately after the bombs in Dublin and Monaghan detonated, people knew that British state forces were involved. The close sequence of the explosions, the technical features of the bombs, the components that were used that calculated maximum impact and the timing all pointed to a capability and resource that was not available to loyalist gangs without the direct support of British state agents. Any reasonable person would have expected both the Irish and British Governments and An Garda Síochána to move swiftly to apprehend the perpetrators and assert the full facts, but that did not happen. In debates in this House immediately after the bombings, speakers seemed more concerned that those suspicions be deflected rather than addressed. Indeed, several politicians and some elements of the media over the years disgracefully sought to use these murders for their own narrow political agenda.

In his report of a meeting of an engagement with the then foreign Minister, Garrett FitzGerald, the British ambassador at the time reported that the “predictable attempts by the IRA to pin the blame on the British... has made no headway at all”. The truth is that for years neither Dublin or London made any serious attempt to pursue the perpetrators. The British Government knew the identity of the perpetrators and claimed, in fact, to have interned them. They shared this information with the then Taoiseach and Ministers in September 1974 and it seems that nothing was done with this information. It was left to the families and victims to campaign. In the first instance, they had to campaign for recognition. They, alone, and the friends they made along the way, actually investigated what the authorities failed to do. A small number of journalists deserve great credit for lifting the lid on decades-old secrets. In particular, the 1993 Yorkshire Television documentary “Hidden Hand: The Forgotten Massacre” ensured a new generation had the starting basis for a renewed campaign but only a determined campaign by the families, the victims and their friends eventually shifted attitudes in official Ireland. I join Deputy McDonald in welcoming members and supporters of the campaign group, Justice for the Forgotten, here today and I thank them for their relentless work on behalf of the victims and their service to the cause of truth and justice.

I commend the motion to the House and I urge the Government to act upon it. I also urge the Government to demand that the British Government releases all information pertaining to this attack and all others perpetrated by the so-called Glenanne gang, and in all instances where the British state or its agents colluded in attacks and murders on this island, North or South; to use every mechanism at its disposal to exert pressure on the British Government, including through multilateral and international fora, to finally do the right thing and come clean on its dirty war in Ireland; and on this 50th anniversary year to also acknowledge the failings of this State in the aftermath of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings and in the decades that followed. Thanks to the work of the people here and others, the victims of Dublin and Monaghan are no longer forgotten, but they have yet to secure justice.

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