Seanad debates

Wednesday, 16 May 2018

Commencement Matters

Dublin-Monaghan Bombings

10:30 am

Photo of Robbie GallagherRobbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Go raibh maith agat a Chathaoirligh. Ar dtús a Aire, ba mhaith liom fáilte mhór a chur romhat go dtí an Teach seo inniu. Ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil leat fosta chun a bheith anseo inniu chun labhairt faoin ábhar iontach tábhachtach seo. The Minister is very welcome to the House. I appreciate that this is a particularly busy time for him and his presence this morning is to be appreciated by all. I acknowledge the fact the Minister made an effort to come here to address this very important issue.

As the Minister is aware, tomorrow 17 May marks the 44th anniversary of the Dublin-Monaghan bombings. Some 33 people in Monaghan and Dublin lost their lives on that day and it turned out to be the worst loss of life of the entire period of the Troubles. I take this opportunity to request of the Minister a renewed effort on his part and, indeed, on the part of the Government so that the files in relation to this particular issue are released by the British Government in order that the people of Dublin and, indeed, Monaghan can have final closure on this issue.

It is difficult to imagine that 44 years on we are no wiser as to who was responsible, what happened or what group was responsible for this atrocity in which 33 people lost their lives - seven from County Monaghan and 26 from Dublin. We can only imagine the pain the families continue to endure over this period of time and that pain is compounded by the absence of more than four decades of the truth of what actually happened on that day. People have campaigned for many years. Justice for the Forgotten deserves credit for its continued renewed efforts over many years to try to find justice and the truth of what happened. Every year on the anniversary of this event, all Members of both Houses renew our determination to try to find some comfort for those who have suffered. As the anniversary approaches tomorrow, our thoughts and our prayers are with the victims and their families at this difficult time of commemoration.

I am sure it is difficult for the families to appreciate that no one has been charged, much less convicted for that day of carnage and the truth of what actually happened remains a mystery. Indeed, the families' quest for truth and justice has been painfully slow, blocked in every direction and largely ignored. The British Government must make those documents available. There must be some international agreement that it is breaching by not so doing. The British Government has said that it would set up an inquiry into what happened but we still await the outcome of that.

I call on the Minister in his new role and his new portfolio to reinvigorate our efforts and the efforts of the Government on behalf of the people of this country, especially the people of Monaghan and Dublin, to request the British Government to release the papers so that the families can finally bring closure to this and so that they can put the memories of their loved ones to rest and finally realise who or what was behind that atrocity on that fateful day.

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