Dublin/Monaghan bombings cover-up
BY SEAN BRADY
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The actions of the gardai and the RUC have left many people,
particularly the families of those killed, with the conclusion that a
major cover-up of the truth behind the bombings has been in operation
for the past 25 years
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The Garda Special Branch, it emerged last weekend, is looking at
fresh claims by a former RUC man that his colleagues in British
military intelligence and the Ulster Defence Regiment were behind the
Dublin and Monaghan bombings of 1974, the worst single act of
violence in the past 30 years of conflict.
British military involvement in the massacre, which was later claimed
by the UVF, has long been suspected. Several analysts, including a
former Garda Commissioner and a former head of the British army's
bomb disposal network, have openly voiced doubts about the UVF's
capability in 1974 to mount such an attack without professional
assistance.
Moreover, the actions of the gardai and the RUC have left many
people, particularly the families of those killed, with the
conclusion that a major cover-up of the truth behind the bombings has
been in operation for the past 25 years.
Within a week of the bombings, the gardai had drawn up a list of
eight prime suspects- all UVF members from Portadown, County Armagh.
This information was given to the RUC, who it appears did little or
nothing in the way of follow-up inquiries.
The suspects included members of the crown forces in the Six
Counties, at least one RUC Special Branch agent and all had close
links with British military intelligence.
New material which has reached solicitors representing families of
the victims, names a British military intelligence officer who
supplied the explosives and an RUC officer whose home was allegedly
used to assemble the bombs. The material has been passed on to
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and Garda Commissioner Pat Byrne. The evidence
indicates that four of the prime suspects in the bombings are still
alive and are known to the RUC.
The issue of whether the RUC made any attempt to cooperate with the
investigation can only be verified by examing the Garda files.
Requests by the victims' families to see these files have been
continuously refused and legal efforts to gain access to them have
been vigorously fought in Dublin's High Court and Supreme Court.
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There has been a shift in the campaign in recent months. Relatives,
not satisfied at just seeking to know the identities of those who
carried out the atrocities, are now demanding public accountability
around the manner in which the 26-County security and political
authorities handled the murders.
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In 1993, journalist Frank Doherty revealed that important forensic
evidence from the bombings was mysteriously sent to Belfast for
analysis. There has been no explanation for this, given that there
was an Irish state laboratory capable of carrying out its own
detailed analysis at the time. Forensic scientist Dr. James Donovan,
who worked in the state laboratory at the time, has said that he felt
shunned by the manner in which important evidence was ``whipped away
from us to another jursidiction''.
There has been a shift in the campaign in recent months. Relatives,
not satisfied at just seeking to know the identities of those who
carried out the atrocities, are now demanding public accountability
around the manner in which the 26-County security and political
authorities handled the murders.
ger and frustration greeted a recent pronouncement from 26-County
Minister for Justice John O'Donoghue ruling out a Tribunal of Inquiry
into the bombings, which seemed to confirm suspicions of Irish state
complicity in a cover-up.
Relatives of those killed and injured in the bombings held a meeting
with Taoiseach Bertie Ahern at government buildings on Thursday, 22
April, at which the feelings of the relatives were communicated in a
very direct way. Ahern agreed to work constructively with the
families and in contrast to the statement of his justice minister did
not rule out a Tribunal of Inquiry. It was also agreed that the
Dublin/Monaghan Bombings Committee would establish a working group to
liaise with officials from the Taoiseach's Department to see how the
situation can be advanced.
The campaign to get to the truth about the bombings is now running in
several countries. As well as the Irish people killed, nationals from
two other EU states fell victim to the bombers. Simone Chetrit, a
young French-Jewish woman, was blown up on Talbot Street, while
Antonio Maglicco, a young Italian man, was killed outside his
brother's fish and chip shop on Parnell Street. The campaign has been
working to garner support in Italy and among the Jewish community in
Paris
Monaghan Urban District Council is to mark the 25th anniversary of
the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. At its meeting on 19 April, the
council adopted a motion in the names of the three Sinn Féin
Councillors - Owen Smyth, Pádraigín Uí Mhurchadha and Caoimhghín O
Caoláin TD, urging a suitable memorial event.
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