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40 years on
"Reconciliation will only be lasting when it is based on truth": 1974 bombings marked in Dublin ceremonies
It’s 40 years today since four bombs went off in a series of coordinated attacks in Dublin and Monaghan. 33 people and one unborn child were killed.
Tyler (8) from Lucan — alongside his mother, Wendy — remembers his grandmother Collette Doherty, who died in the Dublin bombings.
CEREMONIES HAVE BEEN held today to remember those killed in the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, and a number of wreaths have been laid at the capital’s Talbot Street memorial.
It’s one of a number of events being held this weekend to mark the 40th anniversary of the attacks, which left 33 people and one unborn child dead.
The four co-ordinated bombings would be the single deadliest attack in The Troubles, and remain the largest attack of the conflict on Irish soil.
Speaking at this morning’s service, Taoiseach Enda Kenny told survivors of the blasts and relatives of those killed that those who died “will never be forgotten”.
Nobody has even been charged with the bombings and there has been widespread allegations of collusion between loyalist paramilitaries and British security and intelligence services. Families of those who lost their lives are suing the British Government to compel them to release documents about the atrocities.
“This Government continues to urge the British Government to allow access to documents relating to these murders,” the Taoiseach said today, adding that he had raised the issue with Prime Minister David Cameron.
Certainly dealing with the past, dealing with the legacy of hatred on this island is difficult.But for all its difficulty it must be done.
At a mass in the Pro Cathedral, Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin said that great progress had been made on “the path towards reconciliation and healing” in the past 40 years.
“We thank God for that progress,” Martin said.
But we also know that reconciliation will only be lasting when it is based on truth.There is a growing awareness in our modern societies of the importance of accessibility of the truth.
Tomorrow at 2.30pm, there will be a wreath-laying ceremony in Monaghan town, led by the heads of Monaghan town and county councils and representatives of Justice for the Forgotten. Author Evelyn Conlon will deliver an address.
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