Justice Time for Dublin/Monaghan Families.

By Mairead Carey

JUSTICE for the Forgotten, the group representing those who died in and survived the Dublin Monaghan bombings in 1974, may sue the British government if this week’s report on the atrocity points a finger at British intelligence. 

The long awaited Barron report on the 1974 bombings, which was the largest atrocity in a single day during the Troubles, will be published on Wednesday, December 10.

Families of those who died and the survivors may now file a civil suit and seek compensation similar to that received by the victims of the Lockerbie bombing. 

Earlier this year Libya finally reached agreement with the U.S. and Britain to accept civil responsibility for the 1988 bombing and compensate victims’ relatives. Under the arrangement, Libya agreed to pay $2.7 billion to compensate families of the 259 mostly American passengers and crew killed in the mid-air explosion of the Pan Am flight over the Scottish town, and 11 people killed on the ground.

Tripoli agreed to pay up to $10 million per victim into a special trust account in return for a series of steps to remove UN and U.S. sanctions against it. 

Victims of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, which killed 33 people, will consider taking a similar course of action here. 

The Libyan cases were filed in New York after the state changed its laws to rule out state immunity as a defense. Under common law in Ireland a similar rule exists, but relatives believe that if there is the political will they could take the same action. 

The report, which was prepared by former Judge Henry Barron, will end years of speculation about whether or not British security services were behind the attack. 

But while Justice for the Forgotten believe that the judge will be “frank” in his findings, they are not expecting him to reveal everything about the atrocity. 

“What the bereaved families and survivors are hoping for is that they will get some sense of the truth. They don’t think it will be the full truth because Judge Barron had no powers to compel witnesses and because he didn’t get the full cooperation of the British government by any means,” says Margaret Urwin, spokesperson for the campaign. 

The group is very critical of the failure of the British government to honor its promise to cooperate with the inquiry. “To the best of our knowledge that help was not forthcoming and delayed the process for at least a year,” she said. 

The organization is still hoping that the Barron report will lead to a full-scale public inquiry. But they will also consider taking legal action in the national courts and at the European Court of Human Rights. 

“If this report points to the involvement of British agents then as lawyers we are aware of the damages that the U.K. and U.S. sought from Libya for the killing of their citizens,” said a legal source close to the group. 

“In Canada they are currently prosecuting those responsible for the Air India atrocity. Eighteen years later they still have the resolve to pursue those responsible. There is no reason why the relatives here should give up,” he said. 

The government has been considering the report for the last few weeks. It was due to be passed on to an Oireachtas (government) committee on Wednesday. That committee will then hold hearings on the case and decide if a public inquiry is needed. 

A copy of the report will also be given to the Dublin City Coroner Dr. Brian Farrell, who has formally reopened the inquests into the deaths of the 26 people who died in the Dublin bombings, six who died in the Monaghan bombing and one who died some time after the Monaghan bombing. 

He reopened the Dublin inquests in June, and the Monaghan inquests last month, but adjourned both until all evidence had been gathered. He has asked the Garda (police) commissioner for files on the attacks.

Inquests were held in relation to the deaths at the time, but at the request of the Garda, the Dublin inquests were immediately adjourned after the hearing began in 1974.

The bombs went off during the Dublin rush-hour, at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, May 17, 1974. Three car bombs exploded in Parnell Street, Talbot Street and South Leinster Street in the center of Dublin. An hour and a half later another bomb exploded in North Road, in the border town of Monaghan. 

There had been no warnings. In all 33 people were killed, including an Italian man, and a French woman. Hundreds were injured.

It was the greatest loss of life in any one day of The Troubles and the worst atrocity ever committed in the Republic. Yet no one was arrested, charged, or prosecuted. 

The political response from the Fine Gael-led government at the time was to crack down on Republican paramilitaries. The Garda investigation was stepped down within three months of the bombings. No explanations were given to the families who felt abandoned by the authorities here. 

The victims received derisory compensation; a widow with dependent children, for example, received £5,000. For years some of the families of the victims sought answers through their public representatives but got nowhere. 

In 1991, journalists from Yorkshire TV in England began investigating the bombings for a First Tuesday documentary series. They spent two years on the project. 

Their program, Hidden Hand – the Forgotten Massacre, claimed that the Gardai and the Northern Irish police force the RUC had a list of suspects within days of the bombings. They included former and serving members of the Ulster Defense Regiment – the reserve police force in Northern Ireland. Sensationally they concluded that the paramilitaries didn’t act alone and had been infiltrated by British Military Intelligence.