Murder triangle victims seeking justice
Published: 15 May, 2006
-->It is hard to imagine the scene now. Over 30 people lay dead on the streets of Dublin and Monaghan following a series of bombings on Friday, May 17, 1974, which left 33 people dead and almost 300 injured.
However, the Republic did not call a national day of mourning.
Families of victims were visited by few politicians and no government initiative was set up to fund dependants of those murdered.
The Garda investigation into the bombings was wound down before the end of 1974.
The families did not get to meet a sitting taoiseach until April 1999, a quarter of a century later.
No wonder the families' support organisation was called Justice for the Forgotten.
Ms Margaret Urwin, secretary of Justice for the Forgotten, has been involved since October 1993.
"We have gained inquiries but not the public inquiry we want," she said.
"I do not think that it could be said anymore that the families are now forgotten. However, other victims from other bombings in this state still are.
Ms Urwin said: "There are a lot of other cases out there. Everybody I speak to has the same thing to say.
"It was swept under the carpet. They all use that phrase. Nobody wanted to listen to the families," she said.
In the 1990s the campaign made a tour of the most prominent legal locations, including the European Court of Human Rights and the Irish Supreme Court.
However, it was the synergy created by the 25th anniversary the bombings and the Good Friday Agreement that got things really moving.
"The agreement produced a climate conducive to looking again at these issues," said Ms Urwin.
"There was the first ever meeting of the families with a serving taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, in April 1999. That got the ball rolling. We lobbied all the TDs and senators for a public inquiry. We eventually got a hearing before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice in November 1999.
"We made our case for a public inquiry," said Ms Urwin.
"Following negotiations, the Hamilton Inquiry was established in January 2000."
A series of events including the death of Judge Hamilton slowed down the process.
Eventually a report was produced by Judge Henry Barron after a private inquiry.
The resulting Oireacthas committee hearings were both positive and frustrating for the campaign.
While victims got to articulate their hurt and pain of almost three decades, the campaign could not cross-examine witnesses.
"The TDs and senators did their best, but there was so much information involved," said Ms Urwin.
"We had gathered so much information over the years, we would have loved to have been able to cross-examine.
"It brought home to us the need for a public inquiry."
At present, a private inquiry into the Garda investigation of the bombings is being headed by senior counsel Patrick McEntee.
New information unearthed in London by the campaign into collusion makes the case for a public inquiry stronger.
"It has a specific bearing. We discovered those documents in London in January," said Ms Urwin.
"We located the documents that were entitled UDR Recruitment and Medals, Subversion, and another one called UDR, arms and armoury theft and loss of weapons.
"After reading theses documents, we believe that there was a murder triangle.
"The same gang that carried out the Dublin-Monaghan bombings carried out the Dundalk and Castleblayney bombings and the Miami Showband murders.
"This gang was made up of members of the UDR, RUC and loyalist paramilitaries - and probably under the direction of British intelligence.
"We have not been able to make that link, because that is going to be the most difficult link to make.
"What the new Ministry of Defence documents show is that they knew about collusion from probably late 1971 and early 1972. They [British security forces] knew from very early on that the UDR could not be trusted.
"We believe that at least four members of the UDR were involved in Dublin and Monaghan."
The central argument from the Irish government against the establishment of a public inquiry seems simple.
An inquiry would be a waste of time because the British government needs to co-operate fully. Up until now the British have been, to say the least, reluctant.
However, Ms Urwin believes the Irish government should call London's bluff and establish an inquiry in Dublin nonetheless.
She said: "We do need the co-operation of the British if we can possibly get it. But our understanding of it is that the British, to some extent, are co-operating with McEntee."
"But you have to remain very cynical because how much are they co-operating?
"Are they just co-operating as part of a PR exercise? We will not see until the report is published.
"But on the other hand, without the co-operation of the British, we can do an awful lot. We do have people on the British side who would be very willing to co-operate with an inquiry they would not be official British government people.
"Public inquiries have a momentum of their own.
"Tony Blair might be telling the Taoiseach privately that he is not going to co-operate," said Ms Urwin.
"But in the real world, if a public inquiry goes ahead, are the British going to say we are not going to co-operate with this official inquiry established by the Irish government.
"I think there is a very good chance that we would get co-operation and until we do it we will not know.
"Why just accept something like that. We are a sovereign state why can't we do it.
"It cannot stay out there in the ether that maybe another friendly state bombed our citizens on the streets of our capital city and in the town of Monaghan. I think that it is essential that the Irish government comes around to doing that."
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