DUBLIN AND MONAGHAN BOMBINGS

The 'Dublin and Monaghan Bombings' on May 17 1974 was a series of car bombings in Dublin and Monaghan in Ireland. The attacks left 33 persons dead and almost 300 injured, the largest number of casualties in any single day in The Troubles.
The Loyalist paramilitary group, the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), claimed responsibility for the bombings in 1993. However, there are widespread allegations that British Intelligence colluded in the bombings, the evidence for which is contested by both the British Government and those accused.
It is the worst paramilitary attack in terms of fatalities in twentieth-century Ireland.

Chronology

At 17:30 on May 17 1974 three car bombs exploded almost simultaneously in Dublin at Parnell Street, Talbot Street, and South Leinster Street. Twenty-three persons died in these explosions and three others died as a result of injuries over the following few days. The first of the three Dublin bombs went off at approximately 17.28pm in Parnell Street. Eleven people died as a result of this explosion. The second of the Dublin bombs went off at approximately 17.30 in Talbot Street. Fourteen persons died in this explosion. The third bomb went off at approximately 17.32 in South Leinster Street. Two persons were killed in that explosion.
Ninety minutes later one more car bomb exploded in North Road, in Monaghan town, just south of the border with Northern Ireland. This bomb killed five people initially, with another two dying in the following weeks. Some accounts give 34 or 35 dead; 34 by including the child of Collette Doherty who was nine months pregnant, and 35 by including the later still-born child of Edward and Martha O'Neill. Edward was killed, Martha survived.^[1]
In Northern Ireland, Sammy Smyth, then press officer of both the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and the Ulster Workers Council (UWC) Strike Committee, said,

"I am very happy about the bombings in Dublin. There is a war with the Free State and now we are laughing at them."^[2]^[3]

According to a Dublin newspaper, the then British Ambassador to Ireland, Sir Arthur Galsworthy, noted immediately after the bombings:

"the predictable attempt by the IRA to pin the blame on the British (British agents, the SAS, etc) has made no headway at all. ... It is only now that the South has experienced violence that they are reacting in the way that the North has sought for so long."

The newspaper noted that "despite these feelings of schadenfreude", Galsworthy continued,

it would be. .. a psychological mistake for us to rub this point in. .. I think the Irish have taken the point".^[4]

Responsibility for the bombings

The Ulster Volunteer Force claimed responsibility for the bombings in 1993, following a TV documentary on the bombings that named the UVF as the perpetrators, and which alleged that elements of British Security Forces were involved in the attack.

Yorkshire Television documentary

On July 7 1993 Yorkshire Television's First Tuesday programme broadcast ''Hidden Hand: The Forgotten Massacre'',^[5] a programme on the bombings in co-operation with a number of retired officers in An Garda Síochána, the police force of the Republic of Ireland. The programme claimed that the bombings were the work of the Ulster Volunteer Force. It named a number of UVF members whom it said had taken part in the bombings, and who had since been killed during the Troubles. However, 'Hidden hand' also claimed that loyalist paramilitaries were aided by British security force members. Forensic examination seemed to suggest that the Dublin bombs had been built with some sophistication. ^[6] Garda officers claimed that the UVF had been assisted by elements in British intelligence. Subsequently, a number of questions were asked in the Dáil, the parliament of the Republic of Ireland, about responsibility for the massacre. The government ordered the Garda to assess the information in the television programme.

UVF claim responsibility

One week later, on July 15 1993, the Ulster Volunteer Force confirmed responsibility for the bombings, but also denied that they were aided by British security forces.
The UVF claimed that:

Relatives seek public inquiry

In 1996 relatives of the victims of the bombings, 'Justice for the Forgotten', launched a campaign for a public inquiry.^[7] As their name implies, the group stated that they had been 'forgotten' by the Irish state.^[8]
On July 23 1997 the group lobbied the European Parliament. MEPs from many countries supported a call for the release of files related to the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. However, on August 27 of that year, an Irish Court declined to order the release of the files.^[9]
In August 1999, Irish Victims Commissioner, John Wilson, reported on the demand for a public inquiry. He proposed a judicial inquiry, held in private.
In December 1999, the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, appointed Mr. Justice Liam Hamilton to undertake a thorough examination of the bombings, in a private inquiry. Justice for the Forgotten agreed to co-operate. The inquiry began work early in 2000. In October 2000 Justice Henry Barron was appointed to succeed Justice Hamilton. Relatives then campaigned for publication of Justice Barron's initial report. It was presented to the Taoiseach on October 29 2003, and published with five names redacted on December 10 2003.
The Irish government demanded that the British government hand over official documents relating to the bombings, that were denied to the Barron Inquiry. The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, John Reid, delivered a 16 page letter, but refused to hand over original documentation, claiming security concerns, despite the passage of time. Barron observed, ''"Correspondence with the Northern Ireland Office undoubtedly produced some useful information; but its value was reduced by the reluctance to make original documents available and the refusal to supply other information on security grounds. While the Inquiry fully understands the position taken by the British Government on these matters, it must be said that the scope of this report is limited as a result."''^[10] On February 16 2005 The Joint Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Women’s Rights recommended that the Irish Government bring a case before the European Court of Human Rights to force the UK Government to hold a public inquiry into the bombings. In June 2005 the Irish government threatened to bring the British government to the European Court of Justice, to force the release the files on the bombings. ^[11]
It is acknowledged that, after 30 years, many witnesses, initial investigators and suspects are dead.

Henry Barron reports on the Dublin and Monaghan bombings

===The Barron Report - main findings===
On December 10 2003, Justice Henry Barron's Report on the Dublin and Monaghan bombings was published.^[12]^[13] It stated:
The publication of the report caused a sensation in Ireland, as demonstrated by political and media reaction.^[14] It is generally agreed that the Report raised more questions than it answered and that it opened up new avenues of inquiry.

Oireachtas Sub-Committee on collusion

The Oireachtas Sub-Committee considering Justice Barron's report concluded:
A subsequent report by Henry Barron into the Miami Showband massacre, the killing of Seamus Ludlow, and the bombing of Keys Tavern found evidence of extensive collusion with the same mainly UVF personnel, amounting to "international terrorism" on the part of British forces.^[15]

McEntee Inquiry

Following a recommendation from the Joint Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Women’s Rights, in its final report on the bombings (March 2004), the Irish Government established a further in May 2005 under Patrick McEntee. The McEntee Enquiry is tasked to investigate the following:
The remit of the McEntee Commission was extended on a number of occasions. The report was handed to the Irish government on March 12, 2007. ^[16] Publication was expected by the end of March 2007 ^[17] On April 3 2007, the Irish government announced that the Report would be published on April 4 2007 at 5pm, after distribution to victims and to the families of those who had been killed by the bombs.

Barron Report - the detail

Judge Barron reported that his official Inquiry was obstructed by the British authorities. It found ''"In investigating allegations of collusion in relation to the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, this Inquiry faces all the problems identified by the Stevens Inquiry, with the additional complication that it has no authority or powers within the jurisdiction of Northern Ireland."''^[18] Then Assistant Commissioner with the Metropolitan (London) Police, John Stevens, required three inquiries, with powers of search, questioning and arrest. His offices within RUC headquarters suffered an arson attack. Stevens noted under "''Obstruction of my Enquiries"''
Stevens stated that collusion with loyalist killers by British Army Intelligence and RUC Special Branch had taken place:
Barron reported, ''"we refer to the main difficulty in assessing the usefulness to the inquiry of the information"'' received from the British government. ''"When three of us met Dr. Reid [then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland] and three of his officials in January 2002, we stressed that we wanted to see original intelligence documents, but we never got them. Of the information we received, some of it consisted of excerpts from an intelligence document, but there was not sufficient information to work out who got what document, whether there were other documents dealing with similar matters and how they were assessed by the people to whom they were addressed."''^[19]
The Report (2003) by Justice Barron also criticises the Garda investigation into the bombings. He criticised, in addition, the lack of urgency in pursuing the culprits shown by then Labour-Fine Gael party coalition government in Dublin. Barron noted, ''"The Government of the day showed little interest in the bombings. When information was given to them suggesting the British authorities had intelligence naming the bombers, this was not followed up."'' Barron went on to note that similar, though not as extensive information, ''"was given to the Gardaí by the RUC but there are no records of the Gardaí questioning the RUC as to the names of those so interned, or attempting to ascertain the nature of the intelligence which led to their being detained. And the report says there is also no record of Irish Army intelligence seeking further information from their British counterparts"''.^[20] Barron stated that Department of Justice files on the Dublin bombings were ''"missing in their entirety"'' and that no records were provided to Barron by the department. The Garda investigation ended prematurely. Barron found, ''"there was no single reason why the investigation ended"''.
An RUC officer reported by Gardaí to be ''"an excellent and honest policeman"'' who would have had good intelligence as to who was responsible for various loyalist bombings, gave evidence to the Inquiry. Barron noted ''"Given the central position he occupied in the intelligence-gathering network for the Mid-Ulster region, this RUC officer’s interview with the Inquiry was disappointing. He said that the intelligence received by him was generally of a low grade. The Inquiry does not find this credible. This man lived and worked in Portadown, where loyalist paramilitaries lived open lives, largely untouched by the security forces. He himself told the Inquiry that the RUC were free to operate in loyalist areas, and that they knew the names of all the active people. In his meetings with the Inquiry, he made several statements which were shown to be inaccurate or based on assumptions rather than fact"''.^[21]

Barron on ballistic history

The Barron Inquiry found a chain of ballistic history linking weapons and killings under the control of a group of UVF and security force members, including RUC Special Patrol Group members John Weir and Billy McCaughey, connected to those alleged to have carried out the bombings.
These ''"included, in 1975, three murders at Donnelly's bar in Silverbridge, the murders of two men at a fake UDR checkpoint, the murder of IRA man John Francis Green in the Republic, the murders of members of the Miami showband and the murder of Dorothy Trainor in Portadown. In 1976, they included the murders of three members of the Reavey family, and the attack on the Rock Bar in Tassagh."''^[22]
According to Fred Holroyd, Captain Robert Nairac, acting under SAS orders, was involved in the killing of John Francis Green in the Republic of Ireland ^[23] and in the Miami Showband killings.^[24] John Weir supported the suggestion of Nairac's involvement in the Green assassination: ''"I was told that Nairac was with them. I was told by… a UVF man, he was very close to Jackson and operated with him. Jackson told [him] that Nairac was with them."''^[25] Surviving Miami showband members Steve Travers and Des McAlee testified in court that an Army officer with a crisp English accent oversaw the Miami Showband killings, the implication being that this was Nairac.^[26]
Susan McKay summarised Barron on the ballistic history point:
Robin Jackson, consistently linked with Nairac, was alleged to be involved in this illegal violence (the link was noted contemporaneously in 1975 – see Colin Wallace section below).

Barron Inquiry treatment of evidence of collusion in bombings

Colin Wallace on security force collusion in bombings

Barron noted journalist Robert Fisk's ^[27] suggestion that the bombings were carried out by militant UVF members opposed to meetings between UVF delegations and the Official and Provisional IRA, which had taken place earlier in 1974: ''"The Dublin bombings were apparently carried out to show other members of the UVF that, left-wing though it might have become, this did not imply any deals with republicans."''
This view finds independent support in a letter from then British Army intelligence officer Colin Wallace to Tony Stoughton, Chief Information Officer of the British Army Information Service at Lisburn, on August 14 1975.
In a further letter dated September 30 1975, Wallace revealed that MI5 was trying to create a split in the UVF,
Barron noted that Wallace's August 14 1975 letter was ''"strong evidence that the security forces in Northern Ireland had intelligence information which was not shared with the Garda investigation team."''^[28]
Wallace also noted that:
Wallace then noted that investigation into the bombings was closed down with immediate effect a very short time after the bombings.^[29]
As with Fred Holroyd and John Weir, there were unsuccessful attempts to undermine Colin Wallace's credibility and evidence to the Inquiry. Between 1968 and 1975 Wallace had run the main psychological warfare, or 'psyops', department at British Army Headquarters in Lisburn, a task involving "''dissemination of information and disinformation''". In September 1974 Wallace refused to become involved in attempts by the security services to subvert British government policy. Wallace also discovered that at the Kincora Boys Home a member of an ''"extreme loyalist organisation"'', William McGrath, was involved with others in pedophile abuse. The home was not closed down. Wallace suspected that ''" the intelligence services were using the information to blackmail the extreme loyalist into helping them"''. Wallace made known his opposition.^[30] Wallace later attempted to expose security force involvement in events such as the Dublin and Monaghan Bombings, and attempts by MI5 to undermine ''"left wing organisations and individuals"'', including the Prime Minister, Harold Wilson.
Barron notes that Wallace was then targeted by the same security services he had served. He was forced out of government service on a charge of attempting to pass a restricted document to a journalist, Robert Fisk. In 1980 he was charged with and then then convicted of manslaughter. After his release from prison on parole in 1985, Wallace proclaimed his innocence. He later successfully overturned the conviction, which was quashed on 21 July 1996. Wallace was also paid £30,000 pounds sterling compensation (the maximum allowed) for unjust dismissal from government Service. His role within the British Army intelligence service had already been officially, though belatedly, acknowledged in 1990.^[31] Wallace was fully vindicated.^[32]^[33]

Fred Holroyd on security force collusion in bombings

Evidence for British security force involvement in the bombings is also supported by British Army Captain Fred Holroyd, who worked for MI6 during the 1970s in Northern Ireland. Holroyd argued that ''"the bombings were part of a pattern of collusion between elements of the security forces in Northern Ireland and loyalist paramilitaries."''
Barron found that members of the Gardaí and of the RUC attempted to unfairly and unjustly undermine Holroyd's evidence.
Barron noted that ''"Some of the RUC officers interviewed by the Inquiry, in their apparent eagerness to deny Holroyd any credibility whatsoever, themselves made inaccurate and misleading statements which have unfortunately tarnished their own credibility."''^[34]
Then Assistant Commissioner of the Gardaí, Edmund ('Ned') Garvey was said by Fred Holroyd to have met him and an RUC Officer at Garda headquarters in 1975. Holroyd named Garvey, and another Garda (codenamed, 'the badger'), as being on the ''"British side"''. Garvey later denied that the meeting took place. However, Justice Barron found: ''"The visit by Holroyd to Garda Headquarters unquestionably did take place, notwithstanding former Commissioner Garvey’s inability to recall it"''.^[35] Barron further noted: ''"On the Northern side, there is conflicting evidence as to how, why and by whom the visit was arranged. Regrettably, Garda investigations have failed to uncover any documentary evidence of the visit, or to identify any of the officers involved in arranging it from the Southern side."''^[36]
Edmund Garvey was dismissed by the incoming Fianna Fáil Government on January 19 1978 without explanation, other than by stating that it no longer had ''confidence'' in him as Garda Commissioner.

John Weir on security force collusion in bombings

The UVF claim of sole responsibility is also undermined by extensive evidence of involvement by British security forces in their paramilitary violence, in particular within UVF structures. RUC and UDR involvement with loyalist paramilitaries is established by admission of some of those involved - see Billy McCaughey. McCaughey, claimed that many local RUC and Ulster Defence Regiment personnel were working with UVF paramilitaries in the Armagh and Mid Ulster area in a way that made membership almost interchangeable - he claimed that his RUC Special Patrol Group unit was both exclusively Protestant and "orange" or unionist.^[37]
John Weir, a member of a different, though equally loyalist, RUC Special Patrol Group, On Page 147 of the Barron Report, Weir detailed how ''"senior officers in the RUC knew of and encouraged connections between RUC officers and loyalist extremists."''
Furthermore
In his report, Mr Justice Barron commented on John Weir's evidence ''"The Inquiry agrees with the view of An Garda Siochana that Weir's allegations regarding the Dublin and Monaghan bombings must be treated with the utmost seriousness."''^[38] The RUC furnished the Gardaí with a report that attempted to undermine Weir's evidence. Barron found this RUC attempt to be highly inaccurate and to lack credibility.^[39]

References

1. CAIN Sutton record of the events available here.
2. in CAIN timeline.
3. Sammy Smyth was killed by the PIRA on March 10 1976
4. 'Irish have taken the point': British Envoy on Dublin bombs, by Rory Rapple, Sunday Business Post, January 2, 2005
5. See transcript in Report (2003) by Justice Barron, Appendix 1
6. See discussion with British Army bomb disposal officer Nigel Wylde
7. See RTE Primetime report, December 9 2003
8. see Mass murder on our streets, by Don Lavery, Irish Independent, June 26 2004
9. http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/events/dublin/chron.htm
10. Report (2003) by Justice Barron, Mr Justice Henry Barron's statement to Oireachtas
11. Govt may take case over 1974 bombings RTÉ News, March 8 2005
12. Report on the Dublin and Monaghan, 2003
13. See Irish Independent December 11 2003 for extensive report summaries
14. Listen to, for example, RTÉ Radio One, Five Seven Live report of Barron Report publication, December 10 2003, and interview with Colin Wallace, RTÉ Radio One, Five Seven Live, December 11 2003, and see Irish Independent December 11 2003
15. See audio and video at Ahern says UK must examine collusion findings RTÉ News November 29 2006]
16. Irish government receives latest report into Dublin-Monaghan bombs, Belfast Telegraph, March 13, 2007
17. Report on Dublin bombings will be held up for a week, Irish Independent, March 19 2007
18. Report (2003) by Justice Barron, p. 281
19. in Barron Report pubic hearings
20. Cabinet 'failed to show concern', Report points finger at Coalition apathy
21. Report (2003) by Justice Barron, p. 297
22. Barron throws light on a little shock of horrors, by Susan McKay, Sunday Tribune, December 14 2003
23. The SAS in Ireland - Revealed, Irish News, by Barry McCaffrey, July 13 2006.
24. Ken Livingstone, maiden speech British House of Commons, Hansard Parliamentary Debates, volume 118, July 7 1987
25. Report of the Independent Commission of Inquiry into the Dublin and Monaghan Bombings, December 2003 p.206
26. Enigmatic SAS man linked to massacre, News Letter, August 1 2005
27. Sunday Times, 14 October 1974
28. Barron Report p. 121
29. See British and UVF met 10 days after bombs killed 33, by Colm Heatley, Sunday Business Post, 25 February 2007
30. See Barron Report (2003) on Wallace, p. 163-169
31. Archie Hamilton, British Junior Defence Minister, parliamentary reply on Wallace, correcting previous misleading information, Hansard Jan 30 1990
32. see Report (2003) by Justice Barron, p. 167-168
33. See also ''Who Framed Colin Wallace'' by Paul Foot, Pan 1990, ISBN-10: 0330314467, and, also by Paul Foot, The final vindication, The Guardian, October 2 2002, and Inside story: MI5 mischief, The Guardian, July 22 1996
34. Report of the Independent Commission of Inquiry into the Dublin and Monaghan Bombings, December 2003, p.29
35. [ibid p. 199-200, 206-07]
36. ibid
37. Bandit Country, by Toby Harnden, Coronet Books, 2000, p.190-191
38. Hatred in Harryville, by Henry McDonald, Sunday Times, February 9 1997
39. Report of the Independent Commission of Inquiry into the Dublin and Monaghan Bombings, December 2003, p. 148-151

Further information/source

External links

★ Dublin and Monaghan bombings

★ Justice for the Forgotten - organisation of victims and relatives of the bombings

★ Dáil Éireann 21 May, 1974 - Dublin and Monaghan Bombings: Statement by Taoiseach

★ Army bomb collusion unproven, says judge Timesonline Accessed 23 February 2007.

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