Relatives gather to mark IRA atrocity at the La Mon hotel

Relatives bereaved by the La Mon hotel bomb four decades ago gathered on Monday to commemorate the 12 lives lost in the 1978 IRA fire bomb atrocity.
By Mark Rainey
Published 17th Feb 2020, 19:27 BST
Flowers were laid at the La Mon commemorative seat during a ceremony to mark the 42 anniversary of the IRA atrocityFlowers were laid at the La Mon commemorative seat during a ceremony to mark the 42 anniversary of the IRA atrocity
Flowers were laid at the La Mon commemorative seat during a ceremony to mark the 42 anniversary of the IRA atrocity

Jim Mills, whose wife Carol and sister Sandra died when the explosion ripped through the building, laid a wreath at the Island Civic Centre commemoration bench in Lisburn.

All of the victims were Protestants. They were attending a meeting of the Irish Collie Club.

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During a brief but moving ceremony, Lisburn and Castlereagh deputy mayor Councillor Johnny McCarthy read the names of the victims before a two-minutes silence was observed.

As the event continued inside the civic centre, Axel Schmidt of Ulster Human Rights Watch led the group in prayers.

Afterwards, Mr Schmidt said: “It is important that we remember the innocent lives that were lost to terrorism during the thirty years of the Troubles.

“Twelve people were murdered at La Mon and their loved ones will never forget the horror or pain of that unspeakable act. We remembered the victims in this the forty-second anniversary and to acknowledge the pain and anguish that is still felt today.”

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In September 1981, Belfast man Robert Murphy pleaded guilty to 12 counts of manslaughter having denied the mass murder at La Mon.

He was said to have hijacked the car used by the bombers and was sentenced to life but was released from prison in 1995. Murphy died in 2006. Another man was acquitted of the charges.