Dead of 1974 Dublin-Monaghan bombings remembered at monument wreath-laying

Tanaiste and Foreign Affairs Minister Micheal Martin said that it was important that governments put victims and their families “centre-stage” before he laid the wreath and addressed the ceremony yesterday.

On May 17 1974, three no-warning bombs went off across Dublin city centre and one in Monaghan town.

No-one has ever been convicted over the bombings that have been blamed on loyalist paramilitaries.

An official memorial in the Irish capital honours the 35 victims of the bombings, which include two unborn babies.

Martha O'Neill, whose husband Edward was killed and two sons were injured in one of the blasts in Dublin, lost her unborn baby girl Martha in the aftermath of the atrocity.

Another victim, Colette Doherty, had also been pregnant when she was killed.

Mr Martin told those gathered that it was “essential that we not lose sight of the atrocities of the past”, and said “a shadow had been cast” by the losses and grief of the families searching for truth and justice.

Mr Martin said that days like today were “very very difficult” for the families and anyone affected by the violence of The Troubles, “particularly in terms of unanswered questions”.

“I'm very conscious of this as the British government is coming forward with a legacy bill which we are opposed to, and which all political parties on the island of Ireland are opposed to,” he said.

“I think it's very important that in anything governments do, victims have to be centre and the families have to be centre-stage.”

Justice minister Simon Harris said: “It is hard to believe that on a day such as this all those years ago, ordinary people going about their daily lives had those lives so callously and brutally attacked.

“But, like so many other incidents of violence on this island during the Troubles, that was the tragic reality for those caught up in the bombings on that day.

“The scale of this atrocity will always be remembered.

“It was the greatest loss of life on a single day of the Troubles and it continues to affect countless families.”