Irish deputy premier ‘committed' to securing answers on Dublin-Monaghan bombings
Simon Harris was speaking on the 51st anniversary of the series of no-warning blasts which claimed more than 30 lives and injured hundreds.
No-one has ever been convicted over the bombings but the loyalist Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) admitted responsibility in 1993.
It remains the biggest loss of life on any single day of the Troubles.
Mr Harris described a 'most horrific act of violence that shocked our country to its core'.
He said he hopes the publication of the Operation Denton report, expected in the coming months, 'will shed new light on the terrible events of May 17 1974'.
In a statement on Saturday, the Tanaiste said: 'Five decades on, I am conscious that time can never truly erase the pain of their absence. My thoughts are with their families on this difficult day.
'We remember also the hundreds injured in the brutal attacks and all those who were left behind to face the significant challenges of lives forever changed.'
Mr Harris said the day is an opportunity to remind ourselves of the questions that remain unanswered.
'It remains deeply regrettable that no person has been held responsible for the attacks to date,' he said.
'The publication of the Operation Denton report is expected in the coming months. It is my sincere hope that these findings will shed new light on the terrible events of May 17 1974.
'This Government remains committed to finding truth and justice. I have raised the case of the Dublin Monaghan bombings with the British Government – highlighting the successive motions passed in the Dail with the unanimous support of all political parties.
'I am committed to taking this forward in a bid to get long-awaited answers.'
A service is set to take place at the memorial on Talbot Street in Dublin later.
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Belfast Telegraph
a day ago
- Belfast Telegraph
UK government must provide certainty to Troubles victims, Sinn Fein says
John Finucane was commenting after he and party vice president Michelle O'Neill met Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn in Belfast to discuss legacy issues. Since taking office last year, the Labour government has pledged to repeal and replace some of the provisions of the contentious Legacy Act that was introduced by the last Conservative government, and bring forward a revised framework for dealing with cases linked to the Troubles. The Irish government has been involved in the process, and political leaders in Dublin have said intensive engagement is ongoing to see if a 'landing zone' can be arrived at in the coming weeks. The Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 halted scores of civil cases and inquests into Troubles deaths and also offered conditional immunity to perpetrators of conflict-related crimes in exchange for their co-operation with a new investigatory and truth recovery body. The Act was opposed by all the main political parties in Northern Ireland, the Irish government and many victims' representative groups. In 2023, the Irish government initiated an interstate legal case against the UK in the European Court of Human Rights, claiming the Legacy Act breached the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The case remains active, with ministers in Dublin wanting to see how Labour resolves its concerns over the legislation before any decision is taken to withdraw the action. Mr Benn's engagement with Sinn Fein on Wednesday was part of a round of discussions with the main Stormont parties. Alliance leader Naomi Long and deputy leader Eoin Tennyson also had a meeting at the NIO offices in Belfast city centre on Wednesday. The UUP held an online meeting with Mr Benn while the SDLP's discussions took place on Tuesday. The DUP will hold a meeting with the Northern Ireland Secretary at a later date. After the Sinn Fein meeting, Mr Finucane said there was a need for families to have a route to seek truth and justice. 'Today was an opportunity for us to reiterate and speak on behalf of those families that have been treated disgracefully by the Legacy Act and that have been left in limbo really since Labour came into government last July,' he told reporters. 'Those families who have had their inquests halted, those families who have uncertainty and who, after many years, still find themselves in a position where they don't know if they will receive truth and justice.' Mr Finucane said he and Ms O'Neill also raised the case of murdered GAA official Sean Brown. Mr Benn has applied for a Supreme Court appeal on judicial rulings in Belfast that compel him to establish a public inquiry into the 1997 murder by loyalist paramilitaries. 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'We're not in that space yet, but I remain hopeful that there is a possibility we could be in that space, and I think that that would be the best outcome for everyone,' she said. 'This being a contested space where nothing progresses, where nothing moves forward, is not good for families. It's not fair on them that they are constantly at the whim of political change. What we need now is substantive progress.' Ahead of Wednesday's meetings, Mr Benn said the Government was committed to finding a system 'capable of delivering for all families who are seeking answers around the loss of their loved ones'. 'I am continuing to work with all of the Northern Ireland parties over what should be included in that legislation,' he said. 'It is important that new legacy arrangements are capable of commanding the confidence of families and of all communities.'
Scottish Sun
a day ago
- Scottish Sun
Key clue revealed over identity of hitman who gunned down Scots gangsters Ross Monaghan & Eddie Lyons Jnr in Spain
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He fled on foot but was driven from the scene by an accomplice in a car waiting nearby which headed along the old N340 dual carriageway east towards the resort of Benalmadena. No arrests have yet been made. Hard-right Spanish party Vox has criticised more mainstream parties including the governing left-wing PSOE party for not increasing police numbers in the wake of a string of shootings this year on the Costa del Sol. Ana Mula, mayoress of Fuengirola and a member of the Popular Party which is the main national opposition party, has called on the governing PSOE party to provide more resources and specialist police to combat criminal gangs. The INSIDE story of Scotland's biggest gangster - Jamie 'The Iceman' Stevenson Officers from an elite Spanish National Police Costa del Sol-based Anti-Drug and Organised Crime Unit UDYCO are heading the ongoing probe, although they are reporting to a local investigating judge coordinating the operation. 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'There is currently no intelligence to suggest the deaths of these two men in Spain are linked to the recent criminal attacks in Scotland." The Foreign Office said: 'We are supporting families of two British men who died in Fuengirola.' Saturday night's gun murders follow the fatal shooting nearly six weeks ago of a 32-year-old British man in nearby Calahonda a 15-minute drive from the Irish bar towards Marbella. He was shot dead around 8pm on April 21 in a professional hit as he headed back to his car after finishing a football match with friends. The killers fled in a getaway car that was later torched. Police are investigating the brutal assassination as a drug-related gang shooting but have yet to make any arrests. The victim has not been named but was known to come from Liverpool. Reports at the time described the incident as the fourth shooting so far that month on the Costa del Sol, where rival gangs have increasingly used extreme violence to settle scores and a number of international mafias are known to have a base. 5 Ross Monaghan was acquitted of the gangland shooting of Kevin 'Gerbil Carroll, above. 5 Former Union Bear Ross 'Miami' McGill has been waging war on rivals in Scotland. Four days before the Calahonda shooting a 34-year-old man was rushed to the Costa del Sol Hospital in Marbella after being shot outside a nightclub in the famous Costa del Sol resort. Monaghans Fuengirola describes itself online as a place 'where you can relax and spend the day enjoying great home cooked meals on a sunny terrace and watch live sporting events.' It also bills itself as a 'family friendly sports bar and restaurant located in Torreblanca, Fuengirola opposite one of the area's most popular beaches.' Torreblanca is to the east of Fuengirola town centre and a stone's throw from an area called Los Boliches. We told how rising mob boss Ross McGill, 31, has been waging war in Scotland against caged Edinburgh kingpin Mark Richardson, 38, and the Daniel family after being ripped off in a £500,000 drug deal. Sources say dealers decided to 'bump' the ex-Rangers ultras leader, nicknamed 'Miami', as they'd never heard of him. But the fateful move to pay for the coke haul with fake cash triggered the Dubai-based Scot's wrath and sparked the vengeful gang war raging in the central belt. It's claimed the Daniels crime clan have amassed a £500,000 war chest amid fears they will be now wrongly blamed for the Mafia-style executions of two of their enemies. Leaders of the under-siege crew have set aside the huge cash pot to deal with potential revenge attacks following the murders of Lyons gang kingpins.
BreakingNews.ie
2 days ago
- BreakingNews.ie
NI Secretary to meet with parties over how to deal with legacy
The Northern Ireland Secretary is set to hold a series of meetings with political leaders over fresh legislation to deal with the legacy of the Troubles. Hilary Benn will meet with the leaders of the four larger political parties which comprise the Stormont Executive in Belfast on Wednesday. Advertisement He met with the SDLP on Tuesday. Speaking ahead of the meetings, Mr Benn emphasised that any new arrangements must have the confidence of bereaved families and of all communities. The previous UK government's contentious Legacy Act has been almost universally opposed by political parties and victims groups. It halted scores of cases going through the courts and inquests concerning the Troubles, and set up the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR). Advertisement Mr Benn also reiterated that the UK government will repeal and replace the Legacy Act. The ICRIR is expected to be retained. 'This UK Government is committed to (repealing and replacing) the previous government's Legacy Act and to ensuring we have a system that is capable of delivering for all families who are seeking answers around the loss of their loved ones,' he said. 'I am continuing to work with all of the Northern Ireland parties over what should be included in that legislation. Advertisement 'It is important that new legacy arrangements are capable of commanding the confidence of families and of all communities.'
