Ireland committed to securing justice for Dublin and Monaghan bombings, Tanaiste says
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Ireland is committed to securing truth and justice for the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, the Tanaiste has said.
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. The anniversary was marked with a service at a memorial to the atrocity on Talbot Street in Dublin city centre. 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.' Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan said the government 'will not forget our duty to the victims and survivors'.
'We will persevere in our efforts to seek out the truth behind the tragic events of 17 May 1974 and, hopefully, secure some measure of comfort for those effected by these callous attacks,' he said.
'We have worked consistently to implement the all-party motions which call on the British Government to allow access to all relevant documents relating to the Dublin -Monaghan bombings and I specifically raised this issue with the British Government at the recent meeting of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference at Hillsborough Castle.
'The investigation into the bombings remains an open case in this jurisdiction. Any new evidence that comes to light will be fully investigated by An Garda Siochana.'
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