A new feature-length documentary on the 1974 bombings in Dublin and Monaghan Town will premiere at the Lighthouse Cinema in Dublin on May 10. Entitled Anatomy of a Massacre, the film, by Fergus Dowd and Joe Lee, will be screened in Monaghan on May 24 to mark the 50th anniversary of the bombings. Seven people died when a no-warning car bomb exploded outside Greacen’s public house in Monaghan Town on the evening of May 17 1974. Earlier that Friday, three nowarning car bombs detonated in Dublin city centre within three minutes of each other killing 27 people including an unborn baby, a French citizen and an Italian citizen and injuring 258 people.
The Dublin and Monaghan bombings resulted in the greatest loss of life in any single day of the Troubles. “Within seven weeks the investigations into the bombings had been closed down by the State, nobody was ever charged, and the inquests into those killed on the streets of Dublin were never completed until 32 years later,” said film-maker Fergus Dowd. “In 1993 nearly two decades after the atrocities the Ulster Volunteer Force claimed sole responsibility. However, given the sophistication of the attack, the families and survivors have always believed there was British military involvement. Justice for the Forgotten was formed in 1996 by the bereaved families and survivors with the aim of campaigning for truth and justice for the victims of the bombings.
“For five decades they have faced the wrath of two States in trying to seek the truth for their loved ones. “In this human interest feature length documentary the families and survivors talk about that tragic day and how they have fought for 50 years to try and find the truth.”
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The Northern Standard received the following Letter to the Editor this week: Sir, The Dublin and Monaghan car bombings were the single biggest atrocity of the Troubles committed in one day. In all 34 innocents were murdered between Dublin and Monaghan explosions. The attacks came on a bright sunny May evening and the lives of many were changed for ever. The O’Brien family John (24), Anna (22), children Jacqueline (22 Months) and baby Anne Marie (4.5 months) were murdered in Parnell Street. The common family name added personal connection for me with the killings. Slowly I began to learn names of the other victims. The sequence to the car bombings were, Parnell Street (10 Victims) at 1728, Talbot Street (15 Victims): at 1730, South Leinster Street (2 Victims) at 1732, and Monaghan (7 Victims) at 1858 on the 17 May 1974.
Many more were injured. I wrote my latest book The Great Deception (jaobrien.ie) to fully investigate the circumstances of the killings and the reasons behind them. I drew on my professional experience as a member of…