The
Irish Examiner, 26/01/05:
State
kept bombing files secret, say families
By
Louise Hogan
T HE
Government has not released all files relating to the Dublin bombings
which killed three people and left 183 injured.
Families of the victims of bombings accused the
Department of Justice of allowing a veil of secrecy to fall over its files
on the investigations.
Cormac O’Dulachain, a legal representative for the relatives said:
“Recent inquiries carried out by Justice for the Forgotten have revealed
an extensive range of Department of Justice files that have not been
disclosed and our concern is there may be good reasons for the
non-disclosure.
Mr O’Dulachain was addressing the public hearings before the Joint
Oireachtas Committee on Justice on the Barron Report into the Dublin
bombings of 1972 and 1973.
Chairman of the committee Seán Ardagh (FF) said it was not
conducting its own investigation but considering the report by Justice
Barron into a series of bombings before it delivers a submission to Dáil
Éireann and the Seanad in the next three months.
The TD said three people were killed
and 185 injured as a result of the Dublin bombings alone. Mr Ardagh said
it was of particular regret that the British authorities had not
co-operated with Justice Barron or the committee hearings.
Mr O’Dulachain warned that the British government has consistently
failed to volunteer any information to aid official enquiries.
“There is now a pattern and a policy of non-co-operation with official
enquiries established by this Government that involves any allegations of
collusion,” he told the first hearing.
The senior counsel said there had been a confirmed cross-Border dimension
to the three fatal bombings in December 1972 and January 1973.
However, he said: “In all cases the detection and prosecution was
dependent on the co-operation of two police forces. In all cases no one
was arrested charged or convicted. No one has served one day in prison.”
Justice for the Forgotten said the committee must consider whether it
should extend its invitation to a broader range of victims. The families
called upon the committee to engage with the garda commissioner to see how
information on atrocities could be made available.
Mr O’Dulachain said the committee should recommence later this year or
establish another group to consider the evidence from the Barron reports.
The families gave a moving account of the aftermath of the atrocities and
their lengthy search for justice on the first day of hearings.
Over the next few days army, garda and Department of Justice personnel
will report on the investigations. Justice Barron will also be available
to the committee to answer queries. |