Dublin and Monaghan Bombings

The car bomb at South Leinster Street, Dublin, by the railings of Trinity College

It may surprise many that the greatest number of civilian casualties in terrorist bombings in Ireland during the “Troubles” in the 70’s and 80’s occurred not in Northern Ireland but in the Republic 34 years ago today, mainly in my hometown of Dublin.

The Dublin and Monaghan bombings of 17 May 1974 were a series of car bombings in Dublin and Monaghan in the Republic of Ireland. The attacks killed 33 civilians and wounded almost 300 – the highest number of casualties in any one day during the conflict known as The Troubles. A loyalist paramilitary group, the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), claimed responsibility for the bombings in 1993. The month before the bombings, its status as a proscribed organisation in the United Kingdom was lifted by Merlyn Rees, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. There are various credible allegations that elements of the British security forces colluded with the UVF in the bombings.

No warnings were given before the bombs exploded. Three exploded in Dublin during rush hour (killing 26 people and an unborn child) and one exploded in Monaghan ninety minutes later (killing 7 people). Most of the victims were young women, although the ages of the dead ranged from five months to 80 years.

At approximately 17:30 on Friday 17 May 1974, without prior warning, three car bombs exploded almost simultaneously in Dublin's city centre at Parnell Street, Talbot Street, and South Leinster Street by the wall of Trinity College during the evening rush hour. The locations of the bombs in three busy streets at rush hour over a half mile of Dublin’s City Centre were designed both to maximise panic and casualties. They were constructed so well that one hundred per cent of each bomb exploded upon detonation. Twenty-three persons died in these explosions and three others died as a result of injuries over the following few days and weeks. Many of the dead were young women originally from rural Irish towns employed in the civil service. An entire family from central Dublin was killed. Two of the victims were foreign nationals: an Italian man, and a French Jewish woman whose family had survived the Holocaust. Most of the bodies were blasted beyond recognition, including one which was decapitated. There were approximately 300 people injured, many of them horrifically mutilated. I was in Phibsboro, about a mile from Dublin’s City Centre, when the bombs exploded and I can remember the distinctive dull thud of the explosions to this day.

The aftermath of the bomb in Parnell Street

At the time of the bombings Northern Ireland was virtually at a standstill in a strike organised by The Ulster’s Workers Council (UWC) in protest at the Sunningdale Agreement between the British and Irish Governments. In Northern Ireland, Sammy Smyth, then press officer of both the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and the Ulster Workers' Council (UWC) Strike Committee, said:

“I am very happy about the bombings in Dublin. There is a war with the Free State and now we are laughing at them”

There were belatedly two inquiries in the Republic into the bombings, one The Barron Inquiry being a judicial enquiry. They ran into the same problems as Sir John Steven’s Inquiry into British Security Forces collusion with Loyalist Paramilitaries. But the Barron Inquiry nevertheless concluded;

“It is likely that the farm of James Mitchell at Glenanne [An RUC Reserve Officer] played a significant part in the preparation for the attacks. It is also likely that members of the UDR and RUC either participated in, or were aware of those preparations.”

Memorial to the victims at Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin

From the inquiries and the testimony of former members of British Intelligence who worked in Northern Ireland, Colin Wallace, Fred Holroyd and RUC Officer  John Weir, there is a consistent picture that points in the same direction that members of the Police (RUC) and UDR (Ulster Defence Regiment – a “full time” British Army Reserve Unit in Northern Ireland) and the UVF Loyalist Paramilitary Group were largely interchangeable and, from the Barron Inquiry;

“UDR staff instructor William Hanna was assisted in carrying out the Dublin bombings by Robin Jackson (UVF, Lurgan) and David Payne (UDA, Belfast). He says that Stewart Young (UVF, Portadown) had been involved in carrying out the Monaghan bombing – adding that he heard this from Young himself as well as from others in the group. He said that explosives for all four bombs were supplied by a named UDR officer.”

Talbot Street, Dublin

Whatever the truth about collusion Loyalist Paramilitaries never carried out similar attacks before or since. The area of Ulster around Glenanne bounded by Lurgan and the associated towns of Portadown and Craigavon made up what was known as the "murder triangle"; an area known for a significant number of sectarian incidents and fatalities during The Troubles.

No-one has ever been charged with the attacks in Dublin and Monaghan.