A ceremony to mark the 25th anniversary of the bombing of Air India flight 182 off the coast of Ireland took place this morning at Sheep’s Head in Cork.
All 329 people on board the flight, en route from Montreal to Delhi via Toronto and London, died when a bomb ripped through the baggage compartment some 180 miles from the Cork coast.
It exploded 45 minutes before it was due to land at Heathrow.
Most of the victims were Canadians of Indian descent.
The ceremony was attended by Minister for Foreign Affair Micheál Martin, Canadian minister for immigration Jason Kenney and Indian minister of state Salman Khursheed.
Mr Martin, who laid a wreath at a memorial in Ahakista, said the tragic events had forged unbreakable bonds between the peoples of three continents.
"Each year, Ireland and the community here in Ahakista gladly open their arms to welcome the families and friends of the victims after their long journey to this hallowed ground, close to where so many perished," he said. "We are honoured by your friendship and offer whatever comfort and solace we can in your time of great sorrow. You will always be welcome here."
Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper is expected to apologise to the families of the victims of the 1985 bombing for federal failings at a ceremony in Toronto today.
A recent report into the tragedy concluded that authorities should have known the flight was a likely terrorist target.
Former Canadian supreme court justice John Major said the families of victims should be compensated, as they were often treated as adversaries. The report outlined a series of errors that had contributed to the failure of Canada's police and security forces to prevent the atrocity.
"The level of error, incompetence and inattention which took place before the flight was sadly mirrored in many ways for many years, in how authorities, governments and institutions dealt with the aftermath of the murder of so many innocents," said Mr Major.
The attacks were blamed on Sikh militants who, prosecutors said, sought revenge for a deadly 1984 raid by Indian forces on the Golden Temple in Amritsar, one of the holiest sites of their religion.
A minute's silence was observed at 8.12am at the commemoration.