Barron report expected to be published next month

The Barron report on the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings is expected to be published next month, it emerged at Dublin Coroner…

The Barron report on the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings is expected to be published next month, it emerged at Dublin Coroner's court this afternoon.

The Taoiseach, who has already been given the report, will forward it to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice in the first week in December and it is expected to be made public in the second or third week of the month.

Mr Justice Henry Barron delivered his report on the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings to the Mr Ahern on October 29th. He is expected to deliver a separate report on the Dublin bombings of December 1972 and January 1973 by the end of this month, the coroner's court heard today.

The Barron report addresses allegations of collusion between members of the British security forces and the UVF bombers behind the attacks. The Dublin bombs in Parnell Street, Talbot Street and South Leinster Street on May 17th, 1974, killed 26 people, including a pregnant woman. Seven people died in a bomb in Monaghan on the same day.

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Separate bombings in December 1972 and January 1972 in Eden Quay and Sackville Place in Dublin killed three men, George Bradshaw, Thomas Duffy and Thomas Douglas. Those inquests were also mentioned and adjourned today.

The inquests will not be heard in full until the publication of the Barron report. It is now likely to be early next year before hearings can be arranged.

Lawyers for a number of the families of the Dublin and Monaghan victims, told the inquest the position "as of this morning" was that there had been a commitment from the Taoiseach that he hopes to be able to conclude examination of the report and have it published within "a short number of weeks".

Once the Taoiseach presents the report to the Oireachtas committee, a special meeting will be convened to consider the report. It was feasible that the report would be published by the Oireachtas in either the second or third week of December, the inquest heard.

The lawyers have asked the coroner to request further information from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) in relation to the alleged theft of four vehicles associated with the events of May 1974.

They also asked the coroner to make further inquiries of the Garda about a second investigation in 1993/94 into the 1974 bombings that followed a television documentary and to contact the Northern Ireland Forensic Service to see if the forensic scientists who worked on the case might be available to give evidence.

The families of 1972, 1973 and 1974 bombings also asked for sight of the Barron report before it is made public so that they do not read leaks of it in newspapers or hear other reports about its content in the media.

Mr Farrell said he is examining the possibility of holding the inquests in an alternative venue, for the comfort of the families and given the likely level of public interest.

The inquests were adjourned to the end of January for a directional hearing.

This afternoon's hearing was attended by family members of those who died in the attacks.