Call for inquiry on anniversary of bombings

Renewed calls for a full public inquiry into the Dublin and Monaghan bombings were made at a wreath-laying ceremony in Dublin yesterday - the 25th anniversary of the bombings in which 34 people died.

Members of the campaign group Justice for the Forgotten were joined by representatives of the Warrington and Omagh bomb victims as they gathered at the scene of the memorial to the victims in Talbot Street. The crowd marched past the Parnell Street bomb site and on to South Leinster Street, the scenes of the largest mass murder in the State's history.

Speaking after the march, Ms Wendy Doherty, whose mother was nine months pregnant when she was killed in the Talbot Street bombing, and who was herself injured, said it was time for the families of the victims to be vindicated.

"The Garda investigation was wrapped up after three months. It seems to me that there must be some conclusion in their files. The families deserve to know what the Garda concluded" said Ms Doherty.

She also said the families of the victims were determined to continue their pressure for a full public inquiry. "The Taoiseach told us that he wouldn't rule out an inquiry but all he did was to ask the former Tanaiste John Wilson to set up a commission to report on whether there should be an inquiry.

"His report was promised to us earlier this year but we still haven't got it" she said.

"I wouldn't say I have faith in Bertie Ahern, I just hope he proves me wrong," added Ms O'Doherty, who was almost two years old when her mother and sibling were killed.

Meanwhile, Green Party MEP Ms Patricia McKenna has also called for a full inquiry into the bombings. Claiming the investigation was not properly carried out, Ms McKenna said "there seems to be some reluctance to find those responsible".

Ms McKenna said she welcomed last Friday's Irish Times report that Mr John Weir, a former special branch officer with the RUC, has made a statement to the gardai which could open up a new line of inquiry.

She also said new evidence was presented by the Justice for the Forgotten campaign in March, which claims to identify members of the RUC and British military intelligence "as having active involvement in the planning and execution of these atrocities".