CIE workers who died in bombings receive memorial

About 150 people, including the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Cllr Michael Conaghan, gathered in Dublin's Sackville Place yesterday for a poignant ceremony of remembrance for three CIÉ workers who were killed in the bombings of Sackville Place in December 1972 and January 1973.

George Bradshaw (30), a bus driver, and Thomas Duffy (23), a conductor, were killed in the first explosion shortly before 8 p.m. on December 1st. Tommy Douglas (21), a conductor, was killed the following January 20th when a second bomb was detonated in Sackville place shortly after 8 p.m..

During the ceremony, the Lord Mayor unveiled a memorial depicting randomly strewn flowers and a dedication plaque in bronze, all set into granite paving stones.

The memorial was designed by Tom Duffy, son of Thomas Duffy, one of the men who lost their lives.

Mr Conaghan said it was an important moment for the city to at last formally acknowledge what had happened to the young men, "who were not from the city, but who had worked for the people of the city and had died there".

The Lord Mayor was accompanied by the Dublin city manager, Mr John Fitzgerald, and the chairman of CIÉ, Dr John Lynch.

The CIÉ choir sang hymns in Irish and English as wreaths were laid and the memorial was formally unveiled.

The chairwoman of the campaign group Justice for the Forgotten, Ms Bernie McNally, said families of the victims were grateful for the recognition of what had happened.

Ms McNally said the first explosion had occurred on the evening that the Dáil was debating new anti-terrorist legislation in a review of the Offences Against the State Act.

The amended Act proposed additional powers to detain and question those gardaí believed were involved in terrorism. The Fianna Fáil government had been expected to be defeated on the issue.

Following the bomb blast, the Taoiseach, Mr Jack Lynch, adjourned the House for an hour, after which almost the entire Fine Gael party under Mr Liam Cosgrave abstained from voting and the Bill was passed in the early hours of the morning.