THE DAY Lord Mountbatten died was “one of the darkest days in modern Irish history” and a day of shame, his special 30th anniversary memorial service in Mullaghmore, Co Sligo, was told yesterday.
It was a day when many people experienced “a rollercoaster of emotions”, a Church of Ireland rector who is from Mullaghmore and who worked for the Mountbatten family said.
The Rev Noel Regan, now based at Belleek in Co Fermanagh, told a congregation of 500 at a simple but moving service of remembrance and reconciliation: “For many, including myself, there was embarrassment, anger and upset that this was done in our name.
“There was a sense of hopelessness and above all shame that this could have happened here in Ireland, particularly to someone who had been through so much as a world statesman.”
Mr Regan, who worked as a chauffeur and archivist for Lord Mountbatten in Mullaghmore and at his Hampshire estate, Broadlands, before entering the church, said: “It was a desecration of human life and also of a sanctuary – this sacred place set apart as a refuge by so many people over the years who loved Mullaghmore and came here for holidays and rest.”
He recalled it was a place where people “mucked about” in boats, teenagers “stretched their wings experiencing their first love”.
Speaking about the Mountbatten family’s annual visits to Mullaghmore, he said it was a place where “an old man” relaxed with his grandchildren.
Mr Regan said consideration should be given to establishing a Mountbatten summer school in the village so visitors could learn about his life.
Lord Mountbatten died along with his teenage grandson Nicholas Knatchbull and deckhand Paul Maxwell (15) when an IRA bomb exploded on his boat, Shadow V, on August 27th, 1979. Lady Brabourne died from her injuries next day.
Eighteen British soldiers who were killed by another bomb on the same day at Warrenpoint in Northern Ireland were also remembered at yesterday’s inter-denominational service in the Star of the Sea Catholic oratory. Paul Maxwell’s siblings, Robbie, Kerry, Donna and Lisa attended and laid a wreath at the altar.
John, their father, received applause when he recited a poem he composed during a visit to Mullaghmore last year. He said it was inspired by two birds that flew close to him as he looked out at the sea where his son died. He said: “They came straight towards me and seemed to stop as if they wished to communicate something. It was almost as if they were reincarnations of the two boys. It had a deep emotional effect.”
Participants in the service included Garda Supt Michael Barrett who read from the Bible. He was a young garda attached to Lord Mountbatten’s security detail and was on the team that investigated the atrocity.
Several villagers recalled the Mountbattens’ annual visit. Ted Kennedy, the ambulance driver who carried the bodies of Lord Mountbatten and Nicholas Knatchbull away from the bombing scene, said: “Every August when they arrived, my uncle who worked at their holiday home, Classiebawn Castle, would say ‘welcome home, Louis’. My uncle, big Pat Gallagher, wasn’t shy with Lady Mountbatten either when she was there. He called her Edwina.”
The service was preceded by a short ceremony and two minutes’ silence at the pier overlooking the harbour at 11.15am, the time of the bombing.