Investigation may ease suffering of relatives

The announcement of an investigation into the Dublin, Monaghan and Dundalk bombings may be the beginning of the end of a long campaign by relatives, marked until recently by bitterness at what they saw as official neglect.

When relatives had an emotional meeting with the British-appointed victims commissioner, Sir Kenneth Bloomfield, in April 1998, the father of one Dublin bomb victim told him he had seen "40 TDs, three ministers for justice, two party leaders and all I run into are brick walls". Sir Kenneth spoke of his "deep shame" the suffering had not been acknowledged properly.

Last March, the Minister for Justice appeared to rule out an independent inquiry. But meeting relatives in April, the Taoiseach said it remained a possibility.

In May, Mr Ahern established an interdepartmental committee to examine whether the evidence warranted an inquiry, and the committee had its first meeting with relatives in August.

Renewed public interest in the bombings intensified after a 1993 ITV documentary named some of the loyalists gardai believed had been involved. But a mass in the Pro-Cathedral in 1990 was the first public ceremony to commemorate the victims since 1974. Mr Kevin Walsh, one of two old-aged pensioners whose initiative it was, said he knew none of the dead or injured but "felt terribly guilty, as a Dubliner, that nothing had been done on their behalf".

The same year saw a monument erected at Parnell Square. But as late as 1993, fewer than 100 people attended a ceremony there on the anniversary of the 1974 bombings (the Dundalk bombing was in 1975). One survivor said there was still a "stigma" attached to the cause, and complained that the Special Branch had taken photographs the year before.

In 1994, however, President Robinson led the attendance at a commemorative mass, which also included the US and British ambassadors.

Adding to the bitterness of relatives over the years were the relatively paltry compensation awards originally paid. The Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal set up in the wake of the bombings awarded £1,900 to a man who lost his wife, and £2,000 to an elderly woman who lost both legs.

One of the biggest awards - £35,700 - was paid to Mr Thomas O'Reilly who suffered injuries still requiring operations in 1988.