Flanagan to raise Dublin and Monaghan bombs with Villiers

The Dublin and Monaghan bombings are to be raised by Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan when he meets Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Teresa Villiers today.

Thirty-four people, including an unborn baby, lost their lives and 300 more were injured when three bombs exploded in Dublin during the evening rush hour on May 17th, 1974, with a fourth going off in Monaghan 90 minutes later.

For more than four decades allegations that loyalist extremists were assisted in planting the bombs by British security services, have been circulating.

At a ceremony in Dublin to mark the 41st anniversary of the bombings, in Dublin’s Talbot Street at the weekend, Lord Mayor of Dublin Christy Burke and Minister for State Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, as well as members of the campaign group Justice for the Forgotten, called for the British government to release its files on the case.

Yesterday Mr Flanagan said he would raise the issue of “the appropriate files” when he meets Ms Villiers. He said the protection of human rights was an underlying principle of Ireland’s foreign policy, and was a priority for the Government.