35th Anniversary of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings to be commemorated in the Pro-Cathedral.

18th May 2009. Relatives of the victims of the bombings, along with those injured in the attacks, today commemorated the 35th Anniversary of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings beginning with a wreath-laying ceremony at 11.30am at the memorial in Talbot Street. Mass followed in the Pro-Cathedral at 12.45pm and members of the public were warmly invited to attend.

In her speech delivered at the wreath-laying ceremony, Ms. Bernie McNally, Chairperson of Justice for the Forgotten, welcomed the recent Eames-Bradley proposals that a Legacy Commission be established to deal with the past.

"At this stage of our campaign, we believe this to be the best way to access information and to resolve the outstanding questions in relation, not only to the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, but also to all cross-Border bombings of the 1970s."

However, Ms McNally emphasised that, contrary to what is currently proposed, there is an absolute need for such a Legacy Commission to be set up by both the British and Irish Governments in equal partnership.

The bilateral approach was crucial to ensuring the success of the peace process and, as so many atrocities have occurred on both sides of the Border, it will again be vital to ensure the success of any truth process.

Justice for the Forgotten will be urging the Irish Government to actively engage with the British Government on this issue prior to the final decisions being taken in September.

All-party Dáil motion urges British Government to release Dublin and Monaghan bombings files to independent, international judge.

10th July 2008. We warmly welcome the passage, today, of the all-party Dáil motion on the issue of collusion and the Barron Reports.

The motion, which follows the Oireachtas debates on collusion held earlier this year, (see News below) particularly commended the work of Joint Oireachtas Sub-Committee, which enquired into and reported upon, the Barron Reports.

Most importantly, the motion urges the British government,

“to allow access by an independent, international judicial figure to all original documents held by the British government relating to the atrocities…inquired into by Judge Barron.”

This cross-party statement is of vital importance in light of the fact that, as the Sub-Committee noted in their Final Report on the Reports of the Independent Commission of Inquiry,

“all of the Barron reports [were] frustrated by the absence of any real co-operation from the British security forces.”

Justice for the Forgotten has been lobbying hard for this motion since the Oireachtas 'debates' on collusion took place without the passage of any motion earlier this year.

We now call on the British government to act promptly on the Irish parliament's request and we look forward to the speedy appointment of an independent, international judicial figure, who is acceptable to both the Irish and British Governments.

The full motion reads as follows:

"That Dáil Éireann:

- notes the interim and final reports of the sub-Committee of the Joint Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Women’s Rights on the report of the
Independent Commission of Inquiry into the Dublin-Monaghan Bombings and the
three related Barron Reports, including the Inquiry into the Bombing of Kay's
Tavern, Dundalk, and commends the sub-Committee for its work;

- urges the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland to allow access by an independent, international judicial figure to all original documents held by the British Government relating to the atrocities that occurred in this jurisdiction and which were inquired into by Judge Barron, for the purposes of assessing said documents with the aim of assisting in the resolution of these
crimes; and

- directs the Clerk of the Dáil to communicate the text of this Resolution, together with copies of the aforementioned reports, to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, with a request that the matter be considered by the House of Commons.”

MacEntee Report to be challenged

Monday, 21st April 2008. Following receipt of legal advice, Justice for the Forgotten has reached a decision to take a High Court challenge against An Taoiseach, Ireland and the Attorney General in relation to aspects of the Commission of Investigation into the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, which was conducted by Mr. Patrick MacEntee, S.C.

The two main points on which the challenge is being taken are:

* That the Commission of Investigation failed to report on Term 2(ii) of its Terms of Reference ('The man in the Four Courts Hotel') and Justice for the Forgotten has not been informed as to the reason why the Commission failed to report, despite three letters to the Taoiseach’s Department over the past year.

* That Justice for the Forgotten has not been allowed access to the evidence gathered and the archive assembled by the Commission, again despite three unanswered requests to the Taoiseach’s Department, and it is a matter of great concern to us that this evidence may now be locked away for at least the next 30 years.

We have been advised that these failures constitute an injustice to the deceased, the injured and their families under the European Convention of Human Rights.

Victims attend Dáil debate on British security force collusion.

30/31 January 2008. Members of Justice for the Forgotten, along with bereaved families and survivors of other collusion-related atrocities, observed the long-promised Dáil debate on collusion on the 30th and 31st January from 5-7pm.

Also present to observe the debate were members of the Eames-Bradley Consultative Group on the Past.

The Joint Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Women's Rights called for the debate in their Final Report on the Report of the Independent Commission of Inquiry into the Bombing of Kay's Tavern, Dundalk in November 2006.

The Taoiseach made the opening statement to the House, repeating his call on the British Government "to meet its responsibilities to co-operate with inquiries in this State and to help the process of uncovering the truth about what happened." Other speakers on the government side endorsed this call, with Cavan-Monaghan TD, Margaret Conlon, condemning the "state-sponsored terrorism" of the British authorities.

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny noted that the "persistent refusal of the British government to co-operate properly with the Barron inquiry" was a "sore point" in the new era of peace and prosperity in Ireland. He also stated that the Fine Gael party "supports every effort the Government makes to have the information released".

The call for the release of documents was strongly endorsed by Labour party members including the party's spokesperson on Justice, Joe Costello TD; members of Sinn Féin and the Independent TD, Finian McGrath. All parties were in agreement in endorsing the proposal for a cross-party motion calling on the British government to release the relevant documents.

As a consequence of the debate, Justice for the Forgotten is currently working with all parties to ensure that this motion is passed in the Dáil with all due haste.

Victims' Groups Call for international, independent Truth Commission

15th Jan 2008. Justice for the Forgotten, along with several key victims' groups representing bereaved families and survivors of the Northern conflict, today issued a statement in Dublin calling jointly for the establishment of an independent, international Truth Commission.

Justice for the Forgotten, along with The Pat Finucane Centre, Relatives for Justice, Ardoyne Commemoration Project, An Fhirinne, and Firinne Fermanagh collectively represents families of more than 1,000 victims of the conflict across Ireland. Together the groups are seeking a way to deal with the legacy of over 30 years of conflict.

Over the past year the groups, from across the island, have been meeting to discuss truth recovery, examine truth commissions elsewhere, and agree core principles and values that would be required as part of a Truth Commission here.

Speaking at the press conference, Margaret Urwin, on behalf of the groups stated,

"We believe that the only way to bring truth to the greatest number of families is through an international independent truth commission. This should be available as a mechanism for all victims who wish to have their cases investigated thoroughly.

The focus of such a commission should be on truth and acknowledgement rather than prosecutions. The criminal justice system has frustrated rather than facilitated access to the truth. All combatant groups, British, republican and loyalist should co-operate in good faith and have a moral duty to do so."

The groups believe that the past must be addressed in a positive manner for the benefit of the victims of the conflict as well as the wider society. It is clear from the evidence of other countries, such as, for example, Spain or Lebanon, that if the past is not dealt with constructively now, there is a serious risk of it re-emerging and destablilising the peace in the future.

In response to journalists' questions regarding the need for all sides to engage with a truth commission, Paul O'Connor, of The Pat Finucane Centre stated, "our job is...to convince people that what we're talking about is not a witch hunt. What we're talking about is not going after people, pinning blame on them in a retributive process. That's why we expressly ruled out the South African model of public confrontations and hearings."

Read the Victims' Groups statement in full here: Statement

View RTE News at One coverage of the announcement here: News at One