merrion street

Minister Flanagan will today (Tuesday) attend the memorial service in the Pro-Cathedral in Dublin to mark the 42nd anniversary of the Dublin-Monaghan bombings. The Minister will later attend the wreath-laying ceremony at the Dublin-Monaghan bombings memorial on Talbot Street in Dublin and will lay a wreath on behalf of the Irish Government.

Speaking ahead of the wreath-laying ceremony, Minister Flanagan said:

"On behalf of the new Government, I want to express our sincere condolences to the families whose loved ones were killed and to those who were injured in the terrible events of 17 May 1974. 33 people lost their lives on that unforgettably awful day - the highest number of deaths on any single day during the Troubles. A further 300 people were seriously injured.

"The Government has worked consistently to implement the all-party Dáil motions which call on the British Government to allow access by an independent international judicial figure to all original documents in their possession relating to the Dublin-Monaghan bombings. The Government will continue to actively pursue this objective, and we have made it a commitment in the new Programme for Government.

"The Government is also determined to achieve progress with the establishment of the institutions for dealing with the legacy of the past that were agreed as part of the Stormont House Agreement. To this end, over the last number of months, officials in my Department have held consultations with a number of victims groups, including Justice for the Forgotten, who have devoted tireless efforts to representing victims and survivors of the Troubles.

"These discussions have been of significant value and will inform the Government’s approach in seeking to reach final agreement on legacy institutions, once the new Executive is in place in Northern Ireland. I will be working hard to see these institutions established, for the benefit of all victims and survivors and for our society as a whole. Such an agreement would, in some respects, help to further honour the memory of those 33 men and women who died on the streets of Dublin and Monaghan 42 years ago today and whose families still grieve their loss."