This Sunday, 17 May, marks the 46th anniversary of the horrific Dublin and Monaghan bombings. This series of coordinated blasts killed 34 people going about their normal everyday lives – including a full term unborn child, an entire family and tore countless other families apart.
The events were cowardly and evil beyond comprehension – targeting innocent people as they went about their lawful business that Friday afternoon.
The bombings, one of the worst atrocities of the Troubles, have many similarities to those matters being investigated under Kenova. For many this includes a sense that families have been failed and forgotten.
I recognise that some families who suffered loss during the Troubles do not want to revisit what happened and feel they received justice and the truth. We respect and accept such a position. Sadly though, too many have experienced a wall of secrecy, a lack of information and limited investigations leaving them feeling that people did not care about what happened.
In recent weeks I have spoken to many Kenova families and those who lost loved ones that Friday afternoon in Dublin and Monaghan. Families remain frustrated and angry that the truth and the information about such events has not been revealed.
To listen to the heartbreaking stories of each of these remarkable families would make everyone realise that they deserve answers as to what happened; who was responsible, who knew what, and all agencies and stakeholders with information disclosing what they hold.
Every story from Dublin and Monaghan is a human tragedy for each family, the repercussions of which continue to this day. So many children lost a parent, so many parents lost a child, loved ones and friends lost forever; the devastation and cruelty caused by those bombs can never be properly described. So many people suffered life-changing injuries and consequences because of the acts of cowards that day.
Many of our Kenova families have endured years of such heartache – they, along with friends and support groups, have lobbied relentlessly for the truth and have come up against closed doors and continuous efforts to stop the facts of what happened from being known. That in itself is unacceptable and wrong. The overriding responsibility of us all in policing, and in government, is to keep our citizens safe and where people are attacked to find those responsible.
Kenova has accessed material and begun to shine a light on these issues. Families have the legal and moral right to know what happened. I hope the progress made in our investigations will give those affected by the cowardly attacks in Dublin and Monaghan hope, and that they too will one day come to know what happened.
The thoughts of everyone at Kenova are with all the victims of the Troubles, with those who lost loved ones, those who suffered life-changing injuries and those who have been psychologically affected by the violence during those terribly dark days. You each have had to live with the pain of these events every single day. You are all remarkable and have demonstrated a spirit and fortitude that sets you above others.
There is no justification in you being prevented from knowing everything there is to know about what happened.
This May weekend our thoughts and prayers at Kenova are with all those affected by the horror that unfolded during the Troubles and we will remember those who suffered the unimaginable consequences of loss and injury that took place 46 years ago on 17 May 1974 in Dublin and Monaghan.
You are not forgotten nor will you be.
Jon Boutcher