Bombings report being studied

Thirty-three people died on the Troubles' bloodiest day

An Irish parliamentary committee has begun considering a report into the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings on Tuesday.

It comes as the Irish Government is facing increased pressure to order a full public inquiry into the four car bombs, which killed 33 people, and an unborn child.

No-one has ever been convicted of the attacks on 17 May 1974, which injured more than 250. It was the biggest loss of life on a single day in the Troubles.

A report by Mr Justice Henry Barron said there were grounds for suspecting the bombers may have had help from members of British security forces but there was no conclusive proof.

The Barron report was presented to the Irish Government's joint committee on justice in December and later released to the public.

The parliamentary committee, which is studying the report, cannot compel witnesses to attend but could recommend a public inquiry.

Relatives of those killed in the bombings spoke to the committee on Tuesday.

One of the relatives - Michelle O'Brien - said they hoped it was another step on the way to a public inquiry.

"It means an awful lot to me. For a start somebody is actually going to sit up and take notice and listen to us," she said.

"We've had 13 years of a campaign and now we're finally on the first step of a ladder which hopefully will take us all the way to our public inquiry."

The Barron report said that the group responsible for the attacks in Dublin was capable of doing so without help from any section of the security forces in Northern Ireland.

However, this did not rule out the involvement of individual members of the security forces.

The report also said that the Monaghan bombing bore all the hallmarks of a standard loyalist operation and required no assistance.

UVF attack

Following its publication, a solicitor representing relatives of some of the victims called for a public inquiry with powers to subpoena witnesses and documents.

Ten years ago, the Ulster Volunteer Force admitted it was responsible for the bombings.

Twenty-six people were killed in Dublin, and 90 minutes later seven died in a bombing in the town of Monaghan. One of the Dublin dead was a pregnant woman.

Many of the grieving relatives believe the UVF was helped by British intelligence service operatives aiming to warn the Irish Government not to interfere in Northern Ireland's affairs.

The report raised questions about whether the Irish security services did enough to find those responsible.

The bombings took place while Protestant workers held a general strike in Northern Ireland to bring down the power-sharing government set up under the Sunningdale Agreement.