Bombings inquest reopens

Thirty-three people died on the Troubles' bloodiest day

An inquest into the Dublin and Monaghan bombings will allow the voices of the families to be heard, the presiding coroner has said.

Four car bombs killed 33 people and an unborn child on 17 May 1974 in the Republic of Ireland, in the biggest loss of life on a single day in the Troubles.

The inquests opened in Dublin on Tuesday almost 30 years after the attacks.

Opening the inquest, Dublin City Coroner Brian Farrell said the hearing would try to determine the last moments of the deceased and how they came to meet their deaths.

However, the inquest would not examine who was behind the bombings, as it could not address questions of civil or criminal liability, he said.

Giving often harrowing accounts, many relatives said the events of almost 30 years ago "seemed like they occurred only yesterday".

The inquest is expected to last two weeks.

The Ulster Volunteer Force admitted 10 years ago that it was responsible for the bombings.

Justice Barron, right, issued the report last December

However, no-one has ever been convicted of the attacks which injured more than 250 people.

Survivors and relatives of those killed in the bombings want a public inquiry into the attacks.

A number of families had asked for the inquest to be postponed until such an inquiry took place, but Dr Farrell said whatever legal proceedings were being contemplated were not relevant.

An inquest into the deaths of those killed in the Monaghan bombings was held in the summer of 1974 and an inquest into the Dublin deaths was adjourned but was never reopened.

Dr Farrell said he wanted to hold a new inquest into both bombings.

Last month, an Irish parliamentary committee recommended that a public inquiry into the bombings should be held in the UK.

Security forces

It also recommended an inquiry into the investigation by the Gardai at the time.

Last December, 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 said 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.

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 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.