Memorial held for attack victims

About 50 people took part in a short memorial service for the 18 soldiers

About 50 people have taken part in a memorial service for 18 soldiers killed in an IRA double bomb ambush in Warrenpoint 30 years ago.

It happened on the same day as the Mullaghmore bomb, which killed Lord Louis Mountbatten and three others.

In the Sligo village a church bell tolled 30 times to mark the anniversary on Thursday.

A row has broken out in Donegal over council plans to erect a memorial to the Mullaghmore victims.

Sinn Féin said they oppose the monument because it would be wrong to single out any one incident.

But the Fianna Fáil mayor of Donegal, Brendan Byrne, says it should go ahead.

"As mayor of Donegal I'm not erecting a memorial to a member of the British Royal family.

"I'm erecting a monument to the four people who perished needlessly, senselessly, at Mullaghmore some 30 years ago."

Sinn Féin councillor Padraig MacLochlainn said a memorial would be "inappropriate".

Lord Mountabatten was one of four who died as a result of the explosion

"We cannot cherry pick any particular incident for memorial.

"What would be more appropriate would be that we commemorate the over 3,000 people that lost their lives on all sides," he said.

Four people, including two children, died when the IRA detonated a bomb on Lord Mountbatten's boat off the coast of Sligo 30 years ago.

Eighteen British soldiers were killed later that day when two booby-trap bombs exploded beside Narrow Water Castle near Warrenpoint in County Down.

The bombs were detonated from a short distance across Carlingford Lough in the Republic of Ireland and when troops returned fire a civilian died in the crossfire.

He was Londoner Michael Hudson, who was out bird watching, and had been one of the Queen's Royal coachmen at Buckingham Palace.

Among those taking part in the Warrenpoint memorial were former soldiers and relatives of those who died.

The DUP assembly member Jeffry Donaldson and the UUP's Danny Kennedy also attended.

Hymns were sung and a two-minute silence was held, before wreaths were laid at the scene at Narrowwater. The names of the 18 soldiers who died were also read out.