Richard Boyd Barrett Calls for Inquiry into Dublin Monaghan
Richard Boyd Barrett addressed the Dublin Monaghan bombing, criticising state failings and the handling of two related reports, Denton and Canova. He said family representatives believe the evidence points to collusive behaviour and urged a public inquiry and a parliamentary debate.
The speaker said the Denton material indicates the British Army had the names of the killers on the night of the Dublin Monaghan bombing, yet no arrests followed. He reported that family representatives view those facts as suggestive of collusive behaviour and are calling for a public inquiry.
He noted that a summary of the Denton report was published yesterday but the full Denton report is not yet released and is expected in January. He said the Canova report has been published and must be debated in the House in the new year; he also observed that Canova relates to a different incident described as involving a "steak knife" rather than Dublin Monaghan.
The speaker relayed that authors of the reports were highly critical of both the Gardaí and British authorities for having destroyed much of the files and evidence, a factor that prevented conclusive findings. He described the overall situation as "sordid" and said the destruction of evidence hindered the report authors' efforts.
He said family representatives are asking for a public inquiry and challenged colleagues to listen to that request. He also paid tribute to John Bulcher, now head of PSNI, and Ian Hutchinson for their leadership on the Canova inquiry and for withstanding pressure, saying the two reports would offer a comprehensive account if the full Denton material can be published.
Allegations of collusion and known suspects
The speaker said the Denton material indicates the British Army had the names of the killers on the night of the Dublin Monaghan bombing, yet no arrests followed. He reported that family representatives view those facts as suggestive of collusive behaviour and are calling for a public inquiry.
Reports and publication status
He noted that a summary of the Denton report was published yesterday but the full Denton report is not yet released and is expected in January. He said the Canova report has been published and must be debated in the House in the new year; he also observed that Canova relates to a different incident described as involving a "steak knife" rather than Dublin Monaghan.
Criticism of destroyed files and investigative limits
The speaker relayed that authors of the reports were highly critical of both the Gardaí and British authorities for having destroyed much of the files and evidence, a factor that prevented conclusive findings. He described the overall situation as "sordid" and said the destruction of evidence hindered the report authors' efforts.
Calls for inquiry, parliamentary debate and praise for investigators
He said family representatives are asking for a public inquiry and challenged colleagues to listen to that request. He also paid tribute to John Bulcher, now head of PSNI, and Ian Hutchinson for their leadership on the Canova inquiry and for withstanding pressure, saying the two reports would offer a comprehensive account if the full Denton material can be published.
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Transcript
Chuck, one of the biggest atrocities and national security breaches was the Dublin Monaghan bombing carried out by the Glennon gang. There were headlines yesterday saying there was no collusion in the Dublin Monaghan bombing. But first of all, the report came out yesterday, Canova, was to do with steak knife, not to do with Dublin Monaghan, which isn't coming out to Denton. The report isn't out until January. Yeah, but what the report says is the British Army had the names of the killers on the night of the bombing. They had the names of the killers. Nobody was arrested. Nobody was ever arrested. Now, the representatives of the families think that smacks of collusive behaviour. The authors were also extremely critical of both the Irish authorities, the Gardaí and the British authorities for destroying much of the files and the evidence so that the people doing the report couldn't actually gather conclusive evidence. But the whole thing stinks to high heaven. The representatives of the families are asking for a public inquiry. Thank you. Are you going to listen to them? Thank you. And then on the Dublin Monaghan bombing, you're correct, I believe, in so far as the summary was produced yesterday of the Denton report. It's regrettable that we don't have the full Denton report. And I think there was some legal action taken to try and prevent it from being published in full. The Canova report has been published. I think we should have a debate on Canova in this House in the new year because I think it reveals very sordid activity, both by state actors but also by paramilitaries, including the provisional IRA. Canova doesn't pull its punches in saying it was a threat to its own community or attacked its own community. It's quite unbelievable what went on. And in Denton, 120 people murdered by a network of loyalist paramilitaries, REC, UDR personnel, and the Dublin Monaghan bombing. So it is a very, very sordid story. And both Canova and Denton covers both. I pay tribute to John Bulcher, who's now the head of PSNI for his leadership on Canova, and also Ian Hutchinson as well. I think they have withstood a lot of pressure. And we have two comprehensive reports if we can get the latter one published. That's it, Dijak. We're moved. We're moved.