Brendan Smith Demands Truth on 1972 Belturbet Bombing

Thank you, Oka Heardigan. I appreciate Uncancorda selecting this very important issue for discussion here this evening. We are now approaching the 49th anniversary of the bombing in Beltorbet County Cavern that caused the deaths of two young innocent teenagers, Geraldine O'Reilly from Beltorbet and Patrick Stanley from Clara County Offaly. On many occasions I have raised the issue of this heinous crime through dull questions, debates in this House, at Oireachtas committees and directly with the British authorities. Sadly, nobody has ever been brought to justice for these murders and the injuries inflicted on so many others on that tragic night of 28th December 1972. Not alone has nobody been brought to justice, but the families have never got the truth in relation to the perpetrators of this dastardly act. I repeat again that I believe that there has not been an adequate or comprehensive investigation by the authorities in Northern Ireland into this bombing. I put on the record of this House in September 2020 information that had come directly to me, courtesy of the good work of Professor Edward Bourke of the University of Nottingham. His detailed report on the activities of Loyalist paramilitaries, particularly in the Cavern and Monaghan area, shows very clearly that there was collusion between some British state forces and Loyalist paramilitaries in a series of attacks in Cavern and Monaghan. One of the subheadings in Professor Bourke's detailed article is, Blowing up Belturbet, Loyalist operations in County Cavern. An hour and a half later, the same car exploded on Main Street, killing two teenagers, Geraldine O'Reilly 15 and Paddy Stanley 16. Twelve more people were injured, some seriously, including Geraldine O'Reilly's brother. At my request, and Taoiseach has raised this very important issue with the British Government, on the need to address our ongoing requests for a full and comprehensive investigation. We need answers, and the very least the O'Reilly and Stanley families deserve is the truth, having suffered decades of grief for the loss of their loved ones. Almost a half century has passed since that fatal night in Belturbet. We must never forget that it is never too late to get the truth. The very well-researched and very well-written book by Joe Duffy of RTE and Freya McClemmons of the Irish Times, Children of the Troubles, the untold story of the children killed in the Northern Ireland conflict, refers to the Belturbet tragedy as follows. Geraldine was one of two children killed in the explosion. The other, Patrick Stanley, had been calling his mother from a phone box when the bomb went off. Nobody has ever been convicted of the atrocity, but according to lost lives, reliable loyalist sources attribute the bombings to the UVF. The bomb killed two people, both children, Paddy and 15-year-old Geraldine O'Reilly, are now remembered with a memorial in Belturbet. That bomb, O'Reilly, with such devastating consequences, originated in our neighbouring county of Fermanagh. We talk in macro terms about legacy issues and dealing with the past, but what we are talking about here is life and death. We cannot deal with the past without getting full cooperation from all relevant security agencies. I know many families who have lost loved ones, including the O'Reilly and Stanley families, who have not got the truth. But those families have acted over the decades with such grace and such dignity. They want to get the truth. They have fully realised that getting prosecutions will never be easy. Time is passing by, unfortunately. Thank you, O'Reilly. I am Paddy. Thank you, O'Reilly. I thank Deputy Brendan Smith for raising this matter, and I know he has championed this issue for many, many years now, to try to get to the truth to what happened. The bombing of Belturbet on 28th of December 1972 was an appalling and callous act of violence that claimed the lives of two innocent people, Darlene O'Reilly and Patrick Stanley, and injured many others. The dreadful effects of this attack lasted this very day. Secondly, the suffering of those who have lost what was most precious to them goes on. That the perpetrators of this atrocity have never been held accountable for their crimes can only compound a sense of loss. My deepest sympathies go out to the bereaved and to the injured. As the Deputy will be aware, Angarda Siakana's authorities have previously advised that the bombing and the murders were comprehensively investigated by Angarda Siakana at the time. The Defence Forces provided expert evidence and assistance, and the investigation involved close liaison with the authorities in Northern Ireland. Despite every avenue of inquiry being pursued at the time, there was insufficient evidence to bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice. The investigation into the bombing and the murders of those two young people has not been closed, and Angarda Siakana would pursue any new evidence or information that may be made available to them. They would, of course, work in close cooperation with the PSNI, where that could advance the investigation. The Gardaí also liaises with the families with any developments that arise. Following the publication of academic articles, both last year and this year, which I thank the Deputy for raising, Minister McAdee arranged for a copy of the articles, which concerned interrelated the Bell-Turbet bombing and the information on a potential suspect, to be forwarded to the Gardaí authorities for attention. The RTE Investigates Programme, which aired in December 2020, at Bell-Turbet, a bomb that time forgot, was also brought to their attention. Minister McAdee will continue to engage with the Gardaí Commission in relation to the progress in this investigation. But most importantly, I appeal to anybody with any information that may be irrelevant to this case, even after nearly 50 years, to bring it to the attention of the Gardaí authorities to aid in their investigation. Thank you, Cairlock. I thank Minister of State Deputy James Brown for being present this evening as a Minister of State in the Department of Justice. I know that the Minister has often spoken to me privately about this issue, and he has assured me that every possible effort will be made to pursue these inquiries through Angorda-Shikana. I am very glad that Minister McAntee confirmed to me, as well as did the Minister of State this evening, that the information that I put on the record of this House, that had come to me through the good detailed research of Professor Bourke of the University of Nottingham following his work through British state papers about the collusion and the clear evidence of that collusion between British state forces and the UVF. I also quoted Joe Duffy and Freya McClellan's book, where they refer to the publication Lost Lives. They are all very detailed and reputable publications that have done their homework. Nobody can question the contents of the publications of Professor Bourke's article, Lost Lives or the Children of the Troubles, either. Minister, I said again earlier that everybody is getting older. We are talking now about heading towards half a century since that fatal night, since that heinous crime was committed, since two young teenagers lost their lives and others were injured. I am very glad that Antichok pursued this matter at the highest level with the British government. And we must ensure that Ngardasí Akana keeps pressure on their counterparts in Northern Ireland and in Britain to have a meaningful investigation. The families, as I said earlier, they want the truth. They don't want vengeance or revenge. That's not in those people who are so graceful and so dignified. We all realise that sadly the chance of getting a prosecution will be extremely difficult. That's the reality 49 years plus following those incidents. But we must never give up. We must never give up. And it's absolutely appalling that Mr Johnston and his colleagues in the British government will come up with the idea of an amnesty. An amnesty for murderers. Murderers of the British state forces and murderers of paramilitary organisations in Northern Ireland as well. Mr Johnston and his government are suggesting that we cut off forever the possibility of getting the truth. That we close down all avenues of investigation. As an Oireachtas, we must ensure that the message continues to go back, that we will never give up on seeking the truth. The very least of the families whom I know so well, who have suffered so much, is to get the truth and to be assured that our agencies and our governments have their interests at heart and that they will leave no stone unturned to try to get to the truth of what happened on that night, on 28th December 1972. Thank you, Aghaerlach. Thank you, Deputy. And Adam. Thank you, Aghaerlach. And I again thank Deputy Brendan Smith for raising this very important matter. And it is coming up now to almost half a century, as the Deputy rightly pointed out, since the bombings in Belterbet. But the pain is still very real for those families, for the O'Reilly family and for the Stanley family, who lost their loved ones. And the suffering continues for those families whose loved ones were injured in that horrific bombing 50 years ago. The Gardaí have not given up. And I re-emphasise that if anybody has any information on this, that it will be investigated. It is never too late to come forward and to tell the truth and to ease people's pain and suffering. I certainly commend Deputy Smith, and he deserves to be praised for his tenacity in continuing to raise this very serious injustice that these families have suffered from. And certainly Deputy Smith has never given up on this very serious crime that occurred. Looking to how we can move forward, it is important to emphasise that the Gardaí criminal investigation does remain open. And any new information or evidence, as I say, will be thoroughly investigated. The Government has also raised this case with the British Government in discussions on legacy issues, and they will continue to do so. And it can ensure the Deputy that the appalling events of that day are very much in the Department of Justice's mind, in my mind, and in Minister McEntee's mind and thoughts, and we will continue to engage with the Gardaí commissioner in relation to progressing the investigation of this horrific crime. And again, I call on anybody. There must still be people out there alive today. The Deputy points out, rightly so, that time is moving on, but there must still be some people out there with information, and I urge them to come forward and to come clean and to provide that information or evidence that they may have to allow these families to have justice for the loved ones that they lost. Thank you, Gerlach. Thank you.