It has been 50 years of pain and struggle for the survivors and bereaved family members of the Dublin/Monaghan bombings. That's according to Margaret Urwin of Justice for the Forgotten which was formed back in 1996. According to Margaret, families are "looking forward" to reports which are due to come out before the end of this year from Operation Denton and the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland.
In relation to finally getting answers, the campaign group is also hopeful that after all this time they will be able to take their civil case to the High Court in Belfast. Speaking to Northern Sound, Margaret said that family members and campaigners like herself seeking truth and justice were "silenced" for many years. According to Margaret, the State commemoration means a lot to the families and survivors who she says were "ignored" and "abandoned" by successive governments over the years. "The successive governments here in Dublin just completely ignored the victims," explained Margaret. "It was just horrific really and people felt totally abandoned for all those years."
Meanwhile, Fianna Fail TD for Cavan/Monaghan Deputy Brendan Smith reiterated his disgust at the British Government's refusal to release files on the Dublin and Monaghan bombings; "Today is a day of grief for families to know that the truth has still not been established. There cannot be any justification, after the passing of five decades, for the British Government denying access to all files and papers pertaining to those atrocities to an eminent, independent, international judicial figure."
