No answers for the Dundalk bombing families
THE DUNDALK BOMBING KILLED TWO LOCAL MEN IN DECEMBER 1975
IT will be 43 years tomorrow ( Wednesday) December 19th since a Loyalist gang planted a car bomb in the centre of Dundalk, which caused the deaths of two local men.
Hugh Watters, a 60-year-old tailor and married father of four was killed instantly, while 61-year-old Jack Rooney, a fireman for the local council passed away three days later.
The bombing has long been blamed on a loyalist paramilitary group affiliated to the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), but no one was ever charged.
A monument to Jack Rooney and Hugh Watters now stands outside Dundalk Courthouse, across the road from where the bomb exploded.
Ongoing calls for answers as to who was behind the devastating bombing were echoed again this week as the anniversary approached.
Louth TD Declan Breathnach raised the issue in a Dail debate with Tanaiste Simon Coveney, saying that ‘ legacy issues from the Northern Ireland Troubles continue to impact on many families.’
‘I refer not only to the Dublin-Monaghan or Dundalk bombings, but also to many individual cases that have had an impact both North and South. It is an issue that persistently comes up in the Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement and through the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly.’
Deputy Breathnach highlighted the ‘ huge frustration among the affected families with the lack of response, particularly from the British, and the lack of progress in finding solutions to this issue.’
‘I want to ask the Tánaiste, genuinely, if any progress is being made and when we can see some success in giving these people hope of closure on their issues.’
Speaking on the issue, the Tanaiste said: ‘Legacy is a huge part of reconciliation in the context of the work we all need to do in Northern Ireland between communities and families. There has been a reasonably successful public consultation process on legacy and the implementation of new legacy structures that have been agreed between the two Governments. That will require legislation in Westminster which not be introduced until well into next year. We continue to raise the issues of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings with the British Government in regard to releasing information that has not yet been made available. We will work in partnership with the British Government, particularly Ms Karen Bradley and her office, to ensure that the consultation that has taken place with all political parties in Northern Ireland and with many victims’ groups is reflected in new proposals, whether through legislation in Westminster or new legislation that the Government will introduce in this House to ensure that we play our part in future legacy inquests.’