Senator Niall Blaney says the 50th anniversary of the Monaghan and Dublin massacres this week is a time to reflect on the needless loss of life and to re-commit to the path of peace.
Seven people were killed in the no-warning Monaghan town centre bomb attack and many others injured.
Senator Blaney said: “At two minutes to seven on the 17th May 1974, Monaghan was targeted by the UVF. The car bomb was the fourth and last to explode that afternoon. Earlier, three car bombs exploded in Dublin in the worst terrorist incident in the history of the state. These indiscriminate attacks in the capital claimed 27 lives.
“These vile atrocities achieved nothing. They brought unimaginable heartache and pain which left 300 injured, many of them with life-long and appalling injuries. My thoughts are with all the families of the victims.
“Today, as we look back and mark these dreadful events, we re-commit ourselves to the path of peace. Today, we are in a different place and thankfully free of the terrorism that caused so much anguish and suffering.
“No one has ever been brought before the Courts for these atrocities, and that is a matter of deep regret.
“Peace came about thanks to the Good Friday Agreement which delivered a new beginning for us all. We have an open border, improved and stronger cross-border relations and better understanding of one another where we share common concerns and work collaboratively.
“Today, I wish Monaghan people well as they unveil a new monument to the victims. We must never forget the price that was paid by innocent people. Fifty years on, we will pause to remember the devastation that was visited on Monaghan and Dublin and the carnage that took place that dreadful day.
“I’m the republican voice who fully endorses and supports Article 3 of our Constitution which states: ‘It is the firm will of the Irish Nation, in harmony and friendship, to unite all the people who share the territory of the island of Ireland, in all the diversity of their identities and traditions, recognising that a united Ireland shall be brought about only by peaceful means with the consent of a majority of the people, democratically expressed, in both jurisdictions in the island.’”
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