Belturbet bombing investigation
Deputies Smith and Smyth raised the 1972 Belturbet bombings, the lack of convictions, and families' continued frustration at the open Garda investigation. The Taoiseach said the crime was reprehensible, the investigation remains open, and he would raise the matter with British and Northern Irish authorities; time then expired.
On 28 December 1972, a bomb that originated in County Fermanagh caused the deaths of Geraldine O'Reilly and Paddy Stanley in Belturbet, County Cavan, while injuring many other people. Unfortunately, nobody has ever been brought to justice for this heinous crime and there has never been a proper or thorough investigation in Northern Ireland into the persons responsible for this activity.
On 10 September, during oral questions to the Minister for Justice, I brought to the attention of the House new information that had come to me through the work of Dr. Edward Burke of the University of Nottingham regarding collusion between British state forces and loyalist paramilitaries in Northern Ireland relating to bombings in the southern Border counties. Will the Taoiseach pursue again with the Northern Ireland and British authorities the need to have proper, full and thorough investigations into the bombing in Belturbet? The least the O'Reilly and Stanley families deserve is the truth and the identity of the reprehensible people who caused the deaths of two young innocent people. It is never too late to get the truth.
Comment on this
Last night "RTÉ Investigates" very powerfully demonstrated the horror, trauma and tragedy of the killings of Geraldine O'Reilly, who was 15, and Paddy Stanley, who was 16, in the Belturbet bombings 48 years ago. Nobody has been convicted. To compound the grief further, the families have suffered further because An Garda Síochána will not disclose the contents of the reports of the investigation to the families because it is still considered live, which is utterly wrong 48 years later. As we know, the Belturbet bombing was later added to the interim report on the Dublin and Monaghan bombings.
I ask the Taoiseach today for a proper and full investigation into this atrocity, the murder of two innocent teenagers. It is never too late to do the right thing and full, open and transparent reports should be made available to the O'Reilly and Stanley families so we can bring peace to their minds.
Comment on this
I thank the Deputies for raising this matter, the murder of two young innocent people in Belturbet in 1972. The victims were two teenagers, Geraldine O'Reilly and Patrick Stanley. It was a reprehensible crime. Deputies Smith and Smyth have been pursuing the matter for quite some time and the Garda investigation remains open. I will pursue the matter with the British authorities and the authorities in Northern Ireland.
I accept the point made by both Deputies that the families involved have been left with no answers. Unfortunately, in recent times we have had a number of cases where families have not gotten closure. This involves the British Government but also the non-State actors who continue to stay silent about what they know. They need to start living up to their obligations in terms of telling people what they know about heinous crimes of this kind. In this particular case I will do everything I possibly can to see if we can get further answers for the families.
