#OnThisDay 1974 Three bombs were detonated across rush hour Dublin & a fourth in Monaghan town. 34 people were killed including an unborn infant, the entire O’Brien family & an 80 year old man. Over 300 people were injured. This was the bloodiest single event of the Troubles.
The loyalist UVF claimed responsibility in 1993 but nobody was ever charged. Sammy Smyth, then press officer of both the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and the Ulster Workers’ Council (UWC) Strike Committee, said,
“I am very happy about the bombings in Dublin. There is a war with the Free State and now we are laughing at them.”
Important forensic evidence was sent to Britain but all came back with negative results. It is very likely that the British Government was involved in some aspect of this terrorist attack. This is confirmed by many ex MI-5 personnel. The Irish Government also come under attack for a lacklustre response.
Nobody has ever been charged for this attack.