Post by Wasp on Feb 27, 2010 17:54:43 GMT
1974: Bombs devastate Dublin and Monaghan
Three car bombs have exploded in Dublin, killing 23 people and injuring more than 100 others during rush hour.
Five more people died and another 20 were hurt in a blast which hit the border town of Monaghan an hour later.
Up to 15 of the dead are believed to be women and two are thought to be baby boys.
Irish Prime Minister Liam Cosgrave condemned the bombings and said on TV: "I do not know which evil men did this but everyone who has practised violence or preached violence or condoned violence must bear his share of responsiblility.
"It will bring home to us what the people of Northern Ireland have been suffering for five long years."
Hundreds of people were in the street. They were running and screaming aimlessly.
Witness John Casey
The drama unfolded at around 1725 when two of the bombs tore through Talbot and Parnell Street before a third blast rocked South Leinster Street near Trinity College.
A fourth explosion struck a public house in Monaghan shortly after.
The city was immediately declared a disaster area.
A police spokesman said: "There were no warnings. These were acts of outright war. People had no chance.
"We are detaining everyone we think can help with inquiries. We believe the people behind this come from Northern Ireland."
Talbot Street, which was even more crowded than usual because of a corporation bus strike, was the worst hit area.
Several bodies lay in the road for half an hour as ambulances struggled to get through traffic jams.
Witness John Casey, who was walking into a Talbot Street hotel when the bomb went off, said: "Hundreds of people were in the street. They were running and screaming aimlessly.
"A newspaper stand was blown into the air past me and the newsboy next to it just disappeared in front of my eyes."
Immediately after the bombings the Ulster Defence Association in Belfast denied planting the bombs as did the Provisional IRA.
But police later discovered that all four cars had Ulster registration plates and two of them had been hijacked in Protestant areas in Belfast.
Three car bombs have exploded in Dublin, killing 23 people and injuring more than 100 others during rush hour.
Five more people died and another 20 were hurt in a blast which hit the border town of Monaghan an hour later.
Up to 15 of the dead are believed to be women and two are thought to be baby boys.
Irish Prime Minister Liam Cosgrave condemned the bombings and said on TV: "I do not know which evil men did this but everyone who has practised violence or preached violence or condoned violence must bear his share of responsiblility.
"It will bring home to us what the people of Northern Ireland have been suffering for five long years."
Hundreds of people were in the street. They were running and screaming aimlessly.
Witness John Casey
The drama unfolded at around 1725 when two of the bombs tore through Talbot and Parnell Street before a third blast rocked South Leinster Street near Trinity College.
A fourth explosion struck a public house in Monaghan shortly after.
The city was immediately declared a disaster area.
A police spokesman said: "There were no warnings. These were acts of outright war. People had no chance.
"We are detaining everyone we think can help with inquiries. We believe the people behind this come from Northern Ireland."
Talbot Street, which was even more crowded than usual because of a corporation bus strike, was the worst hit area.
Several bodies lay in the road for half an hour as ambulances struggled to get through traffic jams.
Witness John Casey, who was walking into a Talbot Street hotel when the bomb went off, said: "Hundreds of people were in the street. They were running and screaming aimlessly.
"A newspaper stand was blown into the air past me and the newsboy next to it just disappeared in front of my eyes."
Immediately after the bombings the Ulster Defence Association in Belfast denied planting the bombs as did the Provisional IRA.
But police later discovered that all four cars had Ulster registration plates and two of them had been hijacked in Protestant areas in Belfast.