Dublin and Monaghan: Do not ask victims to move on – Irish president

Relatives of people killed or injured during the Troubles should not be expected to “move on” and they “deserve the truth – no more, no less”, Ireland’s president has said.

Michael D Higgins was speaking on the 50th anniversary of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, which killed 33 people.

Three bombs were set off in the Irish capital and one in the town of Monaghan.

Loyalist paramilitary group the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) admitted carrying out the attacks 19 years later.

However, nobody was ever convicted, and Mr Higgins condemned what he said was a “manifest failure” to investigate the worst bombing in the country’s modern history.

He said it was a “matter of profound regret” and “unacceptable” that no one had been held accountable.

Mr Higgins said both the UK and Irish governments had failed to “initiate suitable responses in the aftermath of the attacks”.

The president also said there were systemic failures at state level include possible collusion between security forces and loyalist paramilitaries, the disappearance of important forensic evidence and a refusal to supply information.

The bombings resulted in the largest loss of life on any single day of the Troubles.