THE DAUGHTER OF one of the victims of a bomb attack in Co Monaghan has said that despite 50 years since the blast, they are still searching for answers.

Sharon Askin was just two years old when her father Paddy was killed in the bomb in Monaghan.

On May 17 1974, three no-warning bombs went off across Dublin city centre and one in Monaghan town, which claimed 35 lives, including two unborn babies.

No-one has ever been convicted over the bombings that have been blamed on loyalist paramilitaries.

Paddy had picked up his wages and was having a drink in a local bar when the bomb exploded.

Friday will be the 50th anniversary of the attacks.

Sharon, who lives in Co Armagh, will travel to Monaghan with her twin sister Sonia and two brothers, Patrick and Paul, to take part in an event to remember the victims.

“Myself and Sonia have no memories of our father. We can only go by what people have told us about him,” Sharon told the PA news agency.

“The two boys can remember him, like meeting him after work and driving the tractors.

“We have one photograph with him. So it’s tough.

“It makes you feel that you have lost out on a lot.

“People say how laid-back he was and I imagine as a father he would have been a soft touch. It would have been nice to have him.

“Mum (Patricia) did everything and we missed out on nothing. But he missed first Holy Communions and weddings and he never met his grandchildren. He missed all those opportunities.

“It was tough growing up as it wasn’t really talked about so we never knew for a long time what happened him, only that he was dead.

“Mum didn’t talk about it as it brought back memories. The blast got him down one side of the body so the whole side of him was disfigured and she saw him like that.

“As we got older we took more of an interest in what happened.”

Fifty years after the attacks, the victims’ families are still searching for the truth of what happened that day.

Inquiry

An Irish Government inquiry in 2003 found that the bombings were carried out by loyalists.

The report found it likely that members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) either participated in the attacks, or were aware of the plans.

This week, the Dail supported an all-party motion which called on it to press the British government to provide access to “relevant material” in connection with the Dublin and Monaghan bombs.

Sharon added: “After 50 years there are still no answers. That’s the feeling. It’s hard to believe that there was so little effort made at the time to find out who did it.

“Still to this day, 50 years later we are still asking the same questions. How and why and who told them to do it?

“It’s one step forward and two back all the time.

“We would like them say why it happened because this came from high up, and we want to know why and who is responsible. The governments have the information but aren’t willing to release it.

“Answers would be nice, admission would be brilliant and apology would be a miracle.

“The British government want to hide the information from us and other victims as they don’t want to admit they took part in bombings and shootings in Northern Ireland and in Dublin.

“They want to leave it hard for people to get answers.”

Sharon will be among many family members who will attend the event in Monaghan.

“We will all be there and our children will be there. If we don’t win our fight, the next generation will win it for us,” she added.

Last month, the High Court dismissed the British government’s attempt to throw out a civil action taken by survivors and victims’ families.

The legal battle against the State alleges collusion and failure to investigate the bombs.

Speaking on the eve of the anniversary, solicitor Kevin Winters, of KRW Law which represents a number of the families, said: “The recent court success couldn’t be any more timely coming as it does within a few weeks of the 50th anniversary.

“It means we can now revisit the discovery order and we can now proceed to a long-overdue full hearing.

“It’s also timely given recent positive commentary by the Chief Constable Jon Boutcher on the need for a revised victim-centred approach on Troubles-related cases.

“I welcome this and his specific endorsement of the need for greater accountability by State agencies where wrong has occurred.

“This couldn’t be a more timely antidote to the approach taken by the State to date in the Dublin Monaghan litigation.

“I am confident the six-year reargued attempt to throw this case out would never have occurred under Jon Boutcher’s watch. If proof be needed, we need look no further than his recent interim Kenova report on the alleged agent Stakeknife.

“Kenova’s citing of the need for greater transparency hopefully signposts a long-overdue change of policy on conflict agitation.

“The comprehensive ruling delivered last month complements precisely what the new chief constable has recently endorsed in Kenova.

“If his well-intentioned expressed views are to take root then all current legally driven State lawfare needs to cease immediately.

“It is systemic and punitive. It is anything but victim centered.”