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Call for inquiry into 1970s atrocities

Michael McDowell - Urged to set up inquiry
Michael McDowell - Urged to set up inquiry

A group representing families of victims of the Troubles has said the Government must put in place a Commission of Inquiry into several atrocities in the 1970s.

Justice for the Forgotten made the call to coincide with the unveiling of a memorial to two teenagers killed in a UVF bomb in Co Cavan.

Teenagers Geraldine O'Reilly and Paddy Stanley were killed instantly in the blast on Belturbet's Main Street on 28 December 1972. The families of the two victims have supported the call.

Justice for the Forgotten has said serious questions remain unanswered about the investigation into the car bombing.

Spokeswoman Margaret Urwin said the Government must establish a commission to look at the garda investigation into the blast, and a number of other bombings in the 1970s.

The Commission of Investigation has been recommended by a joint Oireachtas committee.

Today in Belturbet the father of Paddy Stanley, Joe, appealed to the Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell, to set up an inquiry aimed at identifying the bombers who killed his son.

No-one was ever charged, despite the fact that many names of known loyalist terrorists were provided to gardaí.