Courts

Son of man murdered in Dublin-Monaghan bombings wants High Court challenge of information decision

Patrick Askin says Garda Commissioner and Minister for Justice refusing to supply intelligence material to North’s police ombudsman

The 50th anniversary of Dublin-Monaghan bombing was marked in May at the memorial monument on the capital's Talbot Street. Photograph: Sam Boal/Collins Photos
The 50th anniversary of Dublin-Monaghan bombing was marked in May at the memorial monument on the capital's Talbot Street. Photograph: Sam Boal/Collins Photos
Tue Oct 08 2024 - 18:22

The son of a man murdered in the Dublin-Monaghan bombings is seeking to bring a High Court challenge over what he says is a refusal by the Garda Commissioner to provide information to the Northern Ireland police ombudsman.

On May 17th, 1974, Patrick Askin was grievously wounded and later died after a car bomb went off in Monaghan town. Earlier that day, three car bombs went off in Dublin city centre. A total of 33 people, including a pregnant woman, were killed that day.

Now, Askin’s son, also Patrick, from Armagh, wants to bring High Court proceedings over what he says is the refusal of the Garda Commissioner and the Minister for Justice to supply the Office of the Police Ombudsman of Northern Ireland (OPONI) with intelligence material about the atrocities.

Mr Askin says he instructed his solicitor to bring proceedings on foot of the campaign, set up in 1996, by the Justice for the Forgotten (JFF) which is seeking truth and justice for the victims of the bombings.

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On Tuesday, Ms Justice Mary Rose Gearty deferred an application by barrister Ruaidhri Giblin, instructed by KRW Law LLP, seeking the court’s permission to bring judicial review proceedings.

Mr Giblin said some seven years since the request from OPONI was made, the families of the victims, some of whom were in court, are still waiting for gardaí to provide assistance.

He said gardaí have given no rational explanation that would allow his clients to say whether the decision to decline assistance was justified or not.

Ms Justice Gearty said there were some really serious issues raised. She directed that the application should be heard while the respondents are on notice. She adjourned the matter to November.

The case arises out of a review conducted by the OPONI into the activities of the so called Glennane Gang, who are believed to have been responsible for 120 murders during the Troubles, including the Dublin and Monaghan bombings.

It is claimed OPONI is due to publish a report on its investigation called Operation Newham.

However, it is claimed that despite OPONI in 2017 sending international letters of requests for information to the Republic’s authorities about the Glennane Gang in this jurisdiction, the Garda Commissioner failed to provide that information.

Following a Northern Ireland Court of Appeal judgment in 2019, a review of the activities of the Glennane Gang, known as Operation Denton, was commissioned.

In April 2021, the Garda Commissioner announced the force was unable to hand over relevant files to Operation Denton because it was in the nature of a review, and not a criminal investigation, it is claimed.

However, it is claimed the Minister for Justice issued a direction that the Commissioner must co-operate with Operation Denton, it is also claimed. It is argued there was no good reason to exclude Operation Newham from the same directive.

Mr Askin seeks orders and declarations including that the Commissioner’s failure to provide the information is a breach of his right to have his father’s murder effectively investigated in accordance with the European Convention on Human Rights.

He further seeks an order compelling the Minister for Justice to implement an appropriate mechanism for the provision of information in the Commissioner’s possession to the OPONI.

In an affidavit, he said the so-called Glennane gang comprised RUC officers and soldiers as well as informants financed by and used by the RUC and the Ministry of Defence.

He said the most recent request to the Garda Commissioner to co-operate with OPONI had not met with any meaningful response.

When the Minister for Justice was again recently asked to provide a mechanism for providing the information, Mr Askin’s solicitor was told that co-operation with OPONI was an operational matter for the gardaí but that the force would continue to co-operate with requests from the UK authorities to the greatest possible extent.