The murder of members of the Miami Showband was discussed during talks yesterday between the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Northern Secretary.
In the context of investigating the high-profile incidents of the Troubles, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Shaun Woodward, said it was vital to "come to terms with the past but not to be held by the past".
Just one day after the publication of a new book by a survivor of the 1975 killings by members of the UVF, the showband killings were raised by Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern during talks in Iveagh House in Dublin yesterday with Mr Woodward.
Mr Ahern said he referred to some high-profile killings, such as the murder of Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane, "and we also talked about the Miami Showband as well" in regard to "the whole issue of dealing with the past".
Campaigners have long called for a separate inquiry into possible collusion by British security forces into the ambush and murder of the band members.
Three showband members - singer Fran O'Toole and trumpet players Tony Geraghty and Brian McCoy - were killed after being stopped at a fake roadblock. Survivor Stephen Travers has just released a book - The Miami Showband Massacre - about the incident.
Mr Woodward said that these issues were being investigated by Lord Eames and Denis Bradley, who are charged with finding consensus on how to address the legacy of the Troubles.
Mr Woodward said he expected the Eames and Bradley report by next summer. He said it would "tell us whether consensus exists".
"That is the prize," said Mr Woodward, "because as TS Eliot says, time present and time past are involved in time future. You can't simply dispense with the past. It's only been because the communities of this island have embraced and wanted to understand the past ... that we've made the progress that we have.
"Certainly I would be amazed if it is possible to find a consensus that didn't include trying to deal with the past. I think the essential component here is to find a way to deal with the past that allows us also to have a future."