FROM THE ARCHIVES:Twelve people attending the annual dinner of the Irish Collie Club were incinerated by an incendiary-type bomb planted at the La Mon House restaurant in Bangor, Co Down, in 1978. The inquest some months later included eyewitness accounts. –
ALL SAID there was a sudden flash and a ball of flame rolled across the room engulfing the screaming diners. Men and women fell to the floor and others fought their way to the door to escape from the fumes and flames. With the sudden extinction of the light, the entire hellish scene was lit only by the blaze.
Nearly all the bodies of those who died were charred beyond recognition and had to be identified by jewellery and scraps of clothing. Three of the men and two of the women were finally identified only after extensive studies of blood samples from the bodies and from near relatives, and two people, a man and a woman, could not be identified except by elimination.
Mr James Mills told the court that he had attended the dinner with his wife, Carol, his sister, Sandra Morris, and her husband, Joseph. Halfway through the meal he heard an explosion, felt intense heat and saw a big ball of flame. Some people were in flames, the lights had gone out and there were fumes.
“I was on fire and I dropped to the floor and rolled into a ball trying to get air. My brother-in-law, Joseph Morris, pulled me outside.
“Then I heard my wife and sister screaming for Joseph and I, but I could not see them. We could not get back into them.”
Both Mrs Mills and Mrs Morris died in the blaze.
Mrs Eileen Neeson, who was sitting at the same table with her husband, Thomas, and her mother, Mrs Sarah Cooper, said when the explosion came she and her husband were thrown off their seats. As she got up the flames hit her on the face and arms.
“I saw my husband’s jacket was on fire and he was rolling about on the ground trying to put out the blaze. I ran out and saw he was behind me. I tried to get back in along with Joseph Morris, but we could not because of the intense smoke.”
Both Mr Neeson and Mrs Cooper were identifiable by jewellery taken from their bodies. A forensic expert said it seemed the incendiary device had been fixed on or beside the ledge of a large window facing the car park.
From the remnants of the bomb found after the explosion, he believed it was an improvised explosive incendiary device of the type commonly encountered throughout Northern Ireland from November 1977.
It was comprised of an electrical initiating system, an explosive charge in a steel container and a quantity of petrol.
“It is notable that in this instance at least four containers of petrol were used. This represents on average four times the normal inflammable material used in this type of device. There was no indication in the present case that any materials had been added to produce a napalm effect.”