'Not alone' in seeking answers to Belturbet bomb

The British Ambassador to Ireland visited Cavan today to explore opportunities for enhanced collaboration between the UK and Ireland.

- Róisín McManus -

British Ambassador to Ireland, Kara Owen, has said that the families of the two teenagers who tragically lost their lives in the Belturbet bomb are “not alone” in seeking answers for their loved ones.

15 year old Geraldine O’Reilly from Belturbet and 16 year old Patrick Stanley from Clara, Co Offally both sadly lost their lives after a loyalist car bomb went off in the town on December 28, 1972. There has never been a conviction in connection with the bombing.

“There are hundreds of families and individuals who were impacted by the Troubles,” Ms Owen said, pointing to the recently signed Joint Legacy of the Troubles Framework between the UK and Irish governments.

“Just before I took up my role as Ambassador, the two governments signed the Legacy Framework, which is all about putting in place a process that can have the support and acceptance of as many people as possible, and the point of that process will be to make sure that families can find out what happened to their loved ones.”

Speaking to the Celt in Swanlinbar, the Ambassador said that both governments have shown a “really deep commitment” to putting all of the necessary legislation in place in this framework to make sure that families can “find out as much as they possibly can about what happened.”

“It’s really, really important. Legislatively, it’s not necessarily straightforward but our government is utterly committed to getting that forward, and it’s going to be in committee from next week, and we’re really determined to bring it through.”

“Meanwhile, there are other cases that are going through the predecessor commission and we have already seen some outcomes from that, so I think our wish is that everybody supports this in getting over the line, so that we can bring answers to families like those.”

The Ambassador visited Trivia House in Swanlinbar this morning, where she began a tour of Co Cavan within the Cuilcagh Lakelands UNESCO Global Geopark before travelling to Cavan Digital Hub, Cavan Institute and Cavan County Museum later in the day.

Since taking over the role last October, Ms Owen has set out to visit each county in the Republic of Ireland in her first year as Ambassador.

During this first visit to Cavan, she met with businesses, community organisations, educators and local leaders, exploring opportunities for deeper UK-Ireland and cross-border collaboration.

For the full interview, see this week’s print edition of The Anglo-Celt.