History of Sorts

The Dublin and Monaghan bombings were a series of coordinated bomb attacks that took place on May 17, 1974, during the Troubles in Ireland. These attacks are considered the deadliest in the history of the conflict, resulting in the highest number of casualties on a single day. 34 people were killed that day, 33 civilians and an unborn child.

The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), a loyalist paramilitary group from Northern Ireland, claimed responsibility for the bombings in 1993. It had launched a number of attacks in the Republic since 1969. The month before the bombings, the British government had lifted the UVF’s status as a proscribed organisation.

On its 50th anniversary a poem to remember those who were killed.

In Memory of Dublin and Monaghan

On streets where laughter used to flow,
In Dublin’s heart and Monaghan’s glow,
A shadow fell, a sorrow’s tide,
When lives were taken, dreams denied.

The bustling city paused in fear,
As blasts of hate drew loved ones near,
To comfort, mourn, and to defend
The memories of those who’d never mend.

Talbot, Parnell, Leinster streets,
Echoed cries and hurried feet,
In Monaghan, where peace was sought,
The cruel hand of violence wrought.

Innocent voices lost to time,
Silent now, like bells that chime,
In hearts that break and eyes that weep,
For all the promises they’d keep.

Yet from the ashes, courage grew,
In acts of love, in skies of blue,
We honor those who’ve gone before,
With hope for peace forevermore.

May memories light the darkest night,
And bring us strength to stand and fight,
For justice, truth, and healing’s hand,
United in this fragile land.

Let us remember, let us care,
For every soul no longer there,
In Dublin’s heart, in Monaghan’s grace,
We see their light in every place.

Though time may pass, we won’t forget,
The lives once lived, the tears still wet,
We vow to keep their spirits near,
In every song, in every tear.

Sources

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c51n1rdzxj8o

https://www.rte.ie/news/2024/0517/1449514-dublin-monaghan-bombings-timeline/