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InvestigatesWicklow Army RangeINCOMING DUBLIN MID West TDs have said they are willing to meet with the survivors of a historic 1979 explosion in which three children died and others were injured.
Three children died and 10 others were injured when an unexploded Army shell exploded in the Glen of Imaal, a rugged, scenic area of the western Wicklow mountains on the 14 April 1979.
The Journal Investigates published an investigation into the explosion and its aftermath in September. The investigation uncovered a litany of issues with regards to health and safety on the Glen of Imaal firing range.
Survivors of the blast spoke to our team expressing anger over what happened and how they were treated by the State after. They called for the Government to apologise.
The Journal Investigates contacted the five incoming Dublin Mid West TDs to enquire whether they would be willing to meet with survivors, or the raise the matter during the incoming Dáil term. All five said they would be willing to meet with survivors.
“I’m fully aware of the need for the Government to make a formal apology and it’s something I would like to work with survivors and their families to pursue,” said new Independent TD Paul Gogarty.
But equally I don’t want to do anything that causes upset to anyone and does not have their consent.
“So I think an agreed approach is needed and in this context I’m happy to meet with people to see if we can come up with a course to action that everyone can broadly work towards,” Gogarty said.
This was echoed by sitting Sinn Féin TD Eoin Ó Broin, who was re-elected to the constituency with his party colleague Mark Ward.
He said it was important to hear “the views and concerns” of the victims and survivors. Ó Broin said it would be appropriate for the Dublin Mid West TDs to meet with survivors and their families to discuss with them “how they would like to proceed”.
“The best place to start would be to meet with them, listen to them, hear with what they have to say, and then raise it with the Dáil in the most appropriate manner,” he said.
Fine Gael TD Emer Higgins and new Fianna Fáil TD Shane Moynihan also both said they would meet with survivors if they wanted to meet.
The victims of the explosion were part of a group of children and youth leaders from St Mary’s Youth Club in Lucan who had travelled to the Glen for the Easter weekend. While out hiking, a member of the group picked up an unexploded Army shell, without realising what it was.
Later, another member of the group threw the shell against a rock and it exploded. Two boys – Derek Finn and Declan Kane – were killed instantly. Another boy – Victor Mills – later died from his injuries.
Ten children were injured (eight boys and two girls), five critically. Some of the injuries included severed and severely damaged limbs, shattered bones, burning and shrapnel damage. Others suffered long-term psychological trauma.
Following our investigation, the matter was raised in the Dáil by then-Dublin Mid West TD Gino Kenny. Lucan is located in the Dublin Mid West constituency.
“The families of the children never got an apology from the State. And considering this new information that has come forward, would this government consider giving the families of those that were affected and killed on the day, a state apology?” Kenny said at the time.
Minister Darragh O’Brien (who was standing in for Tánaiste Micheál Martin) said he was aware of the incident and would revert back to Kenny with an answer.
Kenny lost his seat in November’s election, but had received no response from the department by the end of the last Dáil term.
The Journal Investigates contacted the Department of Defence for a comment, but a spokesperson said it had no additional statement to make.
Commenting on what he would like to see from the next Dáil, Ron O’Neill – who was severely injured in the blast – said he wanted an acknowledgment from the State “that we weren’t in the wrong”.
“For [the State] to recognise that the Government at the time and the Defence Forces were at fault, and some type of an apology that would in some way ease the mental anxiety of people that were there at the time,” he said.
It’s been 45 years of physical, mental and financial hardship, and particularly for those that were injured and severely injured.
“I’d like some kind of apology and recognition from the Government to say they were in the wrong.”
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Phil “trickle” Hogan needs to resign. Out Out Out.
@LangerDan: i have to disagree with you. As much as i would like to see him gone he is in an important position in Europe with regards to trade and with Brexit still in the horizon its important to have an Irish person in a position like that.
@Young Angus: regardless of the calibre of person involved. You have poor standards sir.
@Young Angus:
Nobody is advocating we not having a representative in Europe.
I think what is being suggested is that it should not be Phil Hogan.
@Young Angus: The government would simply replace him with another Irish person for the position. Phil has years of arrogance under his belt. He must go. The credibility of the public health advice is at stake.
@LangerDan: I don’t think hogan has the wherewithal to understand what he did wrong
@Sean Salmon: Oh I think he does. He just doesn’t give a F what the public thinks because he’s no longer beholden to them in his unelected position in Europe.
@Young Angus: more rubbish.
What we need is a person who can be trusted to act in our best interest, not someone who reckons he is above & exempt from the standard of behaviour laid down for all. Would you buy a second hand car from someone displaying sleeveen conduct, or even consider employing one.?
@William Kelly: they can’t be preaching the rules and breaking them themselves
A bunch of facists
Hopefully this will soften the government’s cough. Hope the gardaí will take a list of all those in attendance.
@Celtic Spirit: what would they do with such a list? I’ll tell you absolutely nothing
@Sean Salmon: I would genuinely have my doubts too. This is the one opportunity to show the politicians that they are not above the law. But I won’t be holding my breath.
@Celtic Spirit: comments coming from those in attendance are already indicating they put the onus on the organisers , saying, ” we attended in the knowledge the venue would follow guidelines”,
hardly washes tho does it, the Garda btw are investigating the venus not the attendees,
and you can be sure Phil’s attitude will be the two fingered one anyway
@Kavsie: Which is not an unreasonable stance. The onus here is largely on the organisers. Individual attendees cannot know the position unless advised. .
@John R: I would agree that the venue has to share some of the blame here. But I would imagine that those attending would have had an idea of those that were also attending. The government issued the guidelines and then gave two fingers to the people of Ireland. When you think that people have been unable to attend the funerals of loved ones due to restrictions, but the government can attend a golf outing.
@Celtic Spirit: will considering there’s no law against attending such an event, what is it you expect the Gardai to do?
‘We all in this together’ lol RESIGN
Well not everyone it’s not doing what the Government are advising ,The Irish Tourism Minster fly’s of to Italy for a holiday for Two Weeks,the this guy attends a Golf dinner with 80 Guests…Just shows to show you,how there is one rule for some & another for others in Government Taking The P…
I wonder can they find a judge to head up an inquiry *cough cough*
Sarah McInerney is on fire this morning. This is exactly the time of journalism we need.
@Anne Marie Devlin: Absolutely Anne Marie. she’s a breath of fresh air. Not afraid to ask the hard questions, chases until she gets an answer and not cowed by the big political egos. Let’s hope she gets a decent air slot in the autumn radio shake up
@Sinead Foley: she should take Ivan’s spot in Newstalk
@Fabio Dillon: Absolutely Fabio. Then she wouldn’t be restrained by hoc funded RTÉ tho in fairness to her that never stopped her.
Remember when they told the poor they’d be made poorer if they didn’t follow the guidelines
Right back to the Galway tent.
The people of kildare should all drive to Dublin for the day and park out side lenster house
Can’t arrest the whole county
It is protocol that the Gardaí are notified in advance whenever there is a gathering such as this attended by government ministers, European Commissioner, senators and a judge. So the Gardaí knew about this event and now they are going to investigate?? Why did they not stop it. There would actually have been Gardaí at the event for security purposes. You couldn’t make this s*it up!
@Jjohn Cconway: I think you’ve opened up a very lovely can of worms there Mr. Conway
@Jjohn Cconway: a certain number of retired Guards would have been at the event due to their golf connection.
FF making FG look like angels! Really speaks volumes.
@The Guy is Here: plenty of FG representatives in house too
The government has to collapse, there is zero credibility or integrity left. They have betrayed and endangered the very public they swore to serve.
@David Kavanagh: We should show them zero tolerance!
@David Kavanagh: what happens then ? another 6 months of negotiations until the same parties agree again ? another election hows that going to happen ? just want to know what people expect to happen following a government collapse.
@ed w: Do you want the government to continue, it’s a disaster of biblical proportions? If I remember correctly this government was for real change we sure got that. What I want is common decency, integrity and not a bunch of pigs gorging themselves at the trough at the tax payers expense. 6 month instability for government formation or instability of the current government who cares can’t be worse than what we have at the minute
@ed w: Simple really, another election. I’m amazed you didn’t think of it.
We had 81 people that played & some of them probably organised it & no one saw anything wrong with it. Whatever about the few that have resigned the rest of them should be investigated & their positions looked at as well. Christ we had training cancelled during the week because we couldn’t find a definitive on the guidelines & didn’t want the club in breach while at the same time these guys went playing golf & socialising in groups. You couldn’t make it up Ted !!!!!
don’t everyone clap here, this is Political PR
its the venue will be investigated, not the attendees
@Kavsie: And the person/persons who organised it
@Mal Swan: I,m not sure that will stick tbh, I would assume the organisation of the actual event would be the venue owners, they accomodated the request
@Mal Swan: btw, just breaking:
the invitation issued by the society,s captain, TD Noel Grealish has been handed to Independent.ie
it makes no reference to the covid pandemic or the public health restrictions
I’m off to stock up on popcorn
Que the ” we cannot discuss that due to an ongoing investgation” lines.
The organisers of the golf outing and the hotel should be fined .
@Ian Flynn: The head of the Hotel Federation owns a hotel where none off the staff wear masks. Check it out.
Get them out. Every one of them. Disgusted.
“let them eat cake”
Did any body get to see the menu
Brady s ham by any chance……..
A great use of Garda resources.
Imagine if everyone that attended, contracted covid-19!
Maybe set up an Oireachtas Committee to look into it too with Barry Cowan as Chair.
I’ll be impressed/surprised if I see the Gardaí actually take action on this.
Responsibility has to be with the management of hotel to allow the event to go ahead .
@Eleanor Dowd: would you refuse to serve judges, politicians, EU commissioners? Pretty sure there would be a few visits from different departments to the hotel, looking for anomalies to shut it down.
The Garda Commissioner was probably at the bloody thing
I agree what everyone is saying should happen, but as usual nothing will happen.
I’m finding it hard not to laugh at the irony.
I’ll be impressed/surprised if I see the Gardaí actually take action on this.
If nothing changes nothing changes
Garda investigation that will never start or finish
If the Gardai are given the powers then some ministers and civil servants may be liable to be getting fitted with shiny bracelets
Fine the hotel as well
@Wilbert Gill: to be honest, High Court judges, ministers, TD would you refuse them
Probably will be the same result that Berlin D2 got!
FF in govt,bunch of amateurs next to go should be health minister, education minister and Micheal Martin all drowning and completely out of their depth
Anyone there from Kildare at this party,,, and if so, what are the consequences
@vinnybee: None, because it’s not illegal to leave the county.
Nothing to see here ! Garda investigations division operation White Wash
This is going to be a great comments section
Cops wont do anything.Just for show.
@Kieran Byrne: bang on.
Lol like they will do anything
If you believe this news post your part of the problem… do you rhink for 1 moment there being investigated… dont hold your breath
People make me laugh complaining about the TDS at that golf event. This has been going on for years. No accountability and they know it. This will be forgotten about in a few weeks and they will be back to normal riding the gravy train at our expense. The only way things will change is to get out on the streets and demand change. These people in government don’t give a damn about the normal joe soap but are quite happy to take your money.
Close the place for 14 days & enforce a deep clean & recertification.
Might at least clear the bad smell of low political behaviour that was allowed there.
4 k fine and or time in prison there rules see if any of them get the book thrown at them
Typical of this country, the rules only applies to the average man or woman on the street the elite live by different standards and rules
Like they investigated Berlin D2 , and found Mr Bourke is well connected
It looks to me that the Irish Hotel Federation were consulted. It may be that the hotel acting on this simply separated the attendance into two physically separated groups to comply with the rule of having gatherings of less than 59 people. In doing so they may have complied with the letter of the law rather than with the spirit of the law. It was a workaround that didn’t work out.
@Micheal S. O’ Ceilleachair: That’s all well and good but the new guidelines limiting the numbers to 15 had been announced and they still went ahead with the event. Either they didn’t go back to the hotels federation for updated guidance or the hotels federation didn’t bother to update the information being given out. Many of the attendees, FF and FG TD’s and senators had been well aware of the ‘robust’ discussions before the new regs were announced so they can hardly claim that they thought they were doing the right thing.
Garda investigating lol wtf. Would there not have being gardai present, ministers, judges, european commissioners present.?hundreds files sent to dpp about pubs. The pubs have being classed as the demon last 6 months and all they have done is stay closed and abide law. (wet pubs).
@aidanshaw: are you drunk?
This is our Dominic Cummings moment. One rule for them and another for us. I feel sorry for the gardai trying to enforce regulations after this: ‘The politicians won’t obey the rules, why should I?’
Resignations, dismissals, suspensions in the political sphere, but what about the bewigged officer od the law, the unnamed judge, blithely ignoring state regulations.
And partying with politicians despite the much vaunted separation of the law & politics.
What we have witnessed here is a chink in the facade constructed over time to mislead us into the myth that this state is operating to high democratic & moral standards, when in fact back scratching business is still conducted in private huddles.
Not tents anymore, not smokey backrooms, but nontheless a conspiracy of self interest.
And our children cannot set up home, exist in gig economy jobs, no prospect of reasonable health or pension cover.
No wonder we lose the cream of our youth to other economies.
@William Kelly: they can’t be friends or attend the same event?
Can Gardai not go to the cinema if a local criminal happens to also be there?
Garda investigation ongoing and Journal allows comments.
Run Dmc Jam Master Jay story last week – no comments allowed for legal reasons. Haha. This place, jesus.
@Bernard Sweeney: when there’s a court case, comments are closed. It’s not hard to understand
@Karl: Actually, that’s what the approach should be, but, they frequently close comments when there isn’t a court case ongoing. Also, why close one in relation to the Jam Master Jay one in the states, like they give a toss what happens on here.
Ah Yes, find a Scapegoat, try to nail the Hotel. Typical stuff.
Do you know who’s running the government? Social media. Surely there are more important issues than a politician attending an event such as this. Was it misjudged? – Yes. Was it possibly against the regulations? – Yes. Is it the worst issue going on in the country right now? No. Just the one keyboard warriors have latched onto today.
@Fon_Ellard: good point.
Where’s the line? Anything below murder to be ignored? Serious assaults? Drugs under a certain value?
Jasus lads.. They could all end up in jail!
No rules broken. It took place in two rooms, no more than 50 in each room, why do you think it was 80 people? Because when you add staff it brings it near to 100, hence splitting it into two ‘events’ of 50 max.
No rules broken and no file will be sent to the DPP.
That’s my interpretation, not a defense of anyone in the big bad government etc.
This is not the biggest news story this week, but I know people pick the battles they think they can sling the most mud at. Usual suspects haven’t disappointed.
@Bernard Sweeney: indoor events are limited to 6 people now.
@Bernard Sweeney: “No rules broken and no file will be sent to the DPP.”
So who will decide if a crime has been committed then?
Did Phil Hogan travel from a locked down county to get to this event? Journalist on radio earlier said that he may have been staying in Kildare!
@Michael Burke: In case you missed it this evening, he left 2 days before the LOKdown
Maybe now we can get rid of these right wing Muppets..
have your say