Killings in the South during the troubles go unpunished

I disagree

Many questions arise from the incidents surrounding the Dublin/Monaghan bombings in 1974 as well as the bombings themselves. There was no serious investigation into the incident at the time. Evidence was washed down the drain by the Dublin fire brigade and some evidence sent for analysis in Belfast mysteriously disappeared. It was a disaster from start to finish. Jack Lynch famously made the statement regarding British involvement in a previous attack but the bombings were swept under the carpet. Even in the present era, evidence isn’t forthcoming since files relating to the incident apparently grew legs and walked out of a secure building in Dublin. Why was there very little pressure put on the government to act? Surely the aim of a government is to rule a country in a way that benefits its citizens.
It is not just that incident. There are many more such as the one involving Seamus Ludlow being murdered by UDR members. The Gardaí told his family that he was an informer (he wasn’t) and the IRA had killed him, then they gave the name of a relative that carried out the killing. A bomb in Belturbet, Co. Cavan killed two teenagers and there was no satisfactory investigation. That’s only three cases but there are many more relating to bombings, shootings and a stabbing. They seemed to be swept under the carpet for decades.
Why have successive governments never made any attempts to find the truth? Why have the Gardaí failed on multiple occasions to protect the people of this country and failed to deliver peace of mind to the families of those murdered? Why have they protected the guilty?

http://www.dublinmonaghanbombings.org/oralsubdb25jan05page1.html
http://www.michael.donegan.care4free.net/dundalk_bombing/dundalk_democrat201203.htm
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2003/dec2003/irel-d23.shtml#top
http://www.seamusludlow.com/index.html
http://www.relativesforjustice.com/publications/publications.htm

Dirk Gently

It is politically sensitive in times of fragile peace to rock the boat. There are many straws which could break the peace process back. I am pretty much convinced that there was collusion involved with the British security forces with the bombings you mentioned just as their was collusion between the security forces and loyalist paramilitaries on an on going basis. I'm also inclined to think that there was a joint cover up on the part of the Irish government and British government (or elements of both governments) to make sure it was not publicly acknowledged and punished.

You have to way up the lesser of two evils sometimes, justice for the dead versus a lasting peace for the living. I'm of the opinion that everything should be brought out into the open in order for reconciliation to happen and people to move on but how would some people react to the news and would they be mature enough to move on or would they use it as an excuse not to trust and engage with the governments. Opening old wounds sometimes leads to the conditions in which those wounds were inflicted being created again. I think its less a case of successive governments not wanting to find the truth, but instead, knowing the truth decided it was in the best interests of the public to hold that information back.

I disagree

As I said, the government is there for the benefit of the people and not to cover up crimes committed by a foreign state. Justice for the dead is very important as far as I am concerned but it isn’t just that. The services of this state have shown on numerous occasions that it will allow its people to die on the streets. This seriously diminishes my confidence in them. If they allowed murder to be carried on Irish streets before, what is stopping them doing the same thing in the future if the troubles recommenced?
We are talking about incidents from thirty years ago and they will not topple the current process. The Finucane case will no doubt show collusion but that will not bring the peace process to an end. Neither has several other operations carried out by the British. The people of this state have the right to know what happened. We all have our suspicions and it is about time the participants who try to portray themselves as whiter than white admit to their illegal murderous activities.