Stanley family to attend Belturbet memorial event

A special memorial event to mark the 50th anniversary of the Belturbet bombing, which claimed the life of 16-year-old Patrick Stanley from Clara, is to be attended by all the surviving members of the teenager’s family.

The commemoration is set to take place in the county Cavan town at 12 noon on Wednesday next, December 28, with a wreath laying ceremony conducted at the memorial in the centre of the town in memory of Patrick and the second victim of the no-warning bomb, local teenager, 15-year-old Geraldine O’Reilly.

Speaking on behalf of the Stanley family, whose lives were devastated as a result of the tragedy, Susan Stanley said all members of her family are planning to attend the memorial event on December 28 which has been jointly organised by Cavan County Council in liaison with Margaret Urwin from ‘Justice for the Forgotten’ who has been a passionate advocate on behalf of the families of Patrick Stanley and Geraldine O’Reilly over many years.

Ms Urwin, along with Frank Shouldice, who directed the RTE Investigates programme ‘Belturbet: A Bomb That Time Forgot’ have been invited to address the memorial event, along with Cathaoirleach of Cavan County Council, Fianna Fail Cllr John Paul Feeley.

The Stanley family will return from Belturbet to Clara on December 28 for a special Mass which has been organised in St Brigid's Church in the town at 7.30pm to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Belturbet bombing.

“Anyone who wishes to attend either the memorial event in Belturbet or the Mass in Clara is more than welcome to come along,” said Susan Stanley, who has asked that those who wish to travel to Belturbet on December 28 next to attend the special commemoration to get in touch with any member of her family.

The series of events to mark the 50th anniversary of the Belturbet bombing is the culmination of a major renewed Garda focus on trying to solve the crime which continues to impact the lives of the surviving relatives of the tragedy half a century later.

On Monday night of this week, RTE’s Crimecall programme staged a reconstruction of the tragic events that unfolded in Belturbet 50 years ago as part of a renewed appeal for information which also included a photofit description of the man Gardai believe drove the red Ford Escort carrying a no-warning bomb into Belturbet’s Main Street on the night of the explosion.

Prior to the Crimecall programme, a detailed media briefing took place in Cavan at which a chilling new photofit of one of the bombing suspects was made public.

The briefing, which took place just metres from the location of the explosion, was led by the Assistant Commissioner of the North Western Region, Chief Supt Michael McElgunn, who said “specific information” in relation to the Belburbet bombing had merited a review of the case in 2021 which discovered “new investigative opportunities”. This, in turn had led to the appointment of a senior investigative officer and the establishment of an Incident Room at Ballyconnell Garda Station in September of this year.“The investigation as “active, it is robust, and it is resourced,” assured Asst Comm McElgunn.

Chief Supt McGovern confirmed that gardaí were following a “number” of lines of inquiry, but would not be drawn on specifics or who, if any groups, were suspected of blame, and he added that the investigations into Belturbet, and also bombings in Clones and Pettigo in Donegal on the same evening, all remain “open”.

Chief Supt McGovern went on to say, as the 50th anniversary approaches, the investigation team felt now was the “right time” to release the never before seen photofit of one of the suspects in the Belburbet bombing. He also confirmed that Gardai are liaising with Forensic Science Ireland on what other avenues are open to them in their attempts to further the current investigation.

“We’re conscious of the passage of time, 50 years, and how that poses a number of challenges. However we have also advanced in terms of investigative procedures and techniques and forensics and we’re hoping that will assist us.”

The fresh garda appeal, he added, is for people in Ireland, Northern Ireland and elsewhere to “consider” the new evidence. “Does anything jog a memory? Do you have any information, which might assist? Regardless of how minor you think that information might be, it could be critical. Let skilled investigators decide. Fifty years have passed, families have suffered indescribably. Parents have gone to their graves without answers. Do you know something you have held secret for too long? It is never too late to talk.”

The media briefing heard that the description of the man, supplied by a garda manning a checkpoint at Aghalane Bridge Customs Post, matches closely with the driver of a lagoon blue coloured Ford Cortina which is believed to have been used as a getaway vehicle after the Belturbet bombing. This car was observed “double parked” at 9.50pm on the night of the bombing outside Hunt’s Pharmacy having been stolen from the town’s Main Street 20 minutes earlier.

The red Ford Escort car used in the Belturbet bombing was stolen from outside a house in Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh sometime after 5pm on December 28, 1972 and at 10.28pm the bomb in the red Ford exploded outside Slowey’s chip shop, killing Patrick Stanley and Geraldine O’Reilly, both of whom were “killed instantly” according to Chief Supt Alan McGovern from the Cavan, Monaghan, Louth Garda Division, who flanked Chief Supt McElgunn at last week’s media briefing.

A Garda witness who had stopped the red Ford Escort at a checkpoint on Aghalane Bridge at 9.05pm on the same night, but was unaware that it had been stolen, subsequently gave “a detailed description” of the driver from which last week’s photofit was compiled.

Gardai told last week’s media briefing that the description of the driver “matches closely” with the driver of the lagoon blue coloured Ford Cortina which they believe was used as the getaway vehicle.

On working with the PSNI and how close the relationship is with British authorities, Chief Supt McGovern said “open lines of communication” are in place, and he expects those to become “more in-depth” as the investigation continues.

Asst Comm McElgunn reitered that “there are no lines of inquiry not being pursued as part of this investigation. Regardless of what direction they might point” and added that what is happening now is the most “comprehensive” to date taking into account the “new” information to emerge.

“I’ve never found the PSNI wanting when it came to a request for assistance, and I certainly believe we will get full support from the Chief Constable and his team as part of our refocused investigation into these attacks” he said.

The Garda investigation team can be contacted at Ballyconnell Garda Station 049-9525580, the Garda confidential line Free-phone 1800-666-111, Crimestoppers 1800-250-025 or Crimestoppers Northern Ireland 0800-555-111.