Name of Baby Martha added to memorial to victims of 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings

The name of a baby girl has been added to a memorial dedicated the victims of the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings.

Dublin City Council confirmed that Baby Martha O’Neill is now included on the commemoration plaque, located at the junction of Talbot Street and Amiens Street.

Edward John O’Neill, her father, was one of those killed in the bombing on Parnell Street on May 17, 1974, which also saw two of his sons badly injured.

Mr O’Neill’s wife, Martha, was six-months pregnant at the time of the atrocities, which killed 34, including an unborn child.

Three months later, as a result of the trauma, Mrs O’Neill’s baby, also named Martha, was stillborn at full-term.

Baby Martha was formally recognised as one of the victims of the terrorist attacks in the Government’s Commission of Investigation report into the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, blamed on loyalist paramilitaries.

Commenting on the inclusion of Baby Martha’s name on the memorial, her brother Edward said: “On behalf of my family, I would like to acknowledge the tremendous assistance offered by Dublin City Council in our endeavours to have this name inserted onto the monument.

“The last 48 years since the murder of our father, and the injuries to myself and my brother, have been traumatic for us. Now that this has been done, our sister’s name can be seen by everyone and acknowledged.

“It has been an emotional experience that remains with us to this day,” he added. “Martha would have been the baby of the family and was cheated out of a life. We never saw her grow up, blossom, have a career and have a family of her own.

“Our Dad will never be forgotten by us and now, thankfully, our sister’s identity will be known by all citizens of this country and every single person who passes by the monument.”

Councillor Micheál Mac Donncha, chair of Dublin City Council’s Commemorations and Naming Committee, said the decision to approve the O’Neill family’s request had been unanimous.