The late Patrick Stanley.

Clara family hails ‘ground-breaking’ new investigation

The sister of a Clara teenager who was killed in a no-warning bomb explosion in Belturbet almost 50 years ago has described as “ground-breaking” a new Garda investigation into the incident which was announced this week.

“It’s very sad that it has taken almost 50 years for a full investigation to be opened, but it is better late than never” said Susan Stanley, who was born three months after her brother, Patrick, was killed in the explosion on December 28, 1972 along with Belturbet teenager, Geraldine O’Reilly (15). Eight more people were also injured in the explosion.

"To have a full Garda investigation opened after nearly 50 years is ground-breaking, not just for the families of the two victims, but also for this country," she said.

Describing how the tragedy continues to “devastate” every member of the Stanley family to this day, Susan Stanley made an emotional appeal for the Garda investigation to be given “every assistance and support from wherever it is needed”.

Describing the impact that the “forgotten bomb” has had on her family, Susan Stanley described how her late mother, Teresa, used to watch ‘Reeling in the Years’ all the time in the hope that there would be a clip of the Belturbet bombing “but it never happened”.

She said the last words of her late father before he passed away seven years ago were “do not forget Paddy”.

While the Stanley family, and the O’Reilly family in Belturbet have welcomed the full Garda investigation into the tragic deaths, Susan Stanley is mindful of the fact that the families have been “let down by successive Irish and British governments before” and she is hopeful that this time around they will find out the masterminds behind the explosion.

“This is essentially a murder investigation and we would appeal to the PSNI and any other law enforcement agency who has any documentation on the case to hand it over to the investigation” she added.

Susan Stanley paid tribute, on behalf of her siblings, to Margaret Irwin from ‘Justice For The Forgotten’ who has been advocating for them “every step of the way” and to two unnamed members of An Garda Siochána, one of whom has since passed away, who visited their family home on several occasions and who have “never given up the fight for justice”.

“The rawness our family felt on the day Patrick was killed has never left us” said Susan Stanley, whose siblings were aged between 3 and 15 when their brother died in the explosion. “We were totally forgotten as were Patrick and Margaret O’Reilly,” she outlined.

Following a review of the investigation, which was ordered in the wake of an RTE Investigates documentary ‘Belturbet: the bomb that time forgot’ which aired two years ago, An Garda Síochána identified a number of lines of inquiry.

A Senior Investigating Officer has now been appointed to lead the investigation into the Belturbet boming and an incident room has been established at Ballyconnell Garda Station.

Gardaí are appealing for anyone with information in relation to the Belturbet Bombing on December 28, 1972 to contact the incident room at Ballyconnell Garda Station on 049 9525580, the Garda confidential line Free-phone 1800 666 111 or Crimestoppers 1800 250025.

Patrick Stanley (16) was one of nine siblings at the time of his death. He was also a keen hurler, Gaelic footballer and soccer player, and had recently won an award for Gaelic football with his school, Árd Scoil Ciarán.

The teenager had applied for a cadetship in the Army and, at the time of his murder, was temporarily employed by local businessman, Pat Jennings as a helper on a Calor Gas delivery lorry. On the day of the bombing, there was a problem with the lorry, so the Clara teenager and the driver decided to stay in Belturbet overnight. When the bomb exploded, Patrick Stanley was in the public phone kiosk on the Main Street, trying to telephone his parents to tell them he would not be home.

“It is really important that there is information sharing between the law enforcement agencies on both sides of the Border, and overseas, if necessary” pointed out Susan Stanley, in an effort to bring the perpetrators of the Belturbet bombing to justice.

“We will never give up the fight for justice for our brother” vowed Susan.