Anatomy of a Massacre in May ’74
FROM THE award-winning filmmakers of ‘406 Days’ comes the story of the Dublin Monaghan Bombings.
On May 17, 1974, three no-warning car bombs detonated in Dublin city and one in Monaghan town, killing 34 people, including two infants, an unborn baby, and a French and Italian citizen.
This was the worst atrocity of the Troubles in Ireland.
The investigation was closed down by the Irish State after 10 weeks, and no one was ever arrested.
The families and survivors have fought for over 50 years for the truth. In this feature-length documentary, they speak about that journey.
‘May-17-74 Anatomy of a Massacre’ follows the families and survivors as they talk about that tragic day and how they have fought for 50 years to try and find the truth and gives voice to members of the Justice for the Forgotten group, formed in 1996 by the bereaved families and survivors, tireless campaigners for truth and justice for their loved ones.
This week, we sat down with producer Fergus Dowd to discuss the documentary, which will be screened in the Civic on February 4 at 7 pm, followed by a Q&A chaired by TD Sean Crowe, featuring director Joe Lee, Chair of Justice for the Forgotten Group Margaret Urwin, and Fergus.
What inspired you to get into filmmaking? Was it always an ambition?
No, to be honest, I fell into it. I am an IT systems analyst by trade, but in 2020, during Covid, with time on my hands, I began writing a book with a friend from England, Sue O’Connell, on the Debenhams Strike entitled ‘Tales From The Debenhams Picket Line’.
There were 12 Debenhams stores across the country, including the original flagship store in Jervis Street and the store in the Square Tallaght.
We took six worker stories from across the country and its history Debenhams was founded in 1778.
The workers were 90 per cent female, mainly mothers and grandmothers, and they spent 406 days standing in the most inhumane conditions during the pandemic fighting for their redundancy, which the company had refused to give them. Carol Quinn (Aylesbury) and Marie Leonard (Kilnamanagh) were two people I spoke to.
They had worked in The Square for 30 years.
While on the picket line, they had to fight for their bunch of flowers on the day The Square celebrated their anniversary.
They had started in Roches Stores and transferred to Debenhams when Roches sold to Debenhams in 2006.
The workers were very happy with the book, and Carol Ann Bridgeman, a worker from Cork, rang me one night about the idea for a film.
I spoke to Cormac Hardagon, who had done the John Giles docuentary for RTÉ, and he gave me Joe Lee’s name, and over a cup of coffee in Buswells Hotel we decided to make ‘406 Days: The Debenhams Picket Line.’
What was it that drew you to this project? What motivated you to cover this event in Irish history?
‘406 Days’ was very well received, and we won the Best Irish Documentary, Human Rights Award, and the Audience Award at the Dublin International Film Festival in 2023.
While we were making ‘406 Days’, I had said to Joe that the Dublin Monaghan Bombings will have its 50th anniversary in May 2024, and we agreed to look at the idea of making a human-interest documentary on the story.
I had worked with former TD Maureen O’Sullivan on the Tony Gregory TD exhibition funded by the Dáil back in 2018.
Maureen had represented Dublin Central, where the three bombs were detonated on May 17, 1974, killing 27 innocent people (7 more people were killed in Monaghan that night also), and she introduced me to Margaret Urwin, who was the chair of Justice For The Forgotten, who represented the families and survivors.
The Dublin Monaghan Bombings were the worst single atrocity of the Troubles, but it had been buried from our history, and the families and the survivors had never received the truth of what had happened that day—the investigations were shut down by the Irish state after 11 weeks, and no one was ever charged.
As two Dubliners, we felt the film would allow the families and survivors to tell their stories and show how they had been ignored by successive Irish and British governments over five decades in seeking justice.
This fight is no different from Hillsborough, Bloody Sunday, and the recent Stardust case—where ordinary people had to fight for the truth.
The subject matter of this documentary is quite sensitive, even today; how did you and Joe Lee handle this?
The first thing we did after meeting Margaret was to meet the families and survivors and outline the project to them.
We made it very clear that the film would be very much a human interest story with family members and survivors at the centre of the film and that we would come to monthly meetings to give updates.
I met with Margaret Urwin regularly, and in the end, we did 56 interviews in total for this project.
The Justice For The Forgotten Group is a very determined group.
These were people who had been told by a former Irish Minister of Justice ‘to go off and find their own evidence and come back if they found anything.’
They had also been photographed by Garda Special Branch as they laid wreaths in memory of their loved ones, so they were delighted we were taking a positive interest.
I think with a project like this, trust is very much key, and the group trusted us in what we were doing.
Were there any difficulties during production? What would be your usual processes for making a feature like this?
Probably the biggest issue was the edit, as we had so many interviews, and we had the awful experience of having to leave people out of the production.
To be honest, we didn’t know what we were going to get when family members and survivors sat down to do their interview, but there were five or six people who really stood out, and their stories shaped the documentary alongside Margaret’s tireless campaigning.
We were also learning information as we did the interviews.
I remember Bertie Ahern telling us that when he was Taoiseach, he requested the Garda files from the original investigation and when they arrived, there was nothing.
The story is told chronologically through the family and survivors stories.
It also looks at other atrocities, including the Sackville Place Bombings of 1972 and 1973 in Dublin; if they had been properly investigated, the Dublin Monaghan Bombings might not have happened.
Likewise, if Dublin and Monaghan had been investigated properly, then the Miami Showband Massacre of 1975 would not have happened. It was the same group carrying out these operations.
What was it like to hear the members of the Justice for the Forgotten group share their insights and experiences? I imagine it was quite an emotional production.
It was harrowing; it was very emotional sitting in someone’s front room and listening to these people pouring their heart out about loved ones or how they had survived and trying to comprehend why there was never any truth or justice.
And why it seemed everything had been swept under the carpet by the state.
I remember one in particular, Derek Byrne from the North Inner City; he was only 14 when the bombing happened.
He was a petrol pump attendant in the garage on Parnell Street.
That Friday morning of the bombing, Derek had brought his football boots into work; he was getting the boat that evening to England and was due to go on trial with Tottenham Hotspur the next day.
As Derek was filling petrol into a car, the first bomb detonated on Parnell Street—Derek was actually given last rites on the street on Parnell Street by Father Paul Lavelle and brought to the old Jervis Street Hospital.
On arrival at the hospital he was pronounced dead and put into the morgue.
After seven hours he woke up, and after being put in an induced coma and after 33 operations, he survived the bombing—suffice to say, he never played football again, and his brother took his football boots home.
Sadly, Derek passed away in the winter of 2023 and never got to see the film; he gave a fantastic interview, and his family all attended the premiere last May in the Lighthouse Cinema and now carry his torch in the fight for justice and truth.
What are your career plans for the rest of 2025?
Joe and I are working on a new film called ‘Jumpers For Goalposts,’ the story of street league football in Dublin centred around the life of former Irish kitman Charlie O’Leary, who is now 100 years of age and started the football street leagues in East Wall in Dublin in 1945.
Charlie was kitman under Irish managers Jack Charlton and Mick McCarthy during the halcyon days of Irish football.
The film also looks at the way modern football has become structured through academies and the pitfalls for those who don’t make the grade.
We recently interviewed Brendan Rodgers, Glasgow Celtic manager, who discussed this. Our aim is for an autumn release.
Who would you like to thank for helping with this documentary?
Locally, all the South Dublin councillors who supported us, especially former Councillor Kieran Mahon, who was a neighbour of mine in Glenview Park, and, of course, the Justice For The Forgotten Group. Without their support, the film could not have been made.
