New lines of inquiry in Belturbet loyalist bombing that killed two teens

Gardaí investigating the Belturbet bombing in Co Cavan almost 50 years ago have unearthed unexplored lines of inquiry and have also launched a fresh appeal for information to help solve the murders of two teenagers killed in the loyalist attack.

Nobody has ever been charged with the murders of 15-year-old Geraldine O’Reilly and Patrick Stanley (16), who died when the car bomb exploded in the Co Cavan town on December, 28th. 1972.

“Following a review of the investigation, An Garda Síochána has identified a number of lines of inquiry,” Garda Headquarters said on Wednesday. It added a senior investigating office had been appointed and an interview room set up at Ballyconnell Garda station.

The car bomb that exploded in Belturbet was one of three loyalist bombs in the Border region that day, with attacks also in Clones, Co Monaghan, and Pettigo, Co Donegal. While nobody died in the two other bombings, several people were injured.

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An RTÉ documentary broadcast in 2020 on the anniversary of murders of the teenagers in Belturbet revealed British intelligence about a potential suspect was not passed on to the Irish authorities.

The programme also claimed British army, RUC and UDR personnel held a secret meeting to discuss border security shortly after the bombing. However, the minutes of this meeting and other intelligence documents held by the British state are to remain sealed until 2057.

On the day of the bombing, Patrick Stanley from Clara in Co Offaly was in Belturbet as part of his temporary job helping deliver gas by lorry. When a problem occurred with the truck, he and the driver were forced to remain in Belturbet overnight. He was using a call box to phone home, to alert his family he had been delayed until the next day, when the bomb exploded.

One of nine siblings, he was a talented Gaelic footballer who had won an All-Star award for his performances with his school, Árd Scoil Ciarán. He had also applied for the cadets in the Army. Both his parents - Teresa and Joe - are now deceased.

Geraldine O’Reilly, Drumacon, Staghall, Belturbet, had gone to a restaurant with her brother, Anthony, to get food. The car bomb exploded outside the premises and killed the 15-year-old, who had just gained six honours in her group certificate and planned to start a career in nursing. One of seven siblings, both of her parents, Mark Kate and Joseph, are also now deceased.

In June, 2021, solicitors acting for the families of two teenagers lodged an application with the Attorney General seeking new inquests into their deaths.

In their submission to the Attorney General, which has been seen by The Irish Times at the time, KRW Law said fresh inquests would “enable the families of Geraldine O’Reilly and Patrick Stanley an opportunity - for the first and last time - for their right to truth to be given expression through a process authorised by the state in a process of catharsis”.

Margaret Unwin, from the campaign group Justice for the Forgotten, said the O’Reilly and Stanley families contend that “no meaningful inquest was held at the time” and instead it was “merely a formality and provided little information to the families beyond the fact that their loved ones were killed by a bomb explosion.