A simple ceremony in the seaside village where an IRA bomb killed Lord Louis Mountbatten yesterday marked the 25th anniversary of the outrage.
Some villagers and holidaymakers laid flowers at the gates of Classiebawn Castle, where Mountbatten stayed almost every summer for 30 years in Mullaghmore, Co Sligo.
A plywood remembrance plaque as well as a newspaper report of the tragedy, and a photo of the Mountbatten family taken at the castle a few years earlier, was placed beside the flowers.
A bunch of lilies and hydrangea had a card which read: "In memory of a kind, brave and gentle man. Rest in peace." The group of 40, mainly people who worked for Lord Mountbatten and friends of schoolboy Paul Maxwell who died in the blast, observed a minute's silence at the moment of the explosion - 11.50 a.m.
The group stood silent beside the gate lodge at the request of Pat Barry, who worked as a waiter for Lord Mountbatten both in Classiebawn and at Broadlands, Romsey. Then, chatting with each other beside the gate pillars which still bear the Mountbatten family crest, they discussed their memories.
Paddy Joe Gallagher, the earl's chauffeur and butler for 25 years, was on a day off when the bomb exploded. His mother was the Classiebawn cook for 30 years.
Among those who placed flowers was Anne Diffley. She lived in the lodge for 22 years. Her first husband, Michael Carey, was the gatekeeper. Their son Liam at one time looked after Lord Mountbatten's boat Shadow V.
One middle-aged woman, who didn't want to be named, recalled her friendship during holidays from Belfast with the family of Paul Maxwell.
The first bunch of flowers was laid by grandmother Eleanor Pringle from Monaghan. She has been holidaying in Mullaghmore all her life. " What happened was an awful tragedy," she said. Retired doctor Diana Browne, a Londoner who has lived in the area for 45 years, said: "We felt we couldn't let the day pass without doing something." Photographer Conor Sinclair from Donegal Town, remembered with disgust an episode in an hotel lounge in nearby Bundoran on the evening of the outrage.
He had a part-time job as the summer season pianist in the hotel. He remembered the intimidating instruction from the guests, mainly Northern Ireland Catholics, when his girl vocalist suggested that perhaps the musical entertainment should be cancelled as a mark of respect for what happened in Mullaghmore.
Mr Sinclair said: "The response from the crowd was 'play on, he was only a Brit'."
There was no formal representation from the British government or the Royal family at yesterday's ceremony.
Lord Mountbatten was 79 when he was murdered. The explosion also killed his 14-year-old grandson Nicholas Knatchbull, Paul Maxwell from Enniskillen and a family friend Lady Brabourne (82).
Three other people on the boat, including Timothy Knatchbull, were seriously injured but survived.