Ireland’s president criticized new UK legislation meant to address the violence of the Northern Ireland Troubles, 50 years after a traumatic single-day loss of life.
Michael D. Higgins denounced the law at a Dublin ceremony honoring the 1974 bombings in Dublin and Monaghan that killed 33 people and an unborn child, leaving over 300 wounded.
The legislation halts investigations, inquests, and criminal cases related to the Troubles, granting immunity to former combatants. Higgins highlighted the denial of justice to victims’ families.
The President emphasized that forgetting the past or moving on without accountability is neither morally acceptable nor politically feasible.
The legacy law has faced opposition from all Northern Irish parties and raised concerns from the Council of Europe.
Despite no convictions, the Ulster Volunteer Force took responsibility for the 1974 bombings, and survivors marked the anniversary with poignant commemorations.
The unresolved traumas of The Troubles, which claimed over 3,500 lives, highlight the ongoing need for reconciliation and justice.