The families of the victims of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings sat in silence yesterday as a video tape containing images of their loved ones' dead bodies was shown to the Dublin Coroner's Court.
The 10-minute tape, showing the destruction on the streets of Dublin in the aftermath of the 1974 atrocities, was a compilation of RTÉ television footage taken after the bombing of Parnell Street, Talbot Street and South Leinster Street. The images showed scenes of devastation and chaos.
Ambulance personnel and gardaí frantically tried to clear wreckage to reach the dead and injured trapped underneath the rubble of buildings and parts of destroyed cars. Body parts were clearly visible under hastily placed blankets and pieces of carpet. The windows and doors of shop fronts were missing and members of the emergency services could be seen searching the rubble inside for survivors.
Members of the public helped to carry the stretchers of the dead and injured to the waiting ambulances which had difficulty negotiating the debris-strewn streets. The dead were wrapped in blankets from head to foot.
In another scene, firemen hosed down the streets and the outside of wrecked cars.
In later footage, filmed elsewhere, gardaí were manning checkpoints at a number of unidentified locations, and members of the public were shown queuing outside Pelican House on Leeson Street, Dublin, to give blood.
Although most of the film was shown without any commentary or soundtrack, there were a number of brief interviews with witnesses to the atrocities.
One man described how he saw a young woman "smashed and banged" against the car door. She appeared to have been killed instantly. Father Pearse Duggan gave the last rights to a number of victims. "I ministered to as many as I could, I had the holy oils with me in the car. There seemed to be about 20 to 22 people dead and seriously injured [in Talbot Street\]."
A room was set aside to allow family members to leave the inquest if they did not wish to view the film. Nobody left. No questions were asked after the film was shown.
"These pictures speak louder than words," said Dublin City Coroner, Dr Brian Farrell.
