A full judicial inquiry with the co-operation of the British government is the only way the real truth will be revealed behind the 1974 Dublin-Monaghan bombings, campaigners said today.
On the eve of the publication of Justice Henry Barron's report into what was one of the worst atrocities of the Troubles, relatives of those killed are hoping that the Oireachtas Justice Committee will recommend a full investigation.
The long-awaited Barron report is expected to be published within the next 24 hours, according to Government sources.
Justice for the Forgotten, an organisation of victims and relatives seeking justice for the bombings, said they were hoping the report will prove a significant step in holding those responsible to account.
Spokeswoman Ms Margaret Urwin said there was apprehension that there would be disappointment at the report's findings.
"It's never going to bring the ultimate truth, we don't think it can give all the answers" she said. "The judge has had to rely on the goodwill of witnesses to come forward. But if there is finding tomorrow that the British state was involved, if there is evidence of collusion, then we need British involvement in a judicial inquiry," she said.
But Ms Jane Winter from the London-based research group British-Irish Rights Watch, said judging on past experiences she was not hopeful that the British Government would co-operate.
She pointed to obstacles within the Saville Inquiry, where evidence had been lost or burnt.
"Justice Barron himself has complained about the British government's co-operation," she said. "He was kept waiting a long time for answers to questions and when he got them they were incomplete. The further it gets from home the less optimistic one becomes that the British will co-operate.
The Dublin bombs on May 17th, 1974, killed 26 people in three streets, including a pregnant woman. The Monaghan bomb on the same day killed seven people.
PA