The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Councillor Michael Conaghan, has unveiled a memorial in Sackville Place, Dublin, in memory of the three CIÉ workers who were killed by two car bombs in the early seventies.
Bus driver George Bradshaw (30), originally from Fethard, Co Tipperary, and bus conductor Thomas Duffy (24), from Castlebar, Co Mayo, were killed in the first explosion in December 1972.
More than a month later, on January 20th, 1973, another car bomb exploded on Sackville Place, killing Thomas Douglas (20), a CIÉ bus conductor from Sterling in Scotland. He had only been living in Dublin for four months.
No one has ever claimed responsibility for the bombings, but it was initially thought they were linked to loyalist paramilitary groups.
Today, more than 150 people including relatives of the dead men and retired and serving work colleagues, gathered at Sackville Place, off O'Connell Street, to unveil the memorial.
The memorial, designed by one of the victim's sons - Mr Tom Duffy, depicts randomly strewn flowers and a dedication plaque all set into paving stones. It was co-funded by Dublin City Council and CIÉ.
The unveiling was also attended by Chairman of CIÉ, Dr John Lynch and the Chairwoman of the Justice for the Forgotten group, Ms Bernie McNally. Public representatives included Deputy Tony Gregory and Dublin City Councillors Christie Burke and Tom Stafford.
Speaking at the unveiling, the Lord Mayor thanked the families of the deceased for being there describing it an "emotional moment."
He said the memorial was "appropriate and fitting" and praised the work of Justice for the Forgotten and those who have campaigned to have the tragic events "appropriately and sensitively commemorated".
"None of the men were from the city, but they were working in the city for the city. We will never forget their service," he said.
He told relatives: "We can never measure your loss but we want to say in sympathy, in this small way that we remember their lives."
At the time of the bombings, the Dáil was debating a Bill to amend the Offences Against the State Act that would strengthen measures against the IRA and other terrorists.
The Fianna Fáil government was facing defeat on the issue as members of both the opposition and government parties were against it.
However, after the bombings, Fine Gael reversed their opposition to the Bill and it was passed.