Birmingham Cathedral hosts sombre event to mark 35th anniversary of IRA pub bombings which killed 21 people
Nov 23 2009 by Paul Bradley, Birmingham Mail
“I think it’s very important for the city to remember, as we do, occasions such as this where there was a tragic loss of life,” he said. “The memory remains, especially for those who lost loved ones.
“We’re conscious of our past, we live in the present, and we look to our future.”
Among those who gathered outside the cathedral were John and Sue Rattigan from Coventry, who were both injured in the attack.
“We were in the Tavern at the time of the explosion and the memories are still very much there,” Sue said.
“Personally I don’t need a trial, I’d rather forget all the details of what happened that day. But for the families who lost people, they do need some justice.”
Tory leader David Cameron was non-committal on whether a new inquiry would take place: “I would not rule anything out but I think that would be very difficult. Obviously so much of the evidence is no longer there. So much time has elapsed.
“Politicians don’t order prosecutions in this country. It is for the Crown Prosecution Service and the police to see if there are new leads and evidence.
“It’s not for me to order whether those things should happen.
“Those who were involved in bombing, killing and maiming in Northern Ireland and in the mainland – that has all stopped now.”
At 8.11pm on November 21, 1974 that a man with an Irish accent telephoned the offices of the Birmingham Post and Mail and said that there was a bomb in the 25-storey Rotunda office block housing the Mulberry Bush pub. Just minutes later, at 8.17pm, the bomb exploded, devastating the crowded bar.
Warnings had just reached the equally crowded Tavern in the Town pub nearby, when at 8.27pm a second bomb there exploded.
Survivor Maureen Mitchell, from Acocks Green, was seriously injured on the dreadful night 35 years ago and was given the Last Rites.
She said: “I think that has a big impact on all of us. The people who did this will take it to their grave.
“The most important thing is that people of Birmingham do remember and mark the anniversaries in some way.”
