Claudy bombing 1972: Bereaved and wounded to lead 50th anniversary commemoration events

The car bomb explosions on July 31, 1972 killed nine civilians, the youngest of them a nine-year-old girl, and injured 30 people in an attack attributed to the Provisional IRA.

The victims who were killed were Patrick Connolly (15), Kathryn Eakin (9), Arthur Hone (38), Joseph McCluskey (39, Elizabeth McElhinney, (59), James McClelland, (65), Rose McLaughlin (52), David Miller (60) and William Temple (16).

South East Fermanagh Foundation (SEFF), who have been working with the families, said a range of projects and events designed to honour the memory and legacy of the dead and wounded are planned. SEFF’s Director of Services Kenny Donaldson said: “The bombings of Claudy were an attack upon the full community of the area and so it proved with nine innocents dying, young and older, male and female, Protestant and Roman Catholic - these neighbours died together and Claudy as a small village was forever changed”.

The bereaved families have shared their lived experiences over recent months with an appointed project facilitator, culminating in the production of a publication which will be launched on the day of the anniversary. Schools have also developed a digital-based project, looking at the past within Claudy, the present and what they desire for the future.

There will also be a Community-based public service held on Sunday July 31 at the Claudy Memorial and within the main car park at Claudy, commencing at 3pm, with refreshments afterwards at the Diamond Centre in Claudy.

Plans are also being drawn up for a fresh development of the existing Memorial, “ensuring its longer-term sustainability as well as making the space more intimate for bereaved families and others visiting to pay respects,” Mr Donaldson said.