Commemoration Event Poster

A wreath-laying ceremony to honour and remember the three busmen who were killed will take place in Sackville Place on the 4th of December at 11.30 am at the site of the pavement memorial: ‘A Fallen Bouquet’.
All welcome

Forty years have passed since that dark winter evening of Friday, 1st December 1972, when at 7.58 pm, the first ever car bomb exploded in the Republic of Ireland. It occurred beside the famous Dublin landmark, Liberty Hall, where the ITWGU had its headquarters. There were no fatalities but many people were injured. Several minutes later, a second explosion occurred at Sackville Place, off O’Connell Street, killing bus driver George Bradshaw, aged 29 and bus conductor Tommy Duffy, aged 23. Both of them were married men. George and his wife Kathleen had two young children. Tommy and his wife had a daughter and Monica was pregnant with their second child.

Three minutes before the first bomb exploded, an anonymous telephone call was made to the 'Belfast Newsletter', giving a warning that bombs planted at Liberty Hall and behind Clery’s would explode at 8.05 pm. The person who received the warning told Gardaí that the caller had spoken with a ‘Belfast English-type accent’. The warnings came too late as was almost certainly the intention. The result was devastating, two men dead and 127 people injured. Damage to property was extensive.

Related Links: Justice For the Forgotten |
Answers still outstanding about the Dublin and Monaghan bombings |
Wikipedia page on the bombings |
An Phoblacht article on the unveiling of the memorial to the three CIE workers |

Savita Halappanavar

Two demonstrations have been called in light of this tragic death:

Pro-Choice Ireland have called a demonstration for 6 o'clock this evening Wednesday 14th November outside Leinster House.

Action on X in conjunction with Galway Pro-Choice has called a candle lit vigil for this Saturday the 17th of November beginning at the Garden of Remembrance at 4 o'clock.

UPDATE: National Open Pro-Choice Meeting, Saturday, December 8, 12:00pm until 3:00pm at the Gresham Hotel on O'Connell Street.
see HERE for event notice.

31 year old Savita Halappanavar died last week after being denied a termination after presenting with a miscarriage. Having originally presented at the hospital with a back pain on October 21st, it was discovered that Savita was miscarrying. She was 17 weeks pregnant at the time.

Over the course of 3 days in the hospital the doctors refused to carry out an abortion despite there being no hope of survival of the foetus. Savita had requested and abortion several times over the 3 days due to the severe pain she was suffering. She was refused an abortion on the basis that the foetal heartbeat was still beating and that “this is a Catholic country”. After 3 days the foetal heartbeat stopped and finally the foetus was removed. However Savita developed septicaemia caused by the miscarriage and died on the 28th.

Having trained and gained professional child care qualifications, and then having worked with children in a professional capacity for over 30 years I, like all concerned citizens, obviously want the best for children – and for this reason I will be voting ‘NO’ in the upcoming Children’s referendum.

I have spent 16 years as a Social Care Worker working with the most vulnerable population of children in residential care. I have fostered 5 young people and have also worked with the HSE in areas of Child Protection, so feel qualified to state my concerns as outlined below. To the question “Do I have confidence in this state to provide for 'the best interests of children”?

No. Unfortunately I do not.

Indymedia Links: Children's Rights referendum ? | Children's Referendum? -No
External Links: Thoughts on the Children’s Referendum | The Children’s Referendum: Little to Write Home About | Legal Analysis of the Children’s Referendum: Article 42A Conclusion -Contains links to separate analyses.
Campaign websites: Alliance of Parents Against the State -They are strongly urging a NO Vote | ChildrensReferendum.ie - (official govt site) | ChildrensRights.ie campaign page

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