Seanad Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 23 Apr 2008

Vol. 189 No. 7

Mine Disaster.

Senator Brian Ó Domhnaill

Tá lúcháir orm go bhfuil an Aire Stáit, an Teachta Smith, anseo tráthnóna inniu. I am pleased to have this opportunity to raise the issue of the Ballymanus mine disaster on behalf of the families who lost loved ones in the disaster on the evening of 10 May 1943 in Ballymanus, which is located along the Donegal coastline between Annagry and Kincasslagh.

In 1943, when the Second World War was raging throughout Europe, the small island of Ireland was light years away from the horrific brutality taking place on land and sea. As a consequence of the war, a continuous flow of wreckage was being washed up on the shoreline of the Irish coast. As many of the battles of the Second World War were fought at sea, an important feature of naval policy was the laying of sea mines. The sea current often altered the direction of these floating mines away from intended targets and in to unintended areas. One such mine was washed ashore in Ballymanus, County Donegal.

On the evening of 10 May 1943, word went around Ballymanus that a curious and strange looking object was floating in the water close to the coast. Some 23 young people went to investigate the object which turned out to be a mine approximately 8 ft. high and with some of its spikes bent owing to being crushed against the waves and rocks. Some of the people gathered on the shore tied a rope around the already bent spikes and an attempt was made to haul the object closer to the shore. The mine subsequently exploded with a horrifying bang which could be heard up to 40 miles away. It was only when the dust settled that the true extent of the incident became known to all. It was a horrifying experience. Many were killed instantly and others died later in hospital. Four people survived the explosion. However, 19 men ranging in age from 14 years to 34 years lost their lives.

I raise this matter on the Adjournment this evening on behalf of members of the families, some of whom are in the Visitors Gallery, who lost loved ones in the tragedy and who to this day, some 65 years on, remain aggrieved that despite the attention of the local authorities and the Garda Síochána being drawn to the presence of the mine close to the shore, no action was taken to isolate the area until the mine was rendered harmless. There was available to the authorities a period of time, prior to the locals finding the mine, that could have been used in a more efficient manner. Had this happened the lives of those who died could, in the opinion of the families, have been saved. The results of the subsequent inquest into the tragic event chaired by Dr. McGinley from Letterkenny were never published or conveyed to the families. The inquest was held in the community hall in Mulduff. The representative for the area at the time, the late Tom Breslin, represented the then Taoiseach at the funerals. According to newspaper articles made available to us, he acknowledged at that time that the relevant authorities did not take the required corrective action when the presence of the mine was first brought to their attention.

A mass will be held on the 65th anniversary of this tragedy. It takes place on Friday, 9 May. The tragedy will also be marked by the publication of a book by a son of one of the men who died, Pat Gallagher. Pat and his brother Séamus are in the Visitors Gallery. The families are requesting that the State examine the failure of the relevant authorities to take the required steps to isolate the mine.

I respectively urge the Minister of State to convey to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the need to, if at all possible, provide an apology to these families ahead of the 65th anniversary on 9 May. The Minister's assistance in respect of this sensitive issue would be well received by the local community and those families who lost their loved ones, young men in the prime of their lives, working and rearing families and helping their parents. What happened can only be described as a tragedy.

I am glad to have had the opportunity to raise this matter on the Adjournment. I hope the State will acknowledge what happened on that evening.

Deputy Brendan Smith

I am taking this matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy Brian Lenihan, who unfortunately, due to other business, cannot be here this evening. The matter raised by Senator Ó Domhnaill concerns a tragic incident which occurred almost 65 years ago. I will briefly give the details of the tragedy as they appear in the documentation file in the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform.

On 10 May 1943, a report was made to the Garda Síochána at Annagry, County Donegal, at 6.45 p.m. that an object, believed to be a mine, was floating in the sea between Mullaghdearg Point and Broad Strand. The Garda reported the matter to the lieutenant in the local marine service who went to Ballymanus Strand shortly afterwards. The mine was more than a mile off shore at this time.

The lieutenant warned a group of men present on the strand to stay away. He waited there for more than two hours until the mine came ashore and again warned those present to stay away from it. It appears from the report that some of the people he spoke to reacted negatively to his warnings. The reports say it appears that when the lieutenant left the site at 9.50 p.m. to report the matter to his ordnance officer, some of the men present on the strand immediately proceeded to haul the mine ashore with ropes and some attempted to unscrew portions of it. The explosion occurred at 10 p.m., killing 17 men at the scene and another man died in hospital the following day. Five others were injured.

This was a terrible tragedy. A sad fact to note is that three sons of one family were lost in the explosion and three other families lost two sons each. The grief that overcame those families must have been unbearable. Those who died ranged in age from 13 years to 34 years, eight of whom were under the age of 18 years.

With the forthcoming 65th anniversary, I can understand the enduring sadness which must still stir in the families of those who were killed and injured. As well as the suffering of the families involved this was a terrible event for the local community and the grief was shared by the country as a whole.

At the request of my colleague, the Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, Deputy Pat The Cope Gallagher, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy Brian Lenihan, recently asked his officials to examine the file on this matter and the details which I have outlined were obtained from it. The file had previously been available to the public in the National Archives.

The file shows that an inquest was held the day after the event. Consideration was given at the time to holding an inquiry into the matter. It seems from the file that there was little local demand for such an inquiry at the time. In fact, it was noted that a number of local representatives were of the view that nothing would be gained from one. A meeting of local clergy apparently also came to the same conclusion. A report on file states that a meeting of the next-of-kin of the deceased was held on 24 May and that they decided unanimously that no demand be made for an inquiry. The Departments of Defence and Justice also came to the conclusion that an inquiry would not serve any useful purpose. The coroner was informed that no official inquiry was proposed and the inquest was reconvened on 28 May.

The verdict of the inquest was that the deaths were caused by the explosion of the mine and the jury added riders to their verdict which stated that the disaster could have been avoided if the Garda sergeant at Annagry had cordoned off the area in the immediate vicinity of the mine until the arrival of the military. There was disagreement in the jury as to whether the lieutenant of the coast watching service was negligent and it was the jury's opinion that the military authorities should be asked to establish a coast watching post in the vicinity of Ballymanus.

A report on file from the Garda superintendent in the area states that the sergeant involved had failed to go to the scene before the explosion and that no attempt was made by him to cordon off the area. It appears this had become the occasion of bad feeling in the district. What happened was an appalling tragedy. However, it is questionable at this distance from the tragic event whether it is possible to pass judgment on the actions of the individuals or organisations involved. Few of those involved directly are still alive to defend or explain themselves and those who are would have distant memories of what occurred. It is difficult to see how any further investigation of the matter would add anything to what was found at the time.

The file on this issue will shortly be available again in the National Archives and I hope its contents may help the families of those involved to understand what happened and to come to terms with their grievous loss. This event will be of wider interest to social historians, who may ultimately form their own judgments on the terrible day 65 years ago.

I wish to conclude by expressing my sorrow at what happened and extending my sympathies and those of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy Brian Lenihan, to the families who continue to mourn their loved ones who were lost or badly injured in this tragic event. I will bring the contents of Senator Ó Domhnaill's contribution to the personal attention of the Minister, Deputy Brian Lenihan.

Senator Brian Ó Domhnaill

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Smith, for his response which was quite comprehensive. While we all acknowledge that an investigation may serve no purpose at this stage, 65 years on, I ask the Minister of State to convey the following to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, to whom I wish to speak on the matter shortly.

We should examine the verdict of the inquest and decide whether an apology should be issued based on that. "An apology" may be the wrong term to use, but perhaps "ownership of responsibility" might serve. As stated in the Minister's response, the verdict of the inquest stated that the deaths were caused by the explosion of the mine. The jury added riders to the verdict which stated — this is very important — that the disaster could have been avoided if the Garda sergeant at Annagry had cornered off the area in the immediate vicinity of the mine until the arrival of the military. That did not happen and that is the crux of the issue for the families. They want the onus of responsibility to be shared by the State. I ask the Minister of State to convey that message to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy Brian Lenihan. I fully appreciate that he cannot be here this evening.

The Seanad adjourned at 7.55 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Thursday, 24 April 2008.