Legacy of Bandon Valley Massacre of April 1922 still resonates with descendants of victims
The Dunmanway Discussion Group (DDG) is is holding its first meeting in Northern Ireland tomorrow, February 5th, 2025 at the Ulster Reform Club in Belfast tomorrow.
The meeting will be attended by friends and supporters from across Ireland, Great Britain and Canada.
The guest speaker is Mr Robert Love on ‘The Protestant Community in Donegal: A Personal Perspective’.
The DDG has issued the following related statement in relation to the event:
“The Dunmanway Discussion Group welcomes the personal commitment by the new Taoiseach Micheal Martin to building lasting peace and reconciliation on our island through his Shared Island Initiative. Over the past year, we have been encouraged by our dialogue with Irish DFA officials, initiated when Mr Martin led that department.
We have also noted his particular interest in history in his native County Cork. We would encourage the Taoiseach to reflect further on how the legacy of the Bandon Valley Massacre of April 1922 still resonates with the descendants of victims, with Ireland’s minority Protestant community, and with Unionists across the whole island.
He can demonstrate his commitment to reconciliation by making a statement to recognise unequivocally that the murders of thirteen innocent men and boys, and the attempted murders of twenty others, in West Cork in April 1922 were sectarian crimes perpetrated by the IRA.
The Taoiseach should also commit his government to locating and recovering the remains of the three ‘disappeared’ victims, Thomas and Samuel Hornibrook, and Herbert Woods.”
Note to Editors
The Dunmanway Discussion Group (DDG) was formed in 2022 by descendants of victims of the Bandon Valley Massacre, and their supporters, following the failure of the Irish State to mark the massacre in its ‘Decade of Centenaries’ programme. The
DDG exists to facilitate North-South dialogue on historical legacy issues and to promote reconciliation through truth. It has already held two meetings in Dublin.
Contact: Neale Jagoe, Convenor, dunmanway1922@gmail.com
