Myanmar News Articles: Irish police know who killed the Earl Mountbatten in 1979 bombing

Prince Charles will make historic visit to Mullaghmore village this week
Bomb hidden aboard the boat was detonated just 200-metre from harbour
Only one man has been arrested for the bombing, but was freed after 18 years thanks to signing of Good Friday Agreement

By

Imogen Calderwood For Mailonline

Published:
01:06 GMT, 17 May 2015

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Updated:
11:52 GMT, 17 May 2015

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The Irish police have been accused of failing to fully investigate IRA terror suspects responsible for the Mountbatten killings in 1979, along with other terror attacks.

A Westminster source has made clear his suspicion that the Irish authorities were fully aware of who caused the death of Earl Mountbatten of Burma, the Queen's cousin.

But the source continued that the motivation to investigate past terrorist attacks had dissipated following the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.

Earl Mountbatten of Burma, his two sons-in-law, grandchildren and local boat hand Paul Maxwell returning from fishing at Mullaghmore, County Siglo, aboard the family's boat, Shadow V. The Earl was killed, along with one of his grandsons, Maxwell and the Dowager Lady Brabourne, when the boat was blown up in 1979

The agreement gave those suspected of attacks an amnesty, the source told the Sunday Telegraph, in a secret deal for peace.

The source added that 'of course' the Irish knew who had committed the murders, as they were 'very good at gathering intelligence' but were not successful when it came to taking the cases to court.

Bomb-maker Thomas McMahon, the only person to have been convicted for the Mountbatten killings. But he was released after 18 years, in 1998, under the Good Friday Agreement

The revelations have emerged in the lead up to the ground-breaking first official visit by the Prince of Wales - the murdered Earl's great-nephew - to the site of the attack, to be made this week.

Prince Charles will visit the scene of the murder in the fishing village Mullaghmore, Co Sligo, as part of a four-day tour of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Only one man has ever been convicted over the Mountbatten killings, the now 67-year-old bomb-maker Thomas McMahon.

But as he was 70 miles away in police custody - and therefore unable to detonate the bomb - when the boat was blown up it is clear that at least one accomplice managed to escape justice.

A bomb packed with 50lb of explosives was stashed aboard the Earl's boat, Shadow V, in August 1979.

The bomb was detonated when the boat was about 200 yards from Mullaghmore harbour, as it was being taken out to sea.

It is certain that the bomb was detonated by an accomplice keeping watch, and not by an automatic timer, because it was not certain when the group of passengers would board the boat.

Two teenage boys were also killed in the explosion, the Earl's 14-year-old grandson Nicholas Knatchbull and 15-year-old Paul Maxwell, a local boat hand.

The 83-year-old Dowager Lady Brabourne - who was also aboard the boat - died from shock and internal injuries the day after the attack.

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The shattered remains of the family boat, Shadow V, after the bombing. Prince Charles will visit the fishing village where his great-uncle was murdered in his first official visit to the site this week

The 15-year-old local boat hand Paul Maxwell was also killed in the terror attack

Mountbatten's daughter Lady Brabourne and her husband Lord Brabourne were both injured but survived the blast, as did their son Timothy, Nicholas' twin brother.

McMahon served 18 years before being released in 1998 under the Good Friday peace agreement.

But a spokesman for the Irish police - known as the Garda - has insisted that the case remains open while urging any members of the public who may have information about the killings to come forward.

Onlookers have insisted that the Westminster sources claims, along with the upcoming visit of Prince Charles, should inspire a renewed urgency within the investigation.

The source insisted that the Garda was in fact aware of names of those suspected of carrying out the Mountbatten bombing, as well as other terror attacks.

But he continued that they failed to act on that knowledge as a result of an 'amnesty' struck up as a result of the Good Friday Agreement, signed by the British and Irish governments.

Bomb-maker Thomas McMahon waves to onlookers as he is freed after 18 years in jail, after the British and Irish governments signed the Good Friday Agreement

IRA suspects received what have become known as 'comfort' letters from the British government, it has previously been revealed.

The letters reassured suspects who had not yet been prosecuted and were 'on-the-run', that they were not being pursued for any specific offence.

The 'comfort' letter controversy emerged after the trial of John Downey collapsed last year. Downey had been charged with the murder of four soldiers in the Hyde Park bombing in 1982, but had received a 'comfort' letter while he was on the run.

The source insisted that as a result of this covert amnesty, the authorities did not pursue those suspected of carrying out these notorious attacks.

Although Charles' visit comes 36 years after the bombing, it is believed that he has wanted to visit the village for some time.

The Prince of Wales - accompanied by the Duchess of Cornwall - will arrive on Tuesday, when they fly to Galway for a reception at the city's university to celebrate the area's links with Britain.

They will later attend a private dinner hosted by the Irish president, Michael D. Higgins, in Lough Cutra Castle in South Galway.

On Wednesday they will attend a service of peace and reconciliation at Drumcliffe church in Sligo.