Projectile event in Ireland on Sat 14th April 1979

ON SATURDAY 14 APRIL, 1979, three boys were killed and 10 other children injured when an Army shell exploded in the Glen of Imaal, a rugged, scenic area of the western Wicklow mountains.

The victims were part of a group of children and youth leaders from St Mary’s Youth Club in Lucan who had travelled to the Glen for the Easter weekend to hike up Lugnaquilla, one of Ireland’s highest mountains.

Along the way, the group entered Defence Forces lands. As well as being a popular destination for tourists and hikers, 6,000 acres of the Glen is used as Ireland’s largest Defence Forces live firing range.

They came across an old tank that was in use at the time as a target, and one of the boys picked up an object that he thought might be a part of an engine or the starter motor of a vehicle. Later, another member of the group threw the object against a rock and it exploded.

The object in question was an unexploded 84mm Rcl HEAT - High Explosive Anti Tank – shell. It was what is known as a “blind”, a round fired during Army training exercises that does not explode on impact and goes missing.

Two boys died almost instantly. Another died later in hospital. Others were severely injured in the blast.

Although the explosion and political fallout dominated the headlines in the following days and weeks, the news cycle moved on quickly and the events of that day and the victims faded almost entirely from public view.

However, 45 years later, survivors still suffer from the physical and mental repercussions of the explosion and remain angry about what happened. While the Government eventually paid out compensation following legal battles, no official apology was ever offered to the survivors or their families.

An extensive investigation by The Journal Investigates team into the blast and its aftermath reveals how:

    Following a similar explosion seven months earlier in September 1978 in which three boys were injured, the Army said it would erect additional warning signs, however these were NOT erected by April 1979
    In a now declassified report, an investigating colonel said the group may have encountered up to four warning notices but that “they need NOT have passed any”
    A local curate – Father Kevin Lyon – publicly warned that the Glen was not safe. In response, the Army made enquiries about the man’s career and position rather than take action on the bulk of his statements
    A report into the April 1979 blast identified issues in relation to the number and effectiveness of warning notices in the Glen, the lack of permanent camp staff, and the way in which unexploded ordnance are searched for
    Searches of the area carried out immediately after the explosion found another 54 live shells, including 15 anti-tank shells. Seven live shells that had been removed from the Glen were also found in the Dublin area
    A separate committee set up to examine safety at the Glen following the explosion found that the warning notices were not satisfactory, that the wording was “too legalistic”, and that old vehicles used as targets in the Glen were “practically an irresistible attraction” for young boys
    Despite all this, the Government has never offered an official apology to the victims of the blast or their families

The investigation is based on an analysis of declassified reports – revealed here for the first time – and eyewitness testimony from those who survived the blast, as well as extensive research into archive material.

Speaking publicly for the first time to The Journal Investigates, Ron O’Neill – one of the boys seriously injured in the blast who has suffered lifelong physical and psychological damage as a result – says:

“It should never have happened, number one, because if it’s an artillery… or Defence Forces property, it should have been properly secured so that nobody could get in.”