What's a paragraph in the history books for many, the atrocity that was the Monaghan bombing lives vividly in the minds of people like Brendan White who lost his mother, Peggy White on that fateful day. Peggy White, the only woman to lose her life in the Monaghan bomb, was a 44-year-old mother of four who survived for a few hours after the explosion. Peggy was a housewife and worked part-time in the café section of Greacen's Bar where the fourth both of the day exploded.
Her son Brendan White who was only 13 at the time usually accompanied his mother Peggy to help out in Greacen's, although a hefty load of homework stopped him from leaving the house on the 17th of May 1974. Speaking to Northern Sound, Barry said that at the age of 13, he knew that life would never be the same again; "I saw tears uncontrollably streaming down from my father's face and I knew exactly then what the outcome was, there was no words needed," explained Brendan. "I remember this aching pain at that point and I realised that the long thick blanket of love that was my mother had been ruptured and life was about to change. Even at the age of 13 I knew that life would never be the same again."
Also speaking to Northern Sound, local Minister Heather Humphreys said that today is a "poignant day" for the families who suffered incredibly when the bomb went off in Monaghan 50 years ago. Minister Humphreys stated; "Today is a very poignant day, it's a day for the families who suffered incredibly when the Monaghan bomb went off 50 years ago and we also think of the families in Dublin as well. This was a terrible, terrible atrocity that brought grief to many homes."
