A victims group last night (Thursday) leapt to the defence of a south Armagh farmer named by the Barron Report as being allegedly involved in the Dublin-Monaghan bombings.
James Mitchell, who is understood to be in his eighties and living at the same farmhouse the report claimed was used to help prepare the bombs, was described as "a well respected person in the community".
Families Acting for Innocent Relatives (Fair) spokesman Willie Frazer said Mr Mitchell was "very well thought of".
In his report Mr Justice Henry Barron said it was likely that the farm of James Mitchell, an RUC reservist at the time, played "a significant part in the preparation for the attacks".
But last night Mr Frazer refuted the allegations. "He is very well thought of, a quiet man and has a few Catholic friends," said Mr Frazer.
"James is a very well respected man in the community, even by Roman Catholics – he has friends from both sides of the community."
Relatives of those killed in the 1998 Omagh explosion have backed calls for a public inquiry into the Dublin and Monaghan bombings.
Mr Justice Henry Barron this week accused the Irish government of 1974 of failing to show adequate interest in the suffering caused by the loyalist attacks which killed 33 people and an unborn baby. Omagh relatives' representative Michael Gallagher called on the Irish government to plough the same energy into establishing a public inquiry as it did into encouraging its British counterpart to set up the Saville Inquiry into the Bloody Sunday killings.
"People need the same kind of justice, the same kind of impartiality and transparency that the Irish government demanded of the British government in the Bloody Sunday inquiry," he said.
"The government should now do the decent thing and set up an inquiry that has teeth."
Mr Gallagher accused Taoiseach Bertie Ahern of snubbing the families by ignoring their requests for a meeting for the past three years.
"We have had very similar experiences to the Dublin and Monaghan families," Mr Gallagher said.
Meanwhile, police representatives have strongly rejected a claim by Mr Justice Barron that it was "likely" RUC officers colluded with loyalists to carry out the 1974 atrocity.
Mr Justice Barron said the UVF was capable of constructing the four car bombs without help from security forces but this fact did not rule out the involvement of individual RUC, UDR or British army members. He added that it was likely that members of the RUC and UDR either participated in, or were aware of, the preparations for the attacks.
A spokesman for the Police Federation last night said that it was "extremely unlikely" any member of the RUC had played a role in the bombings."In 1974, the RUC had no experience of explosives. I do not believe there was any RUC involvement. It is all a bit fanciful," he added.
