Birmingham pub bombings 50 years on: 'Being caught in pub bombings affected my whole life'

BBC ^ | Nov 21 | Giles Latcham, Karen Hughes and Susie Rack

[RandFan]

A survivor of the 1974 Birmingham pub bombings said she still carries the psychological scars of the atrocity 50 years on.

Twenty-one people died in The Mulberry Bush and the Tavern in the Town after a vague IRA warning gave inadequate time to evacuate. Another 220 people were injured.

Robyn Tighe, who had just turned 19 when she was caught up in the blasts, told a new BBC documentary: "I’m a survivor with scars."

Memorial services are being held in Birmingham on Thursday to mark the anniversary of the bombings, for which no-one has been held responsible.

Although six men from Northern Ireland - known as the Birmingham Six - were found guilty in 1975, their convictions were quashed in 1991.

Robyn had gone to the Tavern in the Town on 21 November 1974 hoping to bump into a prospective boyfriend before he started his factory night shift.

The lively underground pub drew a young crowd with its western theme and eclectic music.

"There's always a place to be seen, isn't there?" she said. "And the Tavern was one of those."

She ordered her usual half a bitter and settled in by a large wagon wheel wall decoration, chatting to friends while she waited for him to appear.

Just after 20:00 GMT they heard a rumbling sound, but dismissed it as a passing bus.

Only later would Robyn realise it was the first bomb detonating at the nearby Mulberry Bush, at the base of the Rotunda building.

Minutes later, the Tavern went black.

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And the IRA scumbags are still at it, as Sinn Fein, importing tens of thousands of Islamic savages to destroy Ireland, standing with Hamas, and demonizing Israel.