LEGAL action against the British government is to be initiated soon arising from the Dublin and Monaghan bombings in which 31 people died on May 17th, 1974.

Speaking after the anniversary Mass in Dublin's Pro-cathedral yesterday, Mr Greg O'Neill, a solicitor acting for families of the dead and injured, said preparation of the case was Bat an advanced stage".

The action will be brought in the European Court of Human Rights, and will allege that the British g9vernment violated Article 2 tile European Convention of Human Rights, which guarantees people the right to life. The Article also obliges each state which is a signatory to employ adequate resources in the pursue of those who have taken life unlawfully.

The families will be alleging that the British government, "through its local police and security forces, failed in that regard in the context of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings", Mr O'Neill said.

Yesterday's Mass was attended, by the President, Mrs Robinson. Many victims' relatives were there, including Ms Patsy Askin, from Glaslough, Co Armagh, whose husband, Patrick (47), was killed in Monaghan. He worked in a local timber merchants. Accompanied by her daughter, Sharon (24), she had come to meet the President. She said the "top man who did it (organised the bombings)" had been in Armagh "very often".

Also present was Ms Michelle Byrne, from Donaghmede, Dublin whose mother, Anne (35), was killed in Talbot Street as she was going home after doing her shopping. Michelle, who was eight at, the time, remembers hearing "three big bangs" on the day. Her father later identified her mother's body at the morgue.

Retired garda Martin Conway was the first at the scene of the Parnell Street bomb, in which four people were killed. He was driving past the Rotunda Hospital when he heard the bang and even now finds it difficult to describe the scene.

"Some of them could only be identified by bits of their clothes," he recalled.

In his sermon, Father John Delany CC said that "in our time we can see the fruits of the spirit of hope germinating in so many ways.

"It is easy to wear a white ribbon but it is a greater challenge to be a person of peace", he said. "More than ever, we are yearning for peace.

The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Mr Sean Dublin Bay Loftus, also attended the Mass, as did a number of TDs, including Mr Joe Costello, Mr Tony Gregory, Dr Michael Woods, Mr Sean Haughey, Mr Sean Doherty, Mr Sean Ryan, Mr Eoin Ryan, and Ms Patricia McKenna, MEP.