Belfast Telegraph worker who died after 1976 bomb remembered

The granddaughter of a Belfast Telegraph worker killed 50 years ago in Northern Ireland says it is important to remember "forgotten" victims of violence.

When the offices of the newspaper were bombed on 15 September 1976, it was the attack on the media that grabbed the headlines.

Four days later, one of those injured in the blast, 63-year-old printer Joseph Paton from Lisburn, died in hospital.

His granddaughter Amanda Pollock said the 50th anniversary of his death is a reminder of how much grief and suffering the Troubles caused during three decades of violence.

In 1976, almost 300 people were killed, one of the highest annual death tolls.

"I think it's important to remember that there were so many lost family members that, because of the times, they really didn't get that recognition of the grief, the pain that was caused in the terrible times that we lived through in 1976," Pollock said.

An IRA bomb, containing 50-100 pounds of explosives, went off in a van which was abandoned in the loading bay of the Belfast Telegraph. Fifteen people were injured.

One of the journalists inside the building at the time was Deric Henderson.

When he returned to his desk the next day, there was dust everywhere. However, there was a determination to get a publication of some sort onto the streets.

At the time, the Belfast Telegraph was an evening newspaper, selling about 200,000 copies a day.

Henderson said: "I recall the editor Roy Lilley calling the senior staff aside and telling them there would be an issue, come what may.

"Even though we knew the printing presses were out of action, we didn't know until late in the day just how the paper would be produced.

"I've absolutely no idea why the building became an IRA target.

"The Telegraph was a pro-union paper with a small 'u' but everybody, and I mean everybody, bought it."

A four-page edition was produced the day after the bomb with the use of a different printing press and sold for a penny.

The paper became known as the Penny Marvel.

The current editor of the Belfast Telegraph, Martin Breen, said "the attack caused terrible destruction and, most tragically, the loss of Joe Paton, but it did not silence the Belfast Telegraph or its journalists".

"Our thoughts today are very much with Mr Paton's family as they mark 50 years since his death," he added.

"This anniversary is a reminder of the terrible personal cost of the Troubles and the lasting pain carried by families across Northern Ireland."

Amanda Pollock was aged 10 at the time of her grandfather's death.

Pollock said: "My granda was very much a family man, very non-political, just a man going about his day.

"It must have been a terrible time for the workforce as well because they had no time to grieve, they had no time to get over the shock.

"They had to go back into that building nearly immediately and start to produce the paper."

Many of those injured by the bomb were taken to nearby St Anne's Cathedral as medical help arrived.

A memorial service is to be held at the cathedral later this week.

Organisers say it is to remember Joseph Paton and to "recognise all others impacted by the Belfast Telegraph bombing".

Two people were jailed over the bomb.

One was sentenced to life in prison for murder, the other was convicted of explosives and firearms offences.