Alice O’Brien lost her sister, her sister’s husband, and their two babies in the bombing.
A woman who lost four members of her immediate family in the Dublin and Monaghan bombings has criticised the New York Times for referencing a cocktail known as the Irish Car Bomb in its daily crossword.
The hint for 33 across in Sunday’s crossword in the New York Times read: “Irish (blank): cocktail served on St. Paddy’s Day”.
The cocktail, known as the Irish Car Bomb, consists of half a pint of Guinness, with a shot glass with Jameson and Baileys dropped in, creating a ‘bomb’ effect in the glass. It is often served in the United States on St. Patrick’s Day, although Diageo, owners of Guinness and Baileys, has long since disassociated itself with the drink.
Alice O’Brien spoke about her disgust at the cocktail on Liveline on RTÉ Radio 1 on Monday.
Alice O'Brien tells Joe she finds the clue in yesterday's @nytimes crossword a disgrace – “Irish [blank]: cocktail served on St Paddy’s Day.” The answer is…CARBOMB. She lost her sister, her husband and their two babies in the Dublin Bombings. She wants @nytimes to apologise. pic.twitter.com/lLddjH2WNc
— Liveline (@rteliveline) April 25, 2022
“I had never heard of it, and I think it’s a disgrace,” O’Brien said.
“You think about next month is the anniversary of the bombing, it was in 1974 in Dublin and Monaghan, and you think of all the car bombs in Northern Ireland, and then we have the Ukraine war going on, and they put this [answer] in a crossword? It’s a disgrace.”
Alice’s sister Anna, her husband Johnny, and their two baby children Jacqueline and Ann Marie were killed in the attack in 1974, when three bombs in Dublin and one in Monaghan on the same day led to the deaths of 33 people and one unborn child.
“It’s hard enough to take, and then when you read this answer in a crossword, it’s a disgrace,” she added.
O’Brien has asked the New York Times to apologise for the crossword.
Attempting to contextualise the name of the cocktail, one listener suggested it would be akin to a cocktail called ‘The Twin Towers’ – referencing the infamous attack on the World Trade Center in New York in September 2011 – existing in Ireland.
The Dublin and Monaghan bombings took place on 17 May 1974, and were the deadliest attack which occurred during the Troubles.
Three bombs exploded across the city during rush hour, with a fourth exploding in Monaghan.
33 civilians and an unborn child were killed during the attack, with over 300 injured.
Despite the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) claiming responsibility, nobody has been arrested in connection with the attacks.
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