Mayo town hall bombings subject of new documentary

A FASCINATING documentary on the bombing of Claremorris Town Hall, not once but twice, will air on RTÉ Radio this weekend.

The documentary, by local man John Corless, is entitled 'Dancing Nancy' and will be broadcast on Saturday, August 20, at 2 p.m.

The first bombing occurred 50 years ago, in 1972, with the second happening in 1973, for which a rival dance hall operator was jailed.

Claremorris Town Hall opened in 1969 and ran dances successfully on Sunday nights.

The bombing in November 1972 was initially thought to be work of paramilitaries, but both the IRA and UDA issued denials.

The second bombing came not long after, in the early hours of March 17, 1973. The operator of a south Mayo hall, where attendance was affected by the Claremorris outlet, was behind the incident.

The building wasn't hugely damaged in either incident and, thankfully, no one was injured.

Locals rallied on both occasions to clear up the debris and repair the damage.