Robyn Tighe, a survivor of the 1974 Birmingham pub bombings, has spoken out about the psychological scars she still carries from the traumatic event. The blasts, which took place on November 21, resulted in the deaths of 21 people and injured another 220. Tighe, who was 19 at the time of the bombings, explained in a recent BBC documentary that she is “a survivor with scars.” Memorial services marking the 50th anniversary of the bombings were held in Birmingham on Thursday. No one has ever been held responsible for the atrocity, despite six men from Northern Ireland known as the Birmingham Six being found guilty in 1975. Their convictions were later overturned in 1991.
The documentary tells the story of the Mulberry Bush and the Tavern in the Town, where the bombings took place. Tighe was in the Tavern, where she had gone to meet a potential boyfriend. She and her friends heard a rumbling sound at around 8 pm but didn’t realize it was a bomb detonating at the nearby Mulberry Bush. Moments later, the Tavern went black. When Tighe woke up, she was surrounded by rubble and burning fragments of phosphorus. Although she considers herself lucky to have escaped physical injury, the psychological toll has had a lasting effect on her life. Tighe experienced post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for almost 50 years after the attacks, a condition she is only now beginning to feel she has put behind her.
The documentary also includes an interview with Eric Noble, a police constable who arrived at the scene after the bombings. Noble was one of over 100 officers deployed to cover the repatriation of James McDade, an IRA member who died the previous week when a bomb he was planting in Coventry detonated. Noble reported to Birmingham city center after a vague IRA warning gave inadequate notice of a second bomb, and it was thought to be a serious threat. When Noble arrived at the Mulberry Bush, it was eerily quiet. Officers erected a cordon and then began the grim task of attending to the dead.
The night of the bombings was the most horrific of Noble’s 30-year career. “The only time [my wife] ever saw me overcome with emotion was when I got back that night from the Birmingham pub bombings,” he said
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