TG4 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Guildford pub bombings with major new Guildford Four documentary

Fifty years on from the 1974 Guildford pub bombings which killed five people and injured more than sixty others, TG4 is to screen a major new documentary, Ceathrar Guildford: 50 bliain na mbréag, on December 14.

It charts the story of the four young people – Paul Hill (21), Gerry Conlon (21), Paddy Armstrong (25) and Carole Richardson (17) – who were wrongfully convicted for the crimes and spent 15 years in prison.

"The documentary explores the traumatic impact on those involved, their families and society as a whole," we're told. "Delving into a series of abhorrent miscarriages of justice spanning five decades, we follow this infamous case as the fight for truth continues. Gerry Conlon’s sister, Bridie, is taking a civil case against various government agencies in the hope that she and her legal team will uncover the truth once and for all and finally clear her family’s name for good.

"Featuring members of the Guildford Four, including Paddy Armstrong and never-before-seen interviews with the late Gerry Conlon, Ceathrar Guildford: 50 bliain na mbréag highlights the importance of the case in the world today, and reveals the extent of a State cover-up which goes right to the very top."

Adds director Sinéad Ingoldsby: “The Guildford Four were jailed before I was born but I grew up knowing they were completely innocent and will never forget the jubilation when they were finally released from prison in 1989. What I didn't realise was how the British justice system was aware of their innocence even before they were convicted and how high up the chain the criminal corruption that kept them in prison for fifteen years went. Fifty years on, those intimately involved in the case are struggling to cope with the trauma of what happened to them. They are still fighting for justice and the cover-up continues. The case has significant ramifications for new 'suspect communities' and that is why it is still important to tell this story today.”