Birmingham pub bombings survivor recalls ‘nightmares for 20 years’

A man who survived the Birmingham pub bombings has shared his experience for the first time in 50 years, and reveals he spent the next 20 years after the bombings waking up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat.
IRA bombs exploded at the The Tavern in the Town and The Mulberry Bush pubs in 1974, killing 21 people and injuring 182 others.
Mick O’Brien was in The Tavern in the Town at the time, but managed to survive.
Recalling the moments before the explosion to ITV News Central Correspondent Mark Gough, Mr O’Brien said: “I was going up to get a pint from the bartender.
“There was a blast then I couldn’t hear anything because my eardrum was burst.
“I was on the floor, people were staggering around, groaning, moaning and screaming, and I could smell dust.
“That was the thing I remember most: dust. It was in my mouth, it was everywhere.”
“I staggered up what remained of the stairs, the cab drivers and passers by were picking people up and taking everyone to the hospital.
“I had flecks of glass in my scalp which were washing out for weeks afterwards, but all in all I’m lucky I got out.”
Mr O’Brien now lives in the US, but flew back to Birmingham for a memorial marking 50 years since the bombings.
He told ITV News Central his recurring memories of the bombings have now faded, after haunting him for decades.
He said: “For several years afterwards I would wake up in a cold sweat and could hear things – noises, and groans.
“I felt like I couldn’t move, the blankets were weighing me down, it was strange feeling – and that went on for a number of years.
“It affected me for probably 20 years afterwards with nightmares and waking up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat.
“In the last 25 or 30 years it’s faded off a little. I still have occasional memories of it but I try to force them out.
“It’s helpful, telling somebody else about it.”
A government spokesperson said: “Our deepest sympathies remain with all those who continue to be affected by the horrific pub bombings in Birmingham in 1974.”
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