Irish Independent May 15, 2004 RUC denied bomb van was in city Caroline Crawford   A GARDA who spotted a suspicious van in Dublin the day before the 1974 bombings was later informed by the RUC that the vehicle had not been in the capital on that day.  Garda Ciaran Kenny told the inquest into the bombings that on May 16, 1974, he noticed a yellow Ford Transit van at the junction of Ballybough and Cloniffe Road in Dublin at 5pm.  He made a note of the registration of the van, which had the Hertz rental logo on it, because at the time a number of vehicles were being rented in the North and abandoned in Dublin.  However, when Garda Kenny reported the registration number, UUK 500M, the RUC responded that the vehicle, which matched the description and the registration, had not been in Dublin on that day. The matter was never resolved.  The inquest also heard evidence that no report on a suspicious white van, found at the Dublin docks following the bombings, had ever been included in the Garda investigation into the blasts. However, details of the van were included in a report by Army intelligence, which included a reference to weapons being found.  The court also heard that Garda investigations into the bombings had resulted in a list of six suspects for the Dublin bombings and 15 suspects for the Monaghan bombing.  However, the only body who had the power to interview the list of suspects was the RUC. "We couldn't go any further," said Colm Browne, a former detective inspector.  The court heard that the owner of a farm in Armagh, where the bombs were believed to have been made, was interviewed by gardai.  The court also heard from a senior bomb disposal expert at the time, Denis Boyle, that the bombings had required a high level of sophistication, which the UVF did not have in 1974.  The inquest was adjourned until Tuesday as a mark of respect to the families of victims, who will commemorate the 30th anniversary of the bombings on Monday.