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Omagh bombing: case against only remaining suspect collapses Omagh bombing: case against only remaining suspect collapses
(about 9 hours later)
The case against the only remaining suspect charged with the Omagh bombing, in which 29 people were killed, has collapsed, prompting families of the victims to claim that their loved ones will never get justice.The case against the only remaining suspect charged with the Omagh bombing, in which 29 people were killed, has collapsed, prompting families of the victims to claim that their loved ones will never get justice.
Northern Ireland’s Public Prosecution Service has dropped 29 murder charges against Seamus Daly in relation to the single biggest act of mass murder of the Ulster Troubles. Northern Ireland’s Public Prosecution Service (PPS) confirmed that all charges against Seamus Daly, who was accused of carrying out the single biggest atrocity of the Troubles, had been dropped.
A PPS lawyer officially withdrew the prosecution during a routine magistrates court hearing at Ballymena courthouse, County Antrim, on Tuesday morning. The collapse of the case owing to the unreliability of a state witness opens the door for Daly to challenge a groundbreaking civil legal action which concluded in 2013 that the evidence against him was overwhelming.
He had appeared in court in Omagh last week to face all the charges related to the atrocity. Daly, 45, had appeared in court in Omagh only last week, facing all the charges related to the Real IRA attack.
One of the 29 victims of the bombing was a pregnant woman whose twins were almost full term when she died after a 500lb bomb exploded in the centre of the town on a busy Saturday. One of the 29 victims was a pregnant woman whose twins were almost full term when she died after the 500lb bomb exploded in the town centre on a busy Saturday in August 1998.
As well as facing 29 murder charges, Daly had been accused of causing the explosion in the County Tyrone market town in August 1998 and possessing the bomb. He also faced charges relating to a Real IRA bomb plot in Lisburn in April of that year. As well as facing 29 murder charges, Daly had been accused of causing the explosion in the Co Tyrone market town 18 years ago and possessing the bomb. He also faced charges relating to a Real IRA bomb plot in Lisburn in April 1998.
Daly, originally from the Irish Republic, was arrested in South Armagh in 2014 in connection with the Real IRA bombing at Omagh. Since his arrest, Daly has consistently denied any involvement in the atrocity. On the withdrawal of charges, a spokesperson for the PPS said: “The decision not to seek the return of Seamus Daly for trial to the crown court has been taken following a careful review of the current state of the evidence. This has focused in particular on the testimony provided by a key witness during committal proceedings last week.
Omagh victims’ campaigner Michael Gallagher, whose son Aidan was killed in the bombing, told the Guardian he believed the evidence of a new key witness from the Irish Republic was so poor and contradictory that it led to the case’s collapse on Tuesday. It is understood the informer-witness from southern Ireland was at one time an associate of Daly’s in the building trade. “Under cross-examination a number of issues became apparent which impacted upon the reliability of the evidence that the witness was providing. Having conducted a careful review of the case with the prosecution team, the director of public prosecutions, Barra McGrory QC, has concluded that the available evidence no longer provides a reasonable prospect of a conviction. Consequently the prosecution cannot be continued.”
An emotional Gallagher said early on Tuesday that he believed that “barring a road-to-Damascus conversion and a confession by the bombers themselves, those behind the Omagh bomb plot have got away with it”. The PPS spokesperson added: “On behalf of the PPS, I extend our sympathy to the families affected by the Omagh bomb. We understand how difficult this decision will be for them. We hope they are assured that this decision was not taken lightly but is required in accordance with our duty as prosecutors to keep a decision under review and to discontinue criminal proceedings when the test for prosecution is no longer met.”
Speaking on his way to court in Ballymena, where prosecutors officially announced that they were dropping all the charges against Daly, Gallagher said: “The chances of a successful criminal prosecution against the Omagh bombers is very, very low after this. The only way to get at least the truth about what happened in Omagh is for a full all-Ireland independent inquiry into the events leading up to the bomb, which is what we have been demanding for years. Daly, originally from the Irish Republic, was arrested in South Armagh in 2014 in connection with the Real IRA bomb attacks. Daly has consistently denied any involvement in the atrocity.
Michael Gallagher, whose son Aidan was killed in the Omagh bombing, said it was a dark day for the families of the victims. He said there was now the prospect of Daly mounting a legal challenge against the families’ landmark civil action against him and three other men named in court as the Real IRA leaders behind the Omagh bomb plot, and of Daly suing the state for his time spent in custody.
Gallagher said he had realised from Daly’s appearance in court last Thursday that the crown’s chief witness, who can now be named as Denis O’Connor, from the Irish Republic, had provided contradictory and unreliable evidence.
“Barring a road-to-Damascus conversion and a confession by the bombers themselves, those behind the Omagh bomb plot have got away with it,” he said. “The chances of a successful criminal prosecution against the Omagh bombers is very, very low after this. The only way to get at least the truth about what happened in Omagh is for a full all-Ireland independent inquiry into the events leading up to the bomb, which is what we have been demanding for years.
“We won’t stop fighting for this inquiry but it has to be said that in terms of the innocent victims of the Troubles, the way the Omagh investigation has gone indicates that they won’t get justice either. It is very depressing.”“We won’t stop fighting for this inquiry but it has to be said that in terms of the innocent victims of the Troubles, the way the Omagh investigation has gone indicates that they won’t get justice either. It is very depressing.”
Omagh victims’ families have complained that police on both sides of the Irish border failed to act to thwart the attack on the town because they were running agents inside the Real IRA, and that previous bombings in 1998 were allowed to take place to bolster their agents’ reputations within the new republican terror group. The families of the Omagh victims have complained that police on both sides of the Irish border failed to act to thwart the attack because they were running agents inside the Real IRA, and that some previous bombings in 1998 were allowed to take place to bolster their agents’ reputations within the new republican terror group. In the lead-up to the Good Friday agreement in the same year, the Real IRA launched a series of attacks using car bombs and mortar bombs mainly targeted at unionist-dominated towns across Northern Ireland.
In the lead-up to the Good Friday agreement in the same year, the Real IRA launched a series of attacks using car bombs and mortar bombs mainly targeted at unionist-dominated towns across Northern Ireland. The victims of the Omagh bombing came from across the sectarian divide in the region but also included an English schoolboy, James Barker, and several Spanish pupils who were in town on a day trip. To date no one has been found guilty in a criminal court over the bombing.
The Real IRA strategy was to cause enough outrage to undermine unionist support for the peace process and a political settlement that would eventually underpin Northern Ireland’s place within the UK.
So far no one has been convicted of carrying out the attack, which prompted one faction of the Real IRA to declare a ceasefire.
The families have pursued a groundbreaking civil action against those behind the atrocity. Four men have been ordered to pay more than £1.5m in damages to the victims’ families in the civil case. A judge ruled that the men – Real IRA leader Michael McKevitt, Liam Campbell, Colm Murphy and Seamus Daly – were all responsible for carrying out the massacre.