Public inquiry into atrocity demanded by relatives of victims

RELATIVES of victims of the Omagh bombing demanded a public inquiry to discover the truth yesterday — the fifth anniversary of the atrocity.

After a short memorial service in the town, the relatives of those killed in the Real IRA attack, which claimed the lives of 29 people, and a pair of unborn twins, read a statement thanking the emergency services for their work that day. But they also said: “After five years of criminal investigations, we are now calling on the Dublin and London governments to give us a full cross-Border public inquiry.

“To date, we have had six investigations into Omagh without conviction. We now want the truth about what happened on that fateful day.” The statement was read by Caroline Martin, whose sister Esther Gibson was killed in the attack. About 400 people attended the memorial service and observed a minute’s silence.