One step closer to justice, say Omagh relatives

RELATIVES of those killed in the Omagh bomb said yesterday they had moved one step closer to justice following the serving of writs on men they claim were involved in the attack.

Just hours after lawyers for some of the families began serving writs on five men they claim planned and carried out the August, 1998 Real IRA attack which killed 29 people, including a woman pregnant with twins, a spokesman for the Omagh Victims Legal Trust welcomed the move.

“We are one step closer to justice today, a step nearer seeing in court those who are suspected of murdering 31 innocent people in Omagh,” he said.

In a landmark civil action, lawyers for the Omagh Victims Legal Trust arrived at the homes of Seamus Daly and Seamus McKenna in the border town of Dundalk, Co Louth, at 6.45am.

Neither man answered but one writ was handed to the father of Mr Daly and the other was put through the letter box of the McKenna house.

Lawyers and relatives later went to Portlaoise Prison where they served writs on Michael McKevitt, Liam Campbell - the only man to have been convicted so far of an offence relating to the Omagh bomb - and Colm Murphy, who was jailed for 14 years for conspiring to cause the atrocity.

McKevitt and Campbell accepted the writs but Murphy refused to meet the lawyers. The Omagh bomb was the worst single atrocity in 30 years of violence in Northern Ireland.

A 500lb Real IRA car bomb exploded in the centre of the Co Tyrone town, packed with shoppers and visitors on a sunny Saturday afternoon.

The men on whom the writs were served could ignore the legal action, which is due to take place in Belfast.

But that will not stop the Omagh families having their day in court and having the case against the men detailed in public. The families could still win judgment by default, threatening the personal assets of the suspects.

The Omagh Victims Legal Trust said the families’ case was “strong and their determination is rock solid” but its spokesman appealed for more donations to help them meet the legal costs of the case.

One of the relatives, Michael Gallagher, whose son Aidan died in the explosion, was outside the prison when the writs were served. He said: “I am obviously very relieved that at least a process has now started.

Mr Gallagher said yesterday’s move had given him no joy.

“There is no pleasure in this process whatsoever. The families have done this for justice and some measure of learning more about what happened at Omagh. We have always wanted people to be held accountable.”

I think we have had a flawed investigation in the North , but we have supported the new police team , but we have supported the new police team.

The father of a 12-year-old English schoolboy killed in the bombing said now the writs had been served, relatives were determined to go into court with the evidence they had even if the five suspects did not turn up.

Victor Barker, a lawyer whose son James was one of three children living in Co Donegal killed in the atrocity, said: “This is a civil action brought by the families both against the individuals and of course against the organisation known as the Real IRA.”