UK govt ministers meet Omagh families

UK ministers are meeting relatives of the Omagh bomb victims tomorrow to discuss the forthcoming civil action against five people suspected of being behind the atrocity.

Lord Filkin, permanent under secretary at the Department of Constitutional Affairs, and Northern Ireland Security Minister Jane Kennedy will visit the town’s memorial garden before having a private meeting with the families.

The visit follows confirmation last week that the British government has agreed to provide the £800,000 (€1.13m) needed to bring the five men suspected of being behind the Real IRA bomb – which killed 29 people including a woman pregnant with twins - to court.

The cash injection will help the families pursue their claim for £10m (€14.1m) against the group, which includes Real IRA terror boss Michael McKevitt, jailed for 20 years last week for directing terrorism.

After months of consultation with the Department for Constitutional Affairs, Northern Ireland Secretary Paul Murphy last week confirmed the government had found a way to help the relatives pay the £1.5m (€2.12m) legal costs.

“While I recognise the legal constraints and complexities, I have always believed that this is an exceptional case and the vast majority of people in Northern Ireland and beyond want to see the families bring it to court,” he said.

The Omagh bombing was the worst atrocity in Northern Ireland’s history. The Real IRA car bomb devastated the town centre on August 15, 1998, claiming victims from the Irish Republic and Spain as well as Northern Ireland.

In January 2002, father-of-four Colm Murphy became the only person to be convicted of plotting the attack. The Special Criminal Court in Dublin sentenced the Dundalk-based builder and publican to 14 years in jail.

Last summer solicitors acting on behalf of the Omagh Victims’ Civil Action Group served writs on five people suspected of involvement in the bombing.

The legal documents were given to Michael McKevitt, Liam Campbell, and Colm Murphy in Portlaoise Jail. Solicitor Jason McCue visited the border town of Dundalk last July to serve writs on two other people, Seamus Daly and Seamus McKenna.