Omagh bombing civil action to start

A civil legal action against those accused of plotting the most lethal bomb of the North's conflict begins tomorrow in Belfast.

Relatives of 29 people killed in the dissident republican Real IRA attack on Omagh in 1998 have issued a case against five men they claim are responsible.

The massive car bomb left dead and injured scattered around the main street of the Co Tyrone town.

Nobody has been convicted but named on today’s action are alleged Real IRA figures Colm Murphy, Liam Campbell and Michael McKevitt as well as Seamus McKenna and Seamus Daly.

Michael Gallagher, whose son Aidan, 21, died, said: “We really see this as the last step in the Omagh process because we are not aware of any pending proceedings, either civil or criminal.

“As far as the families are concerned, and it is going to be difficult coming so soon after the trial of Sean Hoey, but we are confident in our legal team and we put our trust in the courts.”

Hoey, an electrician from Jonesboro, south Armagh, was cleared of involvement in Omagh on December 20 last year.

Co Louth-based McKevitt, 58, is awaiting judgment in an appeal against a conviction in the Republic of Ireland for directing terrorism.

Campbell, 43, was held in Portlaoise Prison on terrorism charges unconnected to Omagh.

The conviction of Murphy, 56, in connection with Omagh in 2002 was overturned.

Part of the trial will be relocated to Dublin in an historic step to allow Garda officers to give evidence.

The respondents are defending against the action.

In the years since the explosion there have been more than 35 High Court hearings, three Court of Appeal hearings and two applications to the House of Lords.

Families have had to wait until all criminal prosecutions were concluded in case their action prejudiced any trial.

Evidence has been gathered from the Police Service of Northern Ireland, the US Department of State, FBI, British intelligence and Crown Prosecution Service.

The families are represented by Lord Daniel Brennan QC, Brett Lockhart and solicitors from H2O Law.