Court reserves judgement in Omagh bomb trial

The Special Criminal Court has reserved judgment on an application to have Colm Murphy cleared of a conspiracy charge in relation to the 1998 Omagh bomb because of insufficient evidence against him.

Murphy's counsel Mr Michael O' Higgins SC applied to the court for a direction to acquit his client because there was not enough evidence to convict him.

The court today heard legal submissions from Mr O' Higgins and prosecution counsel Ms Una Ni Raifeartaigh SC on the issue.

Mr Justice Paul Butler, presiding at the three-judge, non-jury court, said that the court would give its ruling on the application at a later date.

Murphy, a 57-year-old native of Co Armagh, with an address at Jordan's Corner, Ravensdale, Co Louth has pleaded not guilty to conspiring with another person to cause an explosion likely to endanger life or cause serious injury to property in the State or elsewhere between August 13 and 16, 1998.

The prosecution is claiming that Murphy lent two mobile phones to a man who was involved in transporting the car bomb from Castleblayney, Co Monaghan to Omagh, where it exploded on August 15, 1998 killing 29 people, including a woman pregnant with twins, and injuring more than 300.

The Real IRA later claimed responsibility for the bomb attack, the worst terrorist atrocity in the history of the northern "troubles."

Murphy was originally convicted of the charge in 2002 but the Court of Criminal Appeal quashed the conviction and ordered a retrial in 2005.