Families and Survivors Renew Call for Irish Inquiry Following Key Evidence at Omagh Bombing Inquiry

The Omagh Bombing Inquiry has concluded its Chapter 3 hearings after five weeks of evidence examining the circumstances of the bombing on 15 August 1998, the information available to State authorities beforehand and whether the attack could have been prevented. The hearings ranged considerably wider than originally anticipated, exploring in significant detail the events leading up to the bombing and the actions of State authorities both before and after it.

Families and survivors say the evidence heard during Chapter 3 has raised significant new questions about what State authorities knew before the bombing and whether opportunities existed to prevent it.

The Inquiry heard evidence on a number of key areas:

• Warnings received before the bombing. These included an anonymous call on 4 August 1998 warning of an attack in Omagh on 15 August. That call was not recorded on the RUC's HOLMES system, and the sub-divisional commander was not informed of it. The threat book recording the warning has never been found. The Inquiry also heard evidence about a call made on 14 August 1998 from the Chasing Bull bar in Bundoran to Finner Army Camp in Ballyshannon. The caller warned an Irish Army officer that a bomb would cross the border and repeatedly stressed the words "Omagh, Omagh, Omagh". A central question is whether that warning was passed to authorities in Northern Ireland.

• The bomb car and its route. The Inquiry's working view is that the car was stolen to order and that a test run of the route took place on 14 August. Telephone evidence links named suspects to the vehicles used on the day. Evidence was heard that minor border roads around the Aughnacloy checkpoint were likely passable in 1998. The Inquiry also examined routes the bomb car may have taken into Omagh and lines of inquiry that were subsequently closed without being fully investigated.

• Intelligence sharing and the original investigation. Former Police Ombudsman Baroness Nuala O'Loan gave evidence that the McVicker Review was withheld from her investigation. She also described a "recognised pattern" of intelligence not being shared with investigating teams. The PSNI has accepted serious failings in the conduct of the Omagh investigation, and approximately 600 documents are recorded as missing or destroyed. Former Chief Constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan and former Senior Investigating Officer Norman Baxter also gave evidence.

• Norman Baxter's evidence. Norman Baxter gave evidence today indicating that effect could not be given to Sir Ronnie Flanagan’s commitment to “leave no stone unturned in the investigation” because, according to Mr. Baxter, “stones were being removed.” This is a reference to Mr. Baxter’s belief that a state agent possibly being handled by MI5 and Gardai was involved in the Omagh Bombing and a coordinated effort was made following the bombing to disrupt the investigation in order to protect intelligence sources.

Statement from Enda McGarrity, Director at P.A. Duffy & Co Solicitors, who is representing a number of the bereaved families and survivors

"Chapter 3 has laid the foundations for the rest of the Inquiry's investigation. It has established a working hypothesis on matters central to the Inquiry's Terms of Reference: the identification of key suspects, the evidence about the bomb car and its journey across the border to Omagh, and what State agencies knew before the bombing. The Chairman and his team deserve credit for the rigorous and sensitive way they have conducted these proceedings so far.

The Inquiry has heard a significant body of evidence on whether this atrocity could have been prevented. We will not prejudice the Inquiry's work by speculating on where that evidence may ultimately lead in later chapters. But the evidence heard so far raises major questions for State authorities on both sides of the border.

Norman Baxter led the investigation into the bombing from 2002. His evidence is that he believes the investigation was disrupted by a coordinated desire to protect intelligence sources, put ahead of bringing those responsible to justice. That is a matter of the most serious concern.

The glaring issue in this Inquiry is the role of the Irish Government and its agencies. Despite the best efforts of the Inquiry, the jurisdictional limits of the legislation and the Inquiry's Terms of Reference make it very difficult in practice to investigate whether Irish State agencies could have prevented the bombing.

The evidence heard so far, not least the damning comments from Norman Baxter concerning the possibility that a positive decision was made to allow the bomb car to travel across the border, makes it abundantly clear that the Irish Government must establish its own independent statutory inquiry. That inquiry must fully investigate the very serious allegations about the role of Irish State agencies, including An Garda Síochána, before the bombing."

Statement from Shawneen Conway, whose brother Gareth Conway was killed in the Omagh bombing at age 18:

"For me and my family, the consequences of that day have lasted a lifetime. We are still suffering and living with the effects of what happened. The loss of Gareth and the devastation the bombing brought to our family are things we continue to live with every single day.

Going through this Inquiry almost 30 years later has been extremely difficult, not just for my family but for everyone affected by the bombing. We are being retraumatised and having to relive the events and the devastating impact they have had on our lives all over again.

It is deeply distressing to hear evidence that there may have been warnings and opportunities to prevent or disrupt the bombing. After all these years, we still have so many unanswered questions. We need to know what was known, what action was taken and whether everything possible was done to protect innocent lives.

While the Inquiry has made progress and we are beginning to get a clearer picture of what happened, there is still a long way to go and many important questions remain unanswered. We need to see those questions pursued fully, and we need the Irish Government to properly address its role and responsibilities.

The families deserve the truth. After everything we have been through, the very least we deserve is answers and an honest account of what happened, what was known and why those responsible were never brought to justice. We deserve to understand why our lives were changed and, in so many ways, destroyed by that day. Almost 30 years on, we are still waiting for those answers."