OMAGH RELATIVES SEEK HELP FROM BRADY
Omagh relatives seek help from Brady
By Michael McHugh
Archbishop urged to press for inquiry.
The leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland will today be asked by some of the relatives of victims of the Omagh bomb to back their campaign for a cross-border inquiry into the atrocity.
Michael Gallagher, whose son Aiden was among 29 people killed in the Real IRA bomb attack in August 1998, will lead a delegation which will meet Archbishop Sean Brady at his residence in Armagh.
The meeting in Ireland's ecclesiastical capital follows a series of discussions with Anglican, Presbyterian and Methodist Church leaders.
As they prepared for today's meeting Mr Gallagher said Prime Minister Tony Blair has also offered to meet them in Downing Street should he win the General Election.
"Our meeting with Archbishop Brady is part of an ongoing series of meetings with the main Church leaders in Ireland who we know are very influential," he said.
"We have concerns, very serious concerns about the way the Omagh investigation has been handled.
"We know the importance of the Churches and that Archbishop Brady has a lot of influence in Dublin which can obviously help us in our campaign for a cross-border public inquiry
The group has already held meetings with the Taoiseach, senior police officers and the Northern Ireland Office.
They want a public inquiry to examine claims that Garda Special Branch agent handler John White warned senior officers of a "spectacular" planned for Northern Ireland by republican dissidents but that no action was taken.
Peers in the House of Lords, including Lord Eames, the head of the Church of Ireland, have backed the campaign for a public inquiry, which would ask why Mr White's alleged Garda agent, Paddy Dixon, was allowed to walk free by Welsh customs officials despite a UK-wide warrant for his arrest.
Two years ago, Police Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan's investigators interviewed Mr White. They are believed to have accepted his account as accurate.
However, three retired civil servants, the so-called Nally Committee, appointed by the Republic's Justice Minister Michael McDowell, have since concluded that they could find no basis for the claims.
They maintained that they were unable to interview the man who is living under the garda-run witness protection scheme.
Mr McDowell has refused to publish the committee's report because he claims it would prejudice the court case against White.
Concerns have also been expressed about delays in handing over forensic information to the PSNI team investigating the bombing, which was the worst single massacre of the Troubles.
By Michael McHugh
Archbishop urged to press for inquiry.
The leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland will today be asked by some of the relatives of victims of the Omagh bomb to back their campaign for a cross-border inquiry into the atrocity.
Michael Gallagher, whose son Aiden was among 29 people killed in the Real IRA bomb attack in August 1998, will lead a delegation which will meet Archbishop Sean Brady at his residence in Armagh.
The meeting in Ireland's ecclesiastical capital follows a series of discussions with Anglican, Presbyterian and Methodist Church leaders.
As they prepared for today's meeting Mr Gallagher said Prime Minister Tony Blair has also offered to meet them in Downing Street should he win the General Election.
"Our meeting with Archbishop Brady is part of an ongoing series of meetings with the main Church leaders in Ireland who we know are very influential," he said.
"We have concerns, very serious concerns about the way the Omagh investigation has been handled.
"We know the importance of the Churches and that Archbishop Brady has a lot of influence in Dublin which can obviously help us in our campaign for a cross-border public inquiry
The group has already held meetings with the Taoiseach, senior police officers and the Northern Ireland Office.
They want a public inquiry to examine claims that Garda Special Branch agent handler John White warned senior officers of a "spectacular" planned for Northern Ireland by republican dissidents but that no action was taken.
Peers in the House of Lords, including Lord Eames, the head of the Church of Ireland, have backed the campaign for a public inquiry, which would ask why Mr White's alleged Garda agent, Paddy Dixon, was allowed to walk free by Welsh customs officials despite a UK-wide warrant for his arrest.
Two years ago, Police Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan's investigators interviewed Mr White. They are believed to have accepted his account as accurate.
However, three retired civil servants, the so-called Nally Committee, appointed by the Republic's Justice Minister Michael McDowell, have since concluded that they could find no basis for the claims.
They maintained that they were unable to interview the man who is living under the garda-run witness protection scheme.
Mr McDowell has refused to publish the committee's report because he claims it would prejudice the court case against White.
Concerns have also been expressed about delays in handing over forensic information to the PSNI team investigating the bombing, which was the worst single massacre of the Troubles.
Further Information
Publisher: BELFAST TELEGRAPH
Ref: BT/0960
Published Date: 02-May-05
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