UNSPEAKABLE EVIL
Unspeakable evil
TONY Blair and Bertie Ahern have vowed to hunt down the killers responsible for the Omagh bomb which has left 28 dead and more than 200 injured.
The British prime minister said:"We are agreed first of all on our total shock, horror and outrage of this act of unspeakable evil that has united people everywhere in their condemnation of it.
"We know the emotions of people are those of grief and sympathy for the bereaved and the families of the victims."
The taoiseach said he would consider the introduction of internment: "We have to make sure we do every single thing we can to make sure the people involved in this are crushed."
Both leaders had an hour long meeting at Stormont last night to discuss how the Garda and the RUC can stamp out the Real IRA, who police believe masterminded the mass murder in Omagh.
First Minister David Trimble emerged from a meeting with Tony Blair saying he believes most people in Northern Ireland possess a will to see an end to violence.
"Obviously there are some elements in society that are supportive of what has happened but I believe that they are a very small minority.
"I believe there is a will within this society shared by Unionists and Nationalists, Catholics and Protestants, and including some who would identify themselves as Republicans, to see an end to things of this nature.
Mr Trimble said he and Tony Blair had shared "shock and horror" about the incident and the deaths and casualties it had caused.
He added: "We share the grief and outrage felt in the community.
"We are obviously anxious to ensure that those responsible are brought to justice, that those elements who are trying to destroy the political progress
and political hope that we have invested so much in are dealt with properly."
Last night the death toll remained at 28 but was set to rise overnight. Two bodies had still not been identified.
Two baby girls, five other children, 14 women and five men are among the victims.
Breda Devine, 21-months-old died. She was on a shopping trip to the town with her mother Tracey (27) who is now in a critical condition in the Royal Victoria with 60 percent burns.
Also among the victims, 18-month old Maura Monaghan. She died along with her mother Avril (30) and her grandmother Mary Grimes (65).
The three generation family had visited the town from Augher on a shopping trip.
A family from Omagh lost their only son, 21-year-old Adrian Gallagher. It was the second tragedy to affect his family. His father's brother Hugh was shot dead by the IRA in 1984 while working as a taxi driver.
The victims came from Northern Ireland, the Republic and from the Spanish capital, Madrid.
Three boys Sean McLaughlin (12), Oran Doherty (8) and James Barker (12) from Buncrana, Co Donegal, were on a trip to the Ulster American Folk Park with a group of Spanish students.
Two Spaniards Rocia Abad, a 22-year-old group leader and Fernando Blasco aged 12, were also killed in the blast.
Dundee university student Julie Hughes (21) from Omagh also died. She had been working during the holidays at Image Xpress when she was evacuated and, like the others, ran into the full force of the blast.
Last night Tony Blair and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern visited some of the injured at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.
Nine of the injured are on life support machines including a 12-year-old Spanish girl who is being treated for serious head injuries.
Earlier they met Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams at Stormont. He said: "I want to reiterate my words of condemnation. I hope that those who planted this bomb understand the enormity of their actions.
"They should admit responsibility for it without delay and they should stop their activity immediately."
A senior republican spokesman rang into the Irish News and said:
"The feeling throughout the republican movement was one of widespread revulsion."
At the same time the 32 County Sovereignty movement, the political wing of the Real IRA, the group suspected of planting the 500 pound bomb in Omagh issued a statement saying:
"The killing of innocent people cannot be justified in any circumstances.
"We are a political movement and not a military group. We reject categorically any suggestions that has been publicly made, that our movement was responsible in any way."
Pope John Paul joined church leaders to condemn the bombing. He described it as "blind violence" designed to halt the peace process.
Catholic Primate Archbishop Sean Brady said he was shocked and deeply saddened by the atrocity.
Bishop Patrick Walsh, who also met some of the injured in the intensive care units at the Royal Victoria said: "The people should come first and our thoughts should be with the relatives and the victims of this tragedy.
"I came here to simply see the relatives and it's been very harrowing to see the suffering that people are enduring."
RUC Chief Constable Ronnie Flanagan has set up a special task force with unlimited government funds to investigate the bombing.
He said no stone would be left unturned in the effort to bring the killers to justice.
As known at time of printing
Sean McLaughlin (12)
Oran Doherty (8)
James Barker (12)
Philomena Skelton
Breda Devine (21 months)
Brian McCrory
Anne McCombe
Libby Rush
Veda Short
Alan Radford
Julie Hughes (21)
Gareth Conway
Brenda Logue (17)
Jolene Marlowe (17)
Avril Monaghan
Maura Monaghan (18-months)
Mary Grimes
Samantha McFarland (17)
Lorraine Wilson (15)
Fernando Blasco (12)
Rocia Abad (22)
Esther Gibson
Geraldine Breslin (35)
Adrian Gallagher (21)
TONY Blair and Bertie Ahern have vowed to hunt down the killers responsible for the Omagh bomb which has left 28 dead and more than 200 injured.
The British prime minister said:"We are agreed first of all on our total shock, horror and outrage of this act of unspeakable evil that has united people everywhere in their condemnation of it.
"We know the emotions of people are those of grief and sympathy for the bereaved and the families of the victims."
The taoiseach said he would consider the introduction of internment: "We have to make sure we do every single thing we can to make sure the people involved in this are crushed."
Both leaders had an hour long meeting at Stormont last night to discuss how the Garda and the RUC can stamp out the Real IRA, who police believe masterminded the mass murder in Omagh.
First Minister David Trimble emerged from a meeting with Tony Blair saying he believes most people in Northern Ireland possess a will to see an end to violence.
"Obviously there are some elements in society that are supportive of what has happened but I believe that they are a very small minority.
"I believe there is a will within this society shared by Unionists and Nationalists, Catholics and Protestants, and including some who would identify themselves as Republicans, to see an end to things of this nature.
Mr Trimble said he and Tony Blair had shared "shock and horror" about the incident and the deaths and casualties it had caused.
He added: "We share the grief and outrage felt in the community.
"We are obviously anxious to ensure that those responsible are brought to justice, that those elements who are trying to destroy the political progress
and political hope that we have invested so much in are dealt with properly."
Last night the death toll remained at 28 but was set to rise overnight. Two bodies had still not been identified.
Two baby girls, five other children, 14 women and five men are among the victims.
Breda Devine, 21-months-old died. She was on a shopping trip to the town with her mother Tracey (27) who is now in a critical condition in the Royal Victoria with 60 percent burns.
Also among the victims, 18-month old Maura Monaghan. She died along with her mother Avril (30) and her grandmother Mary Grimes (65).
The three generation family had visited the town from Augher on a shopping trip.
A family from Omagh lost their only son, 21-year-old Adrian Gallagher. It was the second tragedy to affect his family. His father's brother Hugh was shot dead by the IRA in 1984 while working as a taxi driver.
The victims came from Northern Ireland, the Republic and from the Spanish capital, Madrid.
Three boys Sean McLaughlin (12), Oran Doherty (8) and James Barker (12) from Buncrana, Co Donegal, were on a trip to the Ulster American Folk Park with a group of Spanish students.
Two Spaniards Rocia Abad, a 22-year-old group leader and Fernando Blasco aged 12, were also killed in the blast.
Dundee university student Julie Hughes (21) from Omagh also died. She had been working during the holidays at Image Xpress when she was evacuated and, like the others, ran into the full force of the blast.
Last night Tony Blair and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern visited some of the injured at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.
Nine of the injured are on life support machines including a 12-year-old Spanish girl who is being treated for serious head injuries.
Earlier they met Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams at Stormont. He said: "I want to reiterate my words of condemnation. I hope that those who planted this bomb understand the enormity of their actions.
"They should admit responsibility for it without delay and they should stop their activity immediately."
A senior republican spokesman rang into the Irish News and said:
"The feeling throughout the republican movement was one of widespread revulsion."
At the same time the 32 County Sovereignty movement, the political wing of the Real IRA, the group suspected of planting the 500 pound bomb in Omagh issued a statement saying:
"The killing of innocent people cannot be justified in any circumstances.
"We are a political movement and not a military group. We reject categorically any suggestions that has been publicly made, that our movement was responsible in any way."
Pope John Paul joined church leaders to condemn the bombing. He described it as "blind violence" designed to halt the peace process.
Catholic Primate Archbishop Sean Brady said he was shocked and deeply saddened by the atrocity.
Bishop Patrick Walsh, who also met some of the injured in the intensive care units at the Royal Victoria said: "The people should come first and our thoughts should be with the relatives and the victims of this tragedy.
"I came here to simply see the relatives and it's been very harrowing to see the suffering that people are enduring."
RUC Chief Constable Ronnie Flanagan has set up a special task force with unlimited government funds to investigate the bombing.
He said no stone would be left unturned in the effort to bring the killers to justice.
As known at time of printing
Sean McLaughlin (12)
Oran Doherty (8)
James Barker (12)
Philomena Skelton
Breda Devine (21 months)
Brian McCrory
Anne McCombe
Libby Rush
Veda Short
Alan Radford
Julie Hughes (21)
Gareth Conway
Brenda Logue (17)
Jolene Marlowe (17)
Avril Monaghan
Maura Monaghan (18-months)
Mary Grimes
Samantha McFarland (17)
Lorraine Wilson (15)
Fernando Blasco (12)
Rocia Abad (22)
Esther Gibson
Geraldine Breslin (35)
Adrian Gallagher (21)
Further Information
Publisher: THE IRISH NEWS
Ref: IN/0001
Published Date: 17-Aug-98
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