IN/0279

Omagh bomb accused bailed
By Diarmaid MacDermott

A MAN accused of plotting the Omagh bomb was freed on £100,000 bail by a Dublin court yesterday.
Mr Justice Paul Carney freed Colm Murphy on his own bond of £50,000 and two independent sureties of £25,000 each at the high court in Dublin.
The judge also ordered Murphy to report daily to Dundalk garda station and to surrender his passport.
The judge said that Murphy had a "prima facie entitlement under the law and constitution to bail".
On Tuesday, the special criminal court refused bail for Murphy, the first person to be charged in connection with the bombing in which 29 people died and more than 200 injured.
Colm Murphy (46), a married father of four and building contractor and publican, is a native of Co Armagh, with an address at Jordan's Corner, Ravensdale, Co Louth.
He was charged last month with conspiring in Dundalk with another person not before the court to cause an explosion likely to endanger life or cause serious injury to property in the state or elsewhere between August 13 and 16 last year.
He is also charged with membership of an unlawful organisation on August 14 last year.
Opposing bail yesterday, Superintendent Thomas Flannery said the charge carries a maximum of 20 years imprisonment on conviction.
He said it would be alleged that Murphy belonged to the Continuity Army Council and that the membership charge carries a maximum of seven years imprisonment on conviction.
Superintendent Flannery said that Murphy made admissions over a three-day period while in Garda custody. He said that Murphy was jailed for two years for firearms offences by the special criminal court in June 1972.
He escaped from the Curragh military prison in October 1972 and was recaptured in May 1973. Murphy was jailed for three years in June 1976 for firearms offences and one year for IRA membership.
Superintendent Flannery said that Murphy was convicted on July 15 1983 in the United States for trying to buy M60 machine-guns for the INLA and was jailed for five years. He was released in December 1985 and returned to Ireland.
He said Murphy was a building contractor and native of Belleeks, Co Armagh and also owns 30 acres of land at the Dublin Road in Drogheda.
He said he did not believe that Murphy would turn up for his trial if granted bail because of the seriousness of the charges and the likely sentence on conviction.
Murphy said in evidence that he would turn up for his trial if granted bail and would abide with any conditions laid down by the court.
The court also heard that Murphy's building contractor business, which employs 28 people, would go under if he was not personally able to apply for a tax form at the beginning of next month.
"Quite clearly he has a stake in not absconding," the judge added.
But the judge said that there was either a presumption of innocence or not and Murphy was entitled to a presumption of innocence.
Mr Justice Carney said that the prosecution also had to evidentially support its contention that Murphy was unlikely to attend his trial and he was not satisfied that it had done so.
Murphy is due to appear again at the special criminal court on April 27.