OMAGH'S BOMBERS MAY NEVER BE CAUGHT
Omagh's bombers 'may never be caught'
EXCLUSIVE
By Michael O'Toole
Dublin Correspondent
GARDA Commissioner Pat Byrne today concedes that the men who masterminded the Omagh atrocity will "probably" never be caught - even though he knows who carried it out.
In an exclusive interview with the Irish News he accepts the IRA poses no threat - but also says he believes there will always be an armed republican element while Britain controls Northern Ireland.
Mr Byrne says the leads in the Omagh investigation "have very much reduced".
When asked by the Irish News if he thought the masterminds of the attack would escape conviction, he replied: "Sadly, possibly and maybe probably."
The commissioner says: "When you... know who carried out the thing what you are trying to do now is get the evidence to link them and they are very much trying to ensure that you don't get the evidence to link them.
"Intelligence is no good. If I could prosecute people for all the intelligence information I had on them I can tell you a lot more would be in jail.
"There is a price to be paid for democracy - that a person is innocent until proven guilty."
He also says that he believes the Real IRA did not set out to kill 29 people - but that the atrocity was "a tragic cock-up".
Mr Byrne also believes that, short of Britain announcing plans to leave Northern Ireland, there will always be republicans prepared to kill and maim in the name of a united Ireland.
He says: "The consensus we have come to is that unfortunately you will always have some type of IRA while you have a British presence in Northern Ireland."
Last night one of the bereaved described the thought of the Omagh bombers never being brought to justice as "inconceivable".
Michael Gallagher, who lost his son Adrian in the bomb, said it was important for justice to be done even though it could never bring back the loved ones.
"We will continue to press the authorities to keep all the resources that are necessary to bring these people to justice," he said.
"The families need to hear the full story of Omagh and it is only through the mouths of the people who perpetrated this act that we will know this."
EXCLUSIVE
By Michael O'Toole
Dublin Correspondent
GARDA Commissioner Pat Byrne today concedes that the men who masterminded the Omagh atrocity will "probably" never be caught - even though he knows who carried it out.
In an exclusive interview with the Irish News he accepts the IRA poses no threat - but also says he believes there will always be an armed republican element while Britain controls Northern Ireland.
Mr Byrne says the leads in the Omagh investigation "have very much reduced".
When asked by the Irish News if he thought the masterminds of the attack would escape conviction, he replied: "Sadly, possibly and maybe probably."
The commissioner says: "When you... know who carried out the thing what you are trying to do now is get the evidence to link them and they are very much trying to ensure that you don't get the evidence to link them.
"Intelligence is no good. If I could prosecute people for all the intelligence information I had on them I can tell you a lot more would be in jail.
"There is a price to be paid for democracy - that a person is innocent until proven guilty."
He also says that he believes the Real IRA did not set out to kill 29 people - but that the atrocity was "a tragic cock-up".
Mr Byrne also believes that, short of Britain announcing plans to leave Northern Ireland, there will always be republicans prepared to kill and maim in the name of a united Ireland.
He says: "The consensus we have come to is that unfortunately you will always have some type of IRA while you have a British presence in Northern Ireland."
Last night one of the bereaved described the thought of the Omagh bombers never being brought to justice as "inconceivable".
Michael Gallagher, who lost his son Adrian in the bomb, said it was important for justice to be done even though it could never bring back the loved ones.
"We will continue to press the authorities to keep all the resources that are necessary to bring these people to justice," he said.
"The families need to hear the full story of Omagh and it is only through the mouths of the people who perpetrated this act that we will know this."
Further Information
Publisher: THE IRISH NEWS
Ref: IN/0339
Published Date: 13-Mar-00
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