OMAGH DAD WELCOMES TOUGH IRA SENTENCES
Omagh dad welcomes tough RIRA sentences
By Sharon O'Neill
Chief Reporter
A FATHER whose son was killed in the Omagh bombing last night said a 30-year jail term handed down to three Real IRA. men should signal a start to tougher sentencing for dissidents. neighborhood
Fintan Paul O'Farrell (39), Declan John Rafferty (42) and Michael Christopher McDonald (44), all from Co Louth and all senior members of the organisation, were sentenced yesterday after pleading guilty to planning to cause an explosion and buying weapons.
Last night Michael Gallagher, whose son Aidan died in the 1998 Real IRA attack, said: "This sends out a strong message that terrorism doesn't pay."
The trio - one of whom is reported to have obtained the car used in Omagh bombing which killed 29 people including a woman pregnant with twins - were arrested in Slovakia last July following an elaborate sting led by M15.
Woolwich Crown Court in London heard that an undercover agent posing as an Iraqi arms dealer initiated the first contact with alleged Real IRA leader Michael McKevitt, who is currently awaiting trial in the Republic for directing terrorism.
The 30-year sentence handed down to each of the men for conspiracy to cause explosions and buying a stockpile of weapons, including rocket-propelled grenades, is in stark contrast to jail terms imposed on dissidents in Ireland.
Earlier this year Co Armagh-born businessman Colin Murphy was the only man to be convicted in connection with the Omagh bombing.
Murphy, who lived in Dundalk, was found guilty of conspiring to cause the explosion on August 15 1998 and was jailed for 14 years.
Co Louth farmer Liam Campbell (39) was the first person to be convicted of membership of the Real IRA. and "was sentenced to five years imprisonment last October. Campbell is also believed to be a senior figure in the organisation.
At the Special Criminal Court in Dublin yesterday Robert Brennan (33) of Sillogue Road, Ballymun, was convicted of membership of the Real IRA and will be sentenced later today.
A number of people are awaiting trial in Northern Ireland for activity linked to republican dissidents.
Michael Gallagher said tougher sentencing is the only way to deter the Real IRA men bent on violence.
"The government is taking terrorism seriously and I just hope the judiciary in Northern Ireland and the south continue to follow that policy," he said.
Despite a number of high-profile convictions and several thwarted attacks, security sources on both sides of the border insist the Real IRA still poses a major threat.
After a number of setbacks the organisation regrouped and weeded out informers and is believed to have been behind the recent bomb attempt at Maghaberry prison in Co Antrim.
By Sharon O'Neill
Chief Reporter
A FATHER whose son was killed in the Omagh bombing last night said a 30-year jail term handed down to three Real IRA. men should signal a start to tougher sentencing for dissidents. neighborhood
Fintan Paul O'Farrell (39), Declan John Rafferty (42) and Michael Christopher McDonald (44), all from Co Louth and all senior members of the organisation, were sentenced yesterday after pleading guilty to planning to cause an explosion and buying weapons.
Last night Michael Gallagher, whose son Aidan died in the 1998 Real IRA attack, said: "This sends out a strong message that terrorism doesn't pay."
The trio - one of whom is reported to have obtained the car used in Omagh bombing which killed 29 people including a woman pregnant with twins - were arrested in Slovakia last July following an elaborate sting led by M15.
Woolwich Crown Court in London heard that an undercover agent posing as an Iraqi arms dealer initiated the first contact with alleged Real IRA leader Michael McKevitt, who is currently awaiting trial in the Republic for directing terrorism.
The 30-year sentence handed down to each of the men for conspiracy to cause explosions and buying a stockpile of weapons, including rocket-propelled grenades, is in stark contrast to jail terms imposed on dissidents in Ireland.
Earlier this year Co Armagh-born businessman Colin Murphy was the only man to be convicted in connection with the Omagh bombing.
Murphy, who lived in Dundalk, was found guilty of conspiring to cause the explosion on August 15 1998 and was jailed for 14 years.
Co Louth farmer Liam Campbell (39) was the first person to be convicted of membership of the Real IRA. and "was sentenced to five years imprisonment last October. Campbell is also believed to be a senior figure in the organisation.
At the Special Criminal Court in Dublin yesterday Robert Brennan (33) of Sillogue Road, Ballymun, was convicted of membership of the Real IRA and will be sentenced later today.
A number of people are awaiting trial in Northern Ireland for activity linked to republican dissidents.
Michael Gallagher said tougher sentencing is the only way to deter the Real IRA men bent on violence.
"The government is taking terrorism seriously and I just hope the judiciary in Northern Ireland and the south continue to follow that policy," he said.
Despite a number of high-profile convictions and several thwarted attacks, security sources on both sides of the border insist the Real IRA still poses a major threat.
After a number of setbacks the organisation regrouped and weeded out informers and is believed to have been behind the recent bomb attempt at Maghaberry prison in Co Antrim.
Further Information
Publisher: THE IRISH NEWS
Ref: IN/0554
Published Date: 08-May-02
Related Images
There have been no images archived for this article.