JUDGE TO GIVE VERDICT IN CASE OF OMAGH FAMILIES
Judge to give verdict in case of Omagh families
JUDGMENT in the multi-million pound civil action brought by relatives of Omagh bombing victims is due to be delivered early next month.
Mr Justice Morgan will give his verdict in the case against five men being sued over the atrocity on Monday June 8.
No-one has ever been convicted for the Real IRA atrocity which devastated the Co Tyrone town in August 1998, killing 29 people - including the mother of unborn twins - and injuring hundreds more.
But in a lawsuit which made legal history, some of the bereaved are seeking an order for the most punitive award of damages.
They claim jailed dissident republican chief Michael McKevitt, Liam Campbell, Seamus McKenna, Colm Murphy and Seamus Daly can all be held responsible for the worst single loss of life in 30 years of conflict in Northern Ireland. Each of them deny liability.
The case ran for 12 months, with hearings on both sides of the border.
The legal teams moved from Belfast to Dublin at various stages to hear evidence from garda officers involved in the hunt for the bombers.
Lawyers for the families opened their case last April by describing the bombing as a massacre of the innocents, and ended with a declaration that the day of reckoning had arrived for the Real IRA and those suspected of involvement.
All five defendants were heavily criticised for declining to give evidence in response to the allegations.
But defence barristers argued that their case had not been proved.
The character of American trucking boss-turned FBI spy Rupert - whose evidence was crucial to securing McKevitt's conviction for directing terrorism - was subjected to an equally withering courtroom examination.
Unlike the criminal trial in Dublin in 2003, Rupert did not attend the civil action or even appear via video link as originally anticipated.
Instead the plaintiffs' lawyers relied on transcripts of his earlier evidence and emails from his correspondence with handlers to back their case.
But in an attempt to destroy Rupert's credibility McKevitt's lawyers focused on alleged links with dictators, Mafia bosses and money laundering operations.
Their claims formed only a fraction of the evidence and legal submissions which Mr Justice Morgan has scrutinised over the past two months.
JUDGMENT in the multi-million pound civil action brought by relatives of Omagh bombing victims is due to be delivered early next month.
Mr Justice Morgan will give his verdict in the case against five men being sued over the atrocity on Monday June 8.
No-one has ever been convicted for the Real IRA atrocity which devastated the Co Tyrone town in August 1998, killing 29 people - including the mother of unborn twins - and injuring hundreds more.
But in a lawsuit which made legal history, some of the bereaved are seeking an order for the most punitive award of damages.
They claim jailed dissident republican chief Michael McKevitt, Liam Campbell, Seamus McKenna, Colm Murphy and Seamus Daly can all be held responsible for the worst single loss of life in 30 years of conflict in Northern Ireland. Each of them deny liability.
The case ran for 12 months, with hearings on both sides of the border.
The legal teams moved from Belfast to Dublin at various stages to hear evidence from garda officers involved in the hunt for the bombers.
Lawyers for the families opened their case last April by describing the bombing as a massacre of the innocents, and ended with a declaration that the day of reckoning had arrived for the Real IRA and those suspected of involvement.
All five defendants were heavily criticised for declining to give evidence in response to the allegations.
But defence barristers argued that their case had not been proved.
The character of American trucking boss-turned FBI spy Rupert - whose evidence was crucial to securing McKevitt's conviction for directing terrorism - was subjected to an equally withering courtroom examination.
Unlike the criminal trial in Dublin in 2003, Rupert did not attend the civil action or even appear via video link as originally anticipated.
Instead the plaintiffs' lawyers relied on transcripts of his earlier evidence and emails from his correspondence with handlers to back their case.
But in an attempt to destroy Rupert's credibility McKevitt's lawyers focused on alleged links with dictators, Mafia bosses and money laundering operations.
Their claims formed only a fraction of the evidence and legal submissions which Mr Justice Morgan has scrutinised over the past two months.
Further Information
Publisher: THE IRISH NEWS
Ref: IN/0998
Published Date: 27-May-09
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