NOTHING IS MORE IMPORTANT TO ME
Nothing is more important to me
Sir Ronnie faces the most difficult day of his career
By RIC CLARK
CLEARLY sad after his five-hour ordeal with the families and victims of the Omagh bombing outrage, Chief Constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan admitted: "It was the most important day of my life."
He was there to see the people who really mattered in the investigation - for all of them the face-to-face confrontation was deeply emotional and passionate.
The relatives, Sir Ronnie said, were "incredibly courteous and incredibly patient", but for him it was probably the most difficult time in his career.
Mistakes had been made, he admitted, but his plea was "Don't give up hope."
Despite the criticism from Police Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan, he steeled himself with a determination that his officers would not rest in the hunt for the bombers.
Relatives, also visibly drained, were clearly distressed and disappointed because their hopes of news of a breakthrough were not forthcoming.
Bewilderment was etched on the faces of others as they faced the Press circus, but one victim who suffered horribly from the explosion, Donna-Marie McGillion, hasn't lost confidence that justice would eventually be done.
She said: "I have always had confidence in the investigation. I don't believe anyone wants those people to go free."
However, Laurence Rush who lost his wife Libby in the outrage, was scathing in his criticism. His voice shaking, he said Sir Ronnie was defending a force "in which there are inadequacies, ineptitude and deceit. The investigation was stagnating and flawed".
But the families will take some comfort from the fact that convicted republican terrorist Colm Murphy, who conspired in the bombing, is facing a life sentence when he appears before three judges in Dublin today.
Sir Ronnie faces the most difficult day of his career
By RIC CLARK
CLEARLY sad after his five-hour ordeal with the families and victims of the Omagh bombing outrage, Chief Constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan admitted: "It was the most important day of my life."
He was there to see the people who really mattered in the investigation - for all of them the face-to-face confrontation was deeply emotional and passionate.
The relatives, Sir Ronnie said, were "incredibly courteous and incredibly patient", but for him it was probably the most difficult time in his career.
Mistakes had been made, he admitted, but his plea was "Don't give up hope."
Despite the criticism from Police Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan, he steeled himself with a determination that his officers would not rest in the hunt for the bombers.
Relatives, also visibly drained, were clearly distressed and disappointed because their hopes of news of a breakthrough were not forthcoming.
Bewilderment was etched on the faces of others as they faced the Press circus, but one victim who suffered horribly from the explosion, Donna-Marie McGillion, hasn't lost confidence that justice would eventually be done.
She said: "I have always had confidence in the investigation. I don't believe anyone wants those people to go free."
However, Laurence Rush who lost his wife Libby in the outrage, was scathing in his criticism. His voice shaking, he said Sir Ronnie was defending a force "in which there are inadequacies, ineptitude and deceit. The investigation was stagnating and flawed".
But the families will take some comfort from the fact that convicted republican terrorist Colm Murphy, who conspired in the bombing, is facing a life sentence when he appears before three judges in Dublin today.
Further Information
Publisher: NEWS LETTER
Ref: NL/416
Published Date: 25-Jan-02
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