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Omagh bombing - appeal date is set
BY ALAN ERWIN
newsdesk@newsletter.co.uk

APPEALS by four alleged dissident republicans held liable for the Omagh bomb atrocity will be heard in January, it was confirmed yesterday.-
Senior judges have set aside two weeks for challenges by the men who were successfully sued by relatives of some of those murdered in the Real IRA blast.
A separate bid by victims' families to obtain a more punitive award of exemplary damages against those deemed responsible will also be heard then by the Court of Appeal.
In a landmark ruling last year Mr Justice Morgan, now the Lord Chief Justice, ordered that more than £1.6 million in total should be paid out to 12 relatives who sought compensation for the August 1998 bombing which killed 29 people, including a woman pregnant with twins, and injured hundreds more.
Jailed dissident leader Michael McKevitt and Liam Campbell, who was undefended at the original civil action, were held to be liable for the bombing.
Campbell, currently in custody facing a bid to have him extradited to Lithuania on arms smuggling charges, was described as a member of the Real IRA's Army Council at the time of the attack.
Similar findings were made against two other men, Colm Murphy and Seamus Daly, following a year-long trial.
Their planned challenges to the verdict had been in doubt until they were all granted legal aid earlier this year.
Lawyers for some of them have also set out requests for transcripts from the original action as part of their case.
Mary Higgins, QC, for Daly, told judges she wanted CD recordings from 12 days of evidence.
"We will obviously sift it considerably to find the most relevant portions for the court," she said.
Ms Higgins confirmed one of her grounds of appeal related to oral evidence from Catherine McKenna, the ex-wife of fifth defendant Seamus McKenna who had the case against him dismissed.
Dermot Fee, QC, for Murphy, said he was seeking transcripts from eight days of the trial.
After receiving the update, Lord Justices Higgins and Girvan agreed to fix the appeal for the first two weeks in January.
A further review to ensure progress towards that date will be held in October.