BOMBERS MAY NEVER BE CAUGHT
Bombers may never be caught
by Linda McKee
GARDA investigators know who carried out the Omagh bombing but may never catch the culprits, according to Garda chief, Mr Pat Byrne.
In an interview with a Northern Irish daily newspaper, the Garda Commissioner, Mr Byrne said the leads in the investigation of the Real lRA attack of August 15, 1998, had "very much reduced".
Asked whether those behind the atrocity were likely to escape conviction, he said: "Sadly, possibly and maybe probably."
The comments dismayed victims groups which have called for no let up in the investigation.
In the interview, Mr Byrne said: "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 said.
The Garda chief said he believed the Real IRA did not set out to kill 29 people and the bombing was "a tragic cock-up".
Only one man, Colm Murphy, is facing charges in the Republic. Commissioner Byrne said he would like to bring charges against others, but could not muster enough hard evidence to link them to the bombing.
He said: "I must say at this stage the leads are very much reduced. There are a number of other people I would like to put before the court but I must get the evidence and I must go to the DPP."
Critical
Mr Laurence Rush, who lost his wife Elizabeth in the bomb attack was critical of the newspaper report, which, he said, may encourage the Real IRA to conclude that the Garda was "giving up".
He said: "This will only encourage these maniacs to perpetrate even more heinous acts.
"I feel that although the Garda chief expresses his disgust at the activities of the terrorists, his opinions may be interpreted by them as "encouragement" and be viewed as accolades.
"I have always supported the Garda and the RUC. I felt a great sadness and the glimmer of hope sustained me, but to have this dashed by Commissioner Byrne.
"He may not have realised the despair he caused myself and, I am sure, the other victim relatives. Justice and hope was our one thread," Mr Rush said.
Mr Byrne pledged to stay vigilant to prevent another Omagh from happening, and said he was concerned that the Real IRA's cessation of violence may not be sincere.
He said: "It would be wrong of me to say that there is intelligence to say that a major attack is about to happen, but that's not to say that something couldn't happen next week.
"It would be a very fair comment to say that there is an increased state of alert."
Mr Byrne said the Omagh bomb was seen as the one that got through.
He said: "I have always said that we cannot provide 100 per cent security. I can't assure anyone that we can prevent it happening again, other than we are going to do our level best to ensure that it doesn't happen again."
The Garda Commissioner said he believed the Provisional IRA's leadership was currently keeping a tight grip on the movement's activities.
"We have all tried to analyse and no doubt within Sinn Fein they are doing the same. How far do you go politically and how many of the IRA do you bring with you and at the end of the day what rump of the IRA is left?
"Does it split, and when it splits, does it join with the Real IRA or CIRA?
"I have no doubt that there are people sitting at the moment on the fence within the dissidents who are watching, waiting and observing," Mr Byrne said.
Mr Michael Gallagher, who lost his son, Adrian, in the attack, said the idea that the Real IRA killers would never be brought to justice was "inconceivable".
He vowed to continue the fight for justice, even though it would not bring back loved ones.
He said: "We will continue to press the authorities to keep all the resources that are necessary to bring these people to justice.
'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."
by Linda McKee
GARDA investigators know who carried out the Omagh bombing but may never catch the culprits, according to Garda chief, Mr Pat Byrne.
In an interview with a Northern Irish daily newspaper, the Garda Commissioner, Mr Byrne said the leads in the investigation of the Real lRA attack of August 15, 1998, had "very much reduced".
Asked whether those behind the atrocity were likely to escape conviction, he said: "Sadly, possibly and maybe probably."
The comments dismayed victims groups which have called for no let up in the investigation.
In the interview, Mr Byrne said: "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 said.
The Garda chief said he believed the Real IRA did not set out to kill 29 people and the bombing was "a tragic cock-up".
Only one man, Colm Murphy, is facing charges in the Republic. Commissioner Byrne said he would like to bring charges against others, but could not muster enough hard evidence to link them to the bombing.
He said: "I must say at this stage the leads are very much reduced. There are a number of other people I would like to put before the court but I must get the evidence and I must go to the DPP."
Critical
Mr Laurence Rush, who lost his wife Elizabeth in the bomb attack was critical of the newspaper report, which, he said, may encourage the Real IRA to conclude that the Garda was "giving up".
He said: "This will only encourage these maniacs to perpetrate even more heinous acts.
"I feel that although the Garda chief expresses his disgust at the activities of the terrorists, his opinions may be interpreted by them as "encouragement" and be viewed as accolades.
"I have always supported the Garda and the RUC. I felt a great sadness and the glimmer of hope sustained me, but to have this dashed by Commissioner Byrne.
"He may not have realised the despair he caused myself and, I am sure, the other victim relatives. Justice and hope was our one thread," Mr Rush said.
Mr Byrne pledged to stay vigilant to prevent another Omagh from happening, and said he was concerned that the Real IRA's cessation of violence may not be sincere.
He said: "It would be wrong of me to say that there is intelligence to say that a major attack is about to happen, but that's not to say that something couldn't happen next week.
"It would be a very fair comment to say that there is an increased state of alert."
Mr Byrne said the Omagh bomb was seen as the one that got through.
He said: "I have always said that we cannot provide 100 per cent security. I can't assure anyone that we can prevent it happening again, other than we are going to do our level best to ensure that it doesn't happen again."
The Garda Commissioner said he believed the Provisional IRA's leadership was currently keeping a tight grip on the movement's activities.
"We have all tried to analyse and no doubt within Sinn Fein they are doing the same. How far do you go politically and how many of the IRA do you bring with you and at the end of the day what rump of the IRA is left?
"Does it split, and when it splits, does it join with the Real IRA or CIRA?
"I have no doubt that there are people sitting at the moment on the fence within the dissidents who are watching, waiting and observing," Mr Byrne said.
Mr Michael Gallagher, who lost his son, Adrian, in the attack, said the idea that the Real IRA killers would never be brought to justice was "inconceivable".
He vowed to continue the fight for justice, even though it would not bring back loved ones.
He said: "We will continue to press the authorities to keep all the resources that are necessary to bring these people to justice.
'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: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/1440
Published Date: 16-Mar-00
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