VICTIMS' GROUP CALLS ON COUNCIL TO SUPPORT CALL FOR PUBLIC INQUIRY
Victims' group calls on council to support call for public inquiry
MICHAEL Gallagher, chairman of the Omagh Self-Help organisation, has this week called on the local district council to support the victims group's demand for a full-blown public enquiry into the August 1998 town centre bombing.
His call came in the wake of the latest claims that senior Gardai knew the bomb was on the move and en route to Omagh 24 hours before the Saturday, August 15 atrocity five years ago.
And he has urged the Irish government to make available to the current PSNI Omagh Team the informant at the centre of the latest allegations, who is currently living under a witness protection programme in England.
Relatives of the victims are seeking, too, a European-wide probe into the informant's claims, published in Sunday's Observer newspaper, which had seen a secret transcript exposing how high-ranking Garda detectives were alerted to the bomb the day before it was detonated.
The informant is quoted as saying in the 54-page transcript that the southern police allowed the bombers to cross the border in a bid to protect his anonymity and his role as an agent who had infiltrated the Real IRA.
Mr. Gallagher said: "The name of the man fuelling the speculation is already in the public domain. It is time he was made available by the Irish government for interview by the Omagh bomb team.
"It is also time that we were given access to the report currently gathering dust on an Irish Minister's desk in Dublin in the same way that Nuala O'Loan made public the results of her investigations into what prior knowledge the RUC had of the bombing.
"A three-man team spent 18 months down south compiling a similar report on what the Garda knew, but we have never been acquainted with its contents.
'Obstructive'
"It looks like the Irish government is being obstructive, to say the least. They appear to have done nothing to notify their colleagues north of the border. We need an exhaustive examination of the extent of the Republic's role in the bid to bring the bombers to justice.
"What we are calling for now is parity of esteem. And we want Omagh District Council to support us, especially to support our demand for a full public enquiry. How can they resist not giving us a public enquiry? We have seen revelation after revelation."
The informant's claims are outlined in the transcript of a covertly taped debriefing with his Garda handlers. They include details of the stolen car to be used in the bombing.
And speaking of the Real IRA, he is quoted as saying: They had got a car and the Garda knew it was moving. They knew it was moving within 24 hours at that stage.
It is understood that the informant had previously given his handlers' intelligence on nine planned Real IRA bomb missions prior to Omagh, five of which were thwarted. It is said the other four went ahead to protect his credibility.
MICHAEL Gallagher, chairman of the Omagh Self-Help organisation, has this week called on the local district council to support the victims group's demand for a full-blown public enquiry into the August 1998 town centre bombing.
His call came in the wake of the latest claims that senior Gardai knew the bomb was on the move and en route to Omagh 24 hours before the Saturday, August 15 atrocity five years ago.
And he has urged the Irish government to make available to the current PSNI Omagh Team the informant at the centre of the latest allegations, who is currently living under a witness protection programme in England.
Relatives of the victims are seeking, too, a European-wide probe into the informant's claims, published in Sunday's Observer newspaper, which had seen a secret transcript exposing how high-ranking Garda detectives were alerted to the bomb the day before it was detonated.
The informant is quoted as saying in the 54-page transcript that the southern police allowed the bombers to cross the border in a bid to protect his anonymity and his role as an agent who had infiltrated the Real IRA.
Mr. Gallagher said: "The name of the man fuelling the speculation is already in the public domain. It is time he was made available by the Irish government for interview by the Omagh bomb team.
"It is also time that we were given access to the report currently gathering dust on an Irish Minister's desk in Dublin in the same way that Nuala O'Loan made public the results of her investigations into what prior knowledge the RUC had of the bombing.
"A three-man team spent 18 months down south compiling a similar report on what the Garda knew, but we have never been acquainted with its contents.
'Obstructive'
"It looks like the Irish government is being obstructive, to say the least. They appear to have done nothing to notify their colleagues north of the border. We need an exhaustive examination of the extent of the Republic's role in the bid to bring the bombers to justice.
"What we are calling for now is parity of esteem. And we want Omagh District Council to support us, especially to support our demand for a full public enquiry. How can they resist not giving us a public enquiry? We have seen revelation after revelation."
The informant's claims are outlined in the transcript of a covertly taped debriefing with his Garda handlers. They include details of the stolen car to be used in the bombing.
And speaking of the Real IRA, he is quoted as saying: They had got a car and the Garda knew it was moving. They knew it was moving within 24 hours at that stage.
It is understood that the informant had previously given his handlers' intelligence on nine planned Real IRA bomb missions prior to Omagh, five of which were thwarted. It is said the other four went ahead to protect his credibility.
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/1674
Published Date: 23-Oct-03
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