ANGRY BOMB VICTIMS SLAM MEETING
Angry bomb victims slam meeting
Dublin Justice Minister 'didn't want to be there'
by Karen McPhilemy
'FURIOUS and disgusted' Omagh bomb victims relatives have claimed a number of key suspects in the town centre atrocity were never interviewed by police.
They made their assertions following a meeting with the Irish Justice Minister in Dublin on Monday.
A spokesman said the Minister. Michael McDowell, had admitted that certain men linked to the August 1998 outrage, which claimed 31 lives, including unborn twins, had never been quizzed by detectives.
The relatives also said the Minister had refused to answer other questions from them, and at one point he had even threatened to walk out of the meeting.
Michael Gallagher, whose son Aidan, 21, was killed in the blast, described the two-hour meeting as "appalling" and said his party had left disappointed with the information provided to them.
"Mr McDowell would answer no questions, he would not give us anything, and we felt we were being treated like a bunch of idiots.
"We did a 300-mile round trip to see this character and every time I asked him a question he just shook his head and said, 'no'. He wouldn't answer a thing," said Mr Gallagher.
"However, we do now know that many of the key people who were at the centre of events were not interviewed, including the informant, 'Paddy Nixon'.
"We are totally amazed that this is the case. If the three-man Nally team wanted to get to the truth surely it should have looked at all of the evidence available and not been selective in who they decided to interview."
Mr Gallagher said the Minister had told them that if Northern Ireland investigation teams or the British authorities wanted to interview key witness at the centre of allegations they could do so.
"We told the Minister that we feel one side is playing off against the other," he said.
"We feel like we're going round in circles. In the north they are telling us that because this individual is under the control of the Irish Government they can't have access to him."
Concern
Mr Gallagher reiterated the relatives' concerns that the three senior civil servants who formed the Nally team were not the most appropriate people to carry out the inquiry.
"One of the investigation team, Eamon Barnes, is a former Director of Public Prosecutions who would have made decisions in the days after Omagh about who to prosecute and who not to prosecute," he said.
"How can he be independent when he has already made decisions around Omagh?"
Mr. Gallagher claimed that a full judicial inquiry was the only way relatives believed they would get answers.
When Mr McDowell was asked about evidence the investigation team in Northern Ireland had requested a year ago, but which it had never received, there was no reply, he said.
Mr. Gallagher insisted: "This an ongoing issue and we are going to come back to the Minister with details on that."
'Heated'
Almost one hour into the meeting the relatives said the Minister had tried to stop discussions, but after a heated argument he was persuaded to take more questions about the Irish Government's involvement in the Omagh probe.
Godfrey Wilson, whose daughter Lorraine, 16, also died in the bomb, said he felt the Minister "just didn't want to be there".
He said: "Even if he had walked out of the meeting I wouldn't have cared because he didn't want to be there. Some of the statements he made really irritated me because after six years it is very difficult to sit and hear him say that certain key people had not been interviewed at all."
Mr Wilson said the Omagh party had been told that the Nally team had not interviewed Paddy Nixon, a former garda informant who had supplied stolen cars to the Real IRA.
"We are looking for justice, but instead we are being left out on a limb. It's a situation they don't want to deal with. At present I cannot tell between the government and the terrorists. We are being told everything but the truth," argued Mr. Wilson.
"How can I trust these people to bring my case to court. They have already made a deal and it's with the killers, not the people who pay their taxes and make an honest living."
The Nally team investigated allegations that gardai withheld information from police in Northern Ireland which could have helped to prevent the Omagh bombing on August 15, six years ago.
The inquiry team, comprising Dermot Nally, former secretary to the government, Mr Barnes, and Joe Brosnan, former secretary of the Department of Justice, interviewed 25 people and held more than 62 meetings in the course of ' its investigation.
It also examined allegations that Ministers interfered in the prosecution process as part of a ceasefire deal with the Real IRA after the bombing, and the alleged unlawful and improper conduct of garda officers.
The Omagh Support and Self Help Group has launched a landmark �10 million (14m Euro) civil action against the five men they believe are responsible for the atrocity. It is due to be heard before Belfast High Court from January.
Dublin Justice Minister 'didn't want to be there'
by Karen McPhilemy
'FURIOUS and disgusted' Omagh bomb victims relatives have claimed a number of key suspects in the town centre atrocity were never interviewed by police.
They made their assertions following a meeting with the Irish Justice Minister in Dublin on Monday.
A spokesman said the Minister. Michael McDowell, had admitted that certain men linked to the August 1998 outrage, which claimed 31 lives, including unborn twins, had never been quizzed by detectives.
The relatives also said the Minister had refused to answer other questions from them, and at one point he had even threatened to walk out of the meeting.
Michael Gallagher, whose son Aidan, 21, was killed in the blast, described the two-hour meeting as "appalling" and said his party had left disappointed with the information provided to them.
"Mr McDowell would answer no questions, he would not give us anything, and we felt we were being treated like a bunch of idiots.
"We did a 300-mile round trip to see this character and every time I asked him a question he just shook his head and said, 'no'. He wouldn't answer a thing," said Mr Gallagher.
"However, we do now know that many of the key people who were at the centre of events were not interviewed, including the informant, 'Paddy Nixon'.
"We are totally amazed that this is the case. If the three-man Nally team wanted to get to the truth surely it should have looked at all of the evidence available and not been selective in who they decided to interview."
Mr Gallagher said the Minister had told them that if Northern Ireland investigation teams or the British authorities wanted to interview key witness at the centre of allegations they could do so.
"We told the Minister that we feel one side is playing off against the other," he said.
"We feel like we're going round in circles. In the north they are telling us that because this individual is under the control of the Irish Government they can't have access to him."
Concern
Mr Gallagher reiterated the relatives' concerns that the three senior civil servants who formed the Nally team were not the most appropriate people to carry out the inquiry.
"One of the investigation team, Eamon Barnes, is a former Director of Public Prosecutions who would have made decisions in the days after Omagh about who to prosecute and who not to prosecute," he said.
"How can he be independent when he has already made decisions around Omagh?"
Mr. Gallagher claimed that a full judicial inquiry was the only way relatives believed they would get answers.
When Mr McDowell was asked about evidence the investigation team in Northern Ireland had requested a year ago, but which it had never received, there was no reply, he said.
Mr. Gallagher insisted: "This an ongoing issue and we are going to come back to the Minister with details on that."
'Heated'
Almost one hour into the meeting the relatives said the Minister had tried to stop discussions, but after a heated argument he was persuaded to take more questions about the Irish Government's involvement in the Omagh probe.
Godfrey Wilson, whose daughter Lorraine, 16, also died in the bomb, said he felt the Minister "just didn't want to be there".
He said: "Even if he had walked out of the meeting I wouldn't have cared because he didn't want to be there. Some of the statements he made really irritated me because after six years it is very difficult to sit and hear him say that certain key people had not been interviewed at all."
Mr Wilson said the Omagh party had been told that the Nally team had not interviewed Paddy Nixon, a former garda informant who had supplied stolen cars to the Real IRA.
"We are looking for justice, but instead we are being left out on a limb. It's a situation they don't want to deal with. At present I cannot tell between the government and the terrorists. We are being told everything but the truth," argued Mr. Wilson.
"How can I trust these people to bring my case to court. They have already made a deal and it's with the killers, not the people who pay their taxes and make an honest living."
The Nally team investigated allegations that gardai withheld information from police in Northern Ireland which could have helped to prevent the Omagh bombing on August 15, six years ago.
The inquiry team, comprising Dermot Nally, former secretary to the government, Mr Barnes, and Joe Brosnan, former secretary of the Department of Justice, interviewed 25 people and held more than 62 meetings in the course of ' its investigation.
It also examined allegations that Ministers interfered in the prosecution process as part of a ceasefire deal with the Real IRA after the bombing, and the alleged unlawful and improper conduct of garda officers.
The Omagh Support and Self Help Group has launched a landmark �10 million (14m Euro) civil action against the five men they believe are responsible for the atrocity. It is due to be heard before Belfast High Court from January.
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/1737
Published Date: 03-Jun-04
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