FAMILIES DISHEARTENED BY BOMB TRIAL FARCE
Families disheartened by bomb trial 'farce'
It can't stop here, say bereaved
by Emma Stewart
'IT can't stop here' was the message from the families of the Omagh bomb victims, as last Thursday's Crown Court judgment saw the only man accused of the August 15, 1998 atrocity, cleared of all charges.
Distressed by the crumbling prosecution case, and heavy criticism of police processes throughout, bereaved family members were left feeling deprived of any hope of justice.
Last week's judgment, 11 months after the trial concluded, saw Sean Gerard Hoey, an electrician from South Armagh, taken from the courtroom a free man, amid raucous cheers from his supporters and tears from those family members desperately seeking justice for their loved ones.
Preparing to forge ahead with an April High Court civil action against the five men, who they claim were responsible for the devastating Real IRA attack, the Omagh families' campaign continues to secure an independent, cross-border public inquiry into the events which surrounded Northern Ireland's most devastating terrorist atrocity.
Speaking at the Omagh campus of the South West college, having watched the verdict via video-link, Mr Kevin Skelton, whose wife, Philomena, died in the devastating 1998 weekend blast, was typically candid: "I said the trial from day one was a farce, and this has really proved it.
He continued: 'When are the people of Omagh going to get what they need, a cross-border public inquiry? These trials are only a farce, they're a waste of time."
Speaking on Mr Justice Weir's criticism of certain investigating officers, Mr Skelton said of the officers involved: "If I was them, I'd hold my head down in shame".
He added: "It leaves me feeling the way I've always been feeling. If Mr Hoey had gone down today, one swallow doesn't make a summer - there's never going to be anybody convicted of the Omagh bombing.
"We have to get a public inquiry, a cross-border public inquiry, to get the truth surrounding Omagh. And we will not stop until we get the truth. It can't stop here".
Stanley McCombe, whose late wife, Anne, was evacuated from Wattersons clothes shop, where she worked, on that tragic August day, is devastated at the lack of progress on identifying his wife's killers: "I'm flabbergasted, dumbfounded. I do not know what to think. All the resources over the last nine-and-a-half years have not got us anywhere."
Bereft after last Thursday's verdict, Michael Gallagher, whose 21-year-old son, Aidan, was killed in the August 15 atrocity, said: "There are at least 10 people who will be sitting at their Christmas dinner this year who were involved in the Omagh bomb, and the intelligence service know these men. I have never spoken against this investigation team in its history, but without doubt you cannot help but feel extremely let down by what has happened today."
Lawrence Rush, who lost his wife, Elizabeth (Libbi), in the atrocity said: "I would need time to think about this - it's devastating, it's a disaster the way that this investigation was held and I can say no more about it."
As a crowd of Hoey's supporters cheered his 'not guilty' verdicts, the Omagh victims' families returned
to their respective homes with ebbing hope, and unabated anger.
Victor Barker and his wife Donna Marie, along with their son Oliver, were present at Belfast Crown Court, and expressed then-devastation that no one has been held to account for the murder of their 12-year-old son, James.
Saddened and shaken, Mr Barker said: "When the judge delivered his final comment that Hoey was not guilty, and there was no reason that he shouldn't be released, there was an enormous cheer from Hoey's supporters.
"Some of the comments made in that court showed a total disrespect for the families of the deceased people."
It can't stop here, say bereaved
by Emma Stewart
'IT can't stop here' was the message from the families of the Omagh bomb victims, as last Thursday's Crown Court judgment saw the only man accused of the August 15, 1998 atrocity, cleared of all charges.
Distressed by the crumbling prosecution case, and heavy criticism of police processes throughout, bereaved family members were left feeling deprived of any hope of justice.
Last week's judgment, 11 months after the trial concluded, saw Sean Gerard Hoey, an electrician from South Armagh, taken from the courtroom a free man, amid raucous cheers from his supporters and tears from those family members desperately seeking justice for their loved ones.
Preparing to forge ahead with an April High Court civil action against the five men, who they claim were responsible for the devastating Real IRA attack, the Omagh families' campaign continues to secure an independent, cross-border public inquiry into the events which surrounded Northern Ireland's most devastating terrorist atrocity.
Speaking at the Omagh campus of the South West college, having watched the verdict via video-link, Mr Kevin Skelton, whose wife, Philomena, died in the devastating 1998 weekend blast, was typically candid: "I said the trial from day one was a farce, and this has really proved it.
He continued: 'When are the people of Omagh going to get what they need, a cross-border public inquiry? These trials are only a farce, they're a waste of time."
Speaking on Mr Justice Weir's criticism of certain investigating officers, Mr Skelton said of the officers involved: "If I was them, I'd hold my head down in shame".
He added: "It leaves me feeling the way I've always been feeling. If Mr Hoey had gone down today, one swallow doesn't make a summer - there's never going to be anybody convicted of the Omagh bombing.
"We have to get a public inquiry, a cross-border public inquiry, to get the truth surrounding Omagh. And we will not stop until we get the truth. It can't stop here".
Stanley McCombe, whose late wife, Anne, was evacuated from Wattersons clothes shop, where she worked, on that tragic August day, is devastated at the lack of progress on identifying his wife's killers: "I'm flabbergasted, dumbfounded. I do not know what to think. All the resources over the last nine-and-a-half years have not got us anywhere."
Bereft after last Thursday's verdict, Michael Gallagher, whose 21-year-old son, Aidan, was killed in the August 15 atrocity, said: "There are at least 10 people who will be sitting at their Christmas dinner this year who were involved in the Omagh bomb, and the intelligence service know these men. I have never spoken against this investigation team in its history, but without doubt you cannot help but feel extremely let down by what has happened today."
Lawrence Rush, who lost his wife, Elizabeth (Libbi), in the atrocity said: "I would need time to think about this - it's devastating, it's a disaster the way that this investigation was held and I can say no more about it."
As a crowd of Hoey's supporters cheered his 'not guilty' verdicts, the Omagh victims' families returned
to their respective homes with ebbing hope, and unabated anger.
Victor Barker and his wife Donna Marie, along with their son Oliver, were present at Belfast Crown Court, and expressed then-devastation that no one has been held to account for the murder of their 12-year-old son, James.
Saddened and shaken, Mr Barker said: "When the judge delivered his final comment that Hoey was not guilty, and there was no reason that he shouldn't be released, there was an enormous cheer from Hoey's supporters.
"Some of the comments made in that court showed a total disrespect for the families of the deceased people."
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/1900
Published Date: 27-Dec-07
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