PHONE RECORDS ACCEPTED DESPITE OBJECTIONS
Phone records accepted despite objections
Mobile phone records involving a convicted Real IRA member have been accepted as evidence in an Omagh civil action, taken by the victims' families.
The landmark civil action against five men accused of carrying out the Real IRA blast in August 1998 heard that although calls to and from the phone would be examined, their contents could not be revealed.
The bombing, the worst atrocity during the Troubles, injured hundreds and killed 29 people, including a woman pregnant with twins.
Details of a mobile phone which the Omagh families claim Seamus Daly borrowed from Colm Murphy on the day of the attack were highlighted in the Vodafone papers.
The documents also outlined calls from the borrowed mobile to Denis O'Connor, of Kilkenny, on the day of the bombing and some months earlier.
District Court Judge Conal Gibbons, sitting in Dublin, said there was no question of evidence being introduced relating to an intercept of a private discussion in which Daly may have been participating.
"The evidence would appear to address issues of fact as to whether a specific phone was used or not in particular circumstances alleged by the plaintiffs," he said.
Lawyers for Daly argued that producing the documents - which had been retained by the gardai under the restricted provisions of the Telecommunications Act would advance the plaintiff's case and breach his client's privacy and rights.
Judge Gibbons, who was hearing evidence in the presence of Mr. Justice Morgan who has presided over the case in the High Court in Belfast, also ruled that hearsay evidence given in Dublin should be excluded.
The groundbreaking action, being taken by six affected families, is the first time the victims of terrorism were confronting the alleged perpetrators and the first time evidence from a Northern Ireland case has been heard in the Republic.
Alleged Real IRA leader Michael McKevitt, Liam Campbell, Seamus McKenna, Colm Murphy and Seamus Daly all deny any involvement in the explosion.
The civil case will return to Dublin next month when Garda Assistant Commissioner Dermot Jennings is expected to give evidence relating to David Rupert, an FBI informer who infiltrated the Real IRA.
Mobile phone records involving a convicted Real IRA member have been accepted as evidence in an Omagh civil action, taken by the victims' families.
The landmark civil action against five men accused of carrying out the Real IRA blast in August 1998 heard that although calls to and from the phone would be examined, their contents could not be revealed.
The bombing, the worst atrocity during the Troubles, injured hundreds and killed 29 people, including a woman pregnant with twins.
Details of a mobile phone which the Omagh families claim Seamus Daly borrowed from Colm Murphy on the day of the attack were highlighted in the Vodafone papers.
The documents also outlined calls from the borrowed mobile to Denis O'Connor, of Kilkenny, on the day of the bombing and some months earlier.
District Court Judge Conal Gibbons, sitting in Dublin, said there was no question of evidence being introduced relating to an intercept of a private discussion in which Daly may have been participating.
"The evidence would appear to address issues of fact as to whether a specific phone was used or not in particular circumstances alleged by the plaintiffs," he said.
Lawyers for Daly argued that producing the documents - which had been retained by the gardai under the restricted provisions of the Telecommunications Act would advance the plaintiff's case and breach his client's privacy and rights.
Judge Gibbons, who was hearing evidence in the presence of Mr. Justice Morgan who has presided over the case in the High Court in Belfast, also ruled that hearsay evidence given in Dublin should be excluded.
The groundbreaking action, being taken by six affected families, is the first time the victims of terrorism were confronting the alleged perpetrators and the first time evidence from a Northern Ireland case has been heard in the Republic.
Alleged Real IRA leader Michael McKevitt, Liam Campbell, Seamus McKenna, Colm Murphy and Seamus Daly all deny any involvement in the explosion.
The civil case will return to Dublin next month when Garda Assistant Commissioner Dermot Jennings is expected to give evidence relating to David Rupert, an FBI informer who infiltrated the Real IRA.
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/1969
Published Date: 02-Oct-08
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