OMAGH DADS INQUEST PLEA
OMAGH DAD'S INQUEST PLEA
By DEIRDRE O'DONOVAN
Give me extra week to read painful evidence
THE father of an Omagh bomb victim has asked for the inquest to be postponed to allow relatives to read the harrowing evidence.
Michael Gallagher, whose 21-year-old son Aiden died in the blast, has written to coroner John Leckey asking him for proceedings to be delayed by a week.
Twenty-nine people - including a woman pregnant with twins - were killed in the bomb in August 1998. The inquest will open on Wednesday.
Mr Gallagher said yesterday: "We were given a huge file of information on Friday and there is no way I could digest it all by Wednesday."
Mr Leckey granted special rights to see the evidence when a number of the bereaved said they felt they should have access to the sensitive material in order to prepare themselves mentally and emotionally for the inquest.
He said: "Like several of the other relatives, I am representing myself legally and I need time to take in all the evidence.
"This is also going to be another very difficult ordeal for the relatives. When I turned over the very first page of the file it was a transcript of the bomb warning which brought all my memories flooding back.
"We can't be like lawyers who did not have loved ones killed and detach ourselves from the information.
"I have written to Mr Leckey asking for more time and I hope he will take that into consideration."
A total of 154 eyewitnesses, expert witnesses and emergency workers are listed to give evidence at the inquest into the worst single loss of life in 30 years of terrorism in Northern Ireland. The Real IRA claimed responsibility for the horrific attack, sparking the biggest ever cross-border police hunt for the planners and perpetrators. Mr Gallagher repeated his call that Omagh councillor, Francie Mackey, chairman of the 32-County Sovereignty Committee, the political wing of the Real IRA, be called to give evidence at the inquest.
He also wants Colm Murphy, the only man charged in connection with the bomb, currently due to stand trial in Dublin, called to the witness stand.
"I expect Mr Leckey to make an announcement on this request on Wednesday, and if he cannot grant it, to at least explain the reasons why not," said Mr Gallagher.
The Co Tyrone town's leisure centre, where families of the dead and injured waited to hear news of their loved ones on the day of the atrocity. has been transformed with video and audio equipment into a coroner's court.
The majority of the victims came from the Omagh area but representatives of three Co Donegal boys and a student and teacher on an exchange trip from Spain are also expected to attend the inquest, due to last three or four weeks.
Mr Leckey used discretion available to him to release the documents - the first time such a move has been made In Northern Ireland.
Announcing his decision to give early disclosure of the documents the coroner said factors he took into account in reaching his decision were "the large number of deaths; the fact that a number of families will not be legally represented and have asked me for pre-inquest disclosure; the international dimension of the tragedy and the large number of witnesses who will give evidence".
Mr Leckey made the ruling without hearing a lengthy submission from the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission which he had invited to the preliminary hearing to support the families' applications.
By DEIRDRE O'DONOVAN
Give me extra week to read painful evidence
THE father of an Omagh bomb victim has asked for the inquest to be postponed to allow relatives to read the harrowing evidence.
Michael Gallagher, whose 21-year-old son Aiden died in the blast, has written to coroner John Leckey asking him for proceedings to be delayed by a week.
Twenty-nine people - including a woman pregnant with twins - were killed in the bomb in August 1998. The inquest will open on Wednesday.
Mr Gallagher said yesterday: "We were given a huge file of information on Friday and there is no way I could digest it all by Wednesday."
Mr Leckey granted special rights to see the evidence when a number of the bereaved said they felt they should have access to the sensitive material in order to prepare themselves mentally and emotionally for the inquest.
He said: "Like several of the other relatives, I am representing myself legally and I need time to take in all the evidence.
"This is also going to be another very difficult ordeal for the relatives. When I turned over the very first page of the file it was a transcript of the bomb warning which brought all my memories flooding back.
"We can't be like lawyers who did not have loved ones killed and detach ourselves from the information.
"I have written to Mr Leckey asking for more time and I hope he will take that into consideration."
A total of 154 eyewitnesses, expert witnesses and emergency workers are listed to give evidence at the inquest into the worst single loss of life in 30 years of terrorism in Northern Ireland. The Real IRA claimed responsibility for the horrific attack, sparking the biggest ever cross-border police hunt for the planners and perpetrators. Mr Gallagher repeated his call that Omagh councillor, Francie Mackey, chairman of the 32-County Sovereignty Committee, the political wing of the Real IRA, be called to give evidence at the inquest.
He also wants Colm Murphy, the only man charged in connection with the bomb, currently due to stand trial in Dublin, called to the witness stand.
"I expect Mr Leckey to make an announcement on this request on Wednesday, and if he cannot grant it, to at least explain the reasons why not," said Mr Gallagher.
The Co Tyrone town's leisure centre, where families of the dead and injured waited to hear news of their loved ones on the day of the atrocity. has been transformed with video and audio equipment into a coroner's court.
The majority of the victims came from the Omagh area but representatives of three Co Donegal boys and a student and teacher on an exchange trip from Spain are also expected to attend the inquest, due to last three or four weeks.
Mr Leckey used discretion available to him to release the documents - the first time such a move has been made In Northern Ireland.
Announcing his decision to give early disclosure of the documents the coroner said factors he took into account in reaching his decision were "the large number of deaths; the fact that a number of families will not be legally represented and have asked me for pre-inquest disclosure; the international dimension of the tragedy and the large number of witnesses who will give evidence".
Mr Leckey made the ruling without hearing a lengthy submission from the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission which he had invited to the preliminary hearing to support the families' applications.
Further Information
Publisher: THE MIRROR
Ref: TM/114
Published Date: 04-Sep-00
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