GOODBYE MACKEY AND GOOD RIDDENCE
Goodbye Mackey and good riddence
By DEIRDRE TYNAN
OMAGH JOY AS DISSIDENT QUITS
FAMILIES devastated by the Omagh bomb hailed news that dissident republican leader Francie Mackey was quitting politics.
The chairman of the 32 County Sovereignty Committee announced yesterday he was not seeking re-election to his seat in Omagh District Council.
The local government poll on June 7 will be the first since 29 people and two unborn twins were killed in the 1998 Real IRA blast.
Michael Gallagher, whose son Adrian was killed in the atrocity, said Mr Mackey would find "no mandate'" in Omagh now. He said: "I would call on their clandestine armed wing, which bombed Omagh on August 15, 1998, to disband and accept the wishes of the 32 counties of Ireland to live in peace and consign bigotry and conflict to history so that we can all live and accept the diversity that is part of the new Ireland that we all live in today."
He added: "I am happy that Mr Mackey has realised that there is no mandate in Omagh for people who hold views as extreme as the 32 County Sovereignty Committee."
And Malachy Keyes, whose daughter Donna Marie is still undergoing reconstructive surgery almost three years after the bomb, said he was "indifferent" to Mr Mackey's decision not to stand.
He said: 'I just wonder why he has decided to stand down. It would be nice if he had seen the light and the error of his ways, but I doubt it.
"Why is he doing it? Either way I don't really care, we just want to get on with our lives and what he does is his business."
A defiant Mr Mackey said he wanted more time to promote the 32 County Sovereignty Movement.
He said: "The Omagh bomb tragedy was obviously a traumatic time and on reflection on that time I pay tribute to the people of Omagh."
By DEIRDRE TYNAN
OMAGH JOY AS DISSIDENT QUITS
FAMILIES devastated by the Omagh bomb hailed news that dissident republican leader Francie Mackey was quitting politics.
The chairman of the 32 County Sovereignty Committee announced yesterday he was not seeking re-election to his seat in Omagh District Council.
The local government poll on June 7 will be the first since 29 people and two unborn twins were killed in the 1998 Real IRA blast.
Michael Gallagher, whose son Adrian was killed in the atrocity, said Mr Mackey would find "no mandate'" in Omagh now. He said: "I would call on their clandestine armed wing, which bombed Omagh on August 15, 1998, to disband and accept the wishes of the 32 counties of Ireland to live in peace and consign bigotry and conflict to history so that we can all live and accept the diversity that is part of the new Ireland that we all live in today."
He added: "I am happy that Mr Mackey has realised that there is no mandate in Omagh for people who hold views as extreme as the 32 County Sovereignty Committee."
And Malachy Keyes, whose daughter Donna Marie is still undergoing reconstructive surgery almost three years after the bomb, said he was "indifferent" to Mr Mackey's decision not to stand.
He said: 'I just wonder why he has decided to stand down. It would be nice if he had seen the light and the error of his ways, but I doubt it.
"Why is he doing it? Either way I don't really care, we just want to get on with our lives and what he does is his business."
A defiant Mr Mackey said he wanted more time to promote the 32 County Sovereignty Movement.
He said: "The Omagh bomb tragedy was obviously a traumatic time and on reflection on that time I pay tribute to the people of Omagh."
Further Information
Publisher: THE MIRROR
Ref: TM/133
Published Date: 11-May-01
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