OMAGH BOMBERS MAY NEVER BE BROUGHT TO JUSTICE
Comments provoke angry reaction from relatives of victims
By ROSETTA DONNELLY
THERE has been a wave of angry reaction throughout Omagh this week following the disclosure by the Garda Commissioner that the Real IRA may never be brought to justice for the Omagh bomb.
Pat Byrne said that he knows the identity of the Omagh bombers, but does not have enough evidence to prosecute them.
Stunned relatives and those injured in the bomb said they could scarcely believe what the Garda chief was saying, and that they always held out hope that someday they would hear in a courtroom what happened on that fateful day.
And one grieving father whose 21 year old only son was killed in the blast, appealed to the community in Ireland not to shelter the bombers.
Michael Gallagher said so many people were very good to Omagh following the bomb. "I would ask the wider community who supported us after the bomb to pray so that those people with knowledge of the bombers, will get the courage to come forward".
Commissioner Byrne also said he does not believe the Real IRA intended to kill 29 people on that day and that the atrocity was a 'tragic cock-up'.
Explaining that he would never make excuses for 'terrorists' he felt the Omagh bomb was a terrible mistake.
"Look at the bombs that happened before that we didn't intercept, look what happened there, they were commercial targets.
"I am the last person to make an excuse for any terrorist, but I have to be very accurate in how we fundamentally analyse the situation. And I do believe in relation to Omagh that it was a tragic cock-up," he said in an interview with the Irish News on Monday.
But the police chief has been slammed for 'even remotely justifying what the Omagh bombers did'.
Michael Gallagher who is Chairman of the Omagh Support and Self-help group which includes some families of the victims of the Omagh bomb said he is deeply saddened by what the Garda Commissioner said.
Mr Gallagher said that what the garda chief did by saying that the bomb was not intended to kill so many people 'was relegating murder to manslaughter'.
Stanley McCombe from Omagh, whose wife, Anne, was killed in the August 1998 bomb, also reacted angrily to the Garda Commissioner's comments that the Real IRA had not intended to kill 29 people.
The grieving husband said that anyone who brings a bomb into a crowded town and does not expect to injure someone, is very mistaken and he says he is amazed that someone of such a high position, would try to justify what happened. "You don't hand someone a loaded gun and tell them not to shoot anyone," he added.
Mr McCombe said he was always under the illusion that the perpetrators would be caught and this was the only thing was keeping them going on.
"To hear that the Garda chief knows who planted the bomb which killed my wife and her two work colleagues from Wattersons's shop, but has no evidence against them, is nothing short of a disgrace. It is an insult to the memory of Anne and all the other people who died".
He called for the Irish government to bring in changes to the law which would bring the bombers to justice.
Lawrence Rush, whose wife, Libbi was killed is furious at the Garda Commissioner saying the Real IRA did not intend to kill people.
Libbi Rush's shop was just across the street from where the bomb was placed and it took the full force of , the blast. Libbi was standing at the doorway and received horrific injuries.
Mr Rush said the Real IRA came into Omagh that afternoon a day when there was a carnival on and a lot of children about and they were carrying an 'antipersonnel device'. He does not believe for one minute that they were planning to hit a commercial target.
He said that in meetings he has had with investigating police officers since the bomb, he was told there were three police constables on duty in Omagh on that day. He said 27 more were drafted in but this was after the bomb went off. He said he blames the administration for allowing such a small number of police out in the field.
Mr Rush has travelled to Dublin for the preliminary hearings of Colm Murphy, the Dundalk man, who is the only one to stand trial for the Omagh bomb.
But he says he has not much faith in the perpetrators being brought to justice as he feels that the British and Irish governments will do whatever they have to to save the peace process.
He feels that the Commissioner's comments would indicate that the search for the bombers is over, although this was denied by a garda sergeant working on the case, who said that the investigation will continue.
By ROSETTA DONNELLY
THERE has been a wave of angry reaction throughout Omagh this week following the disclosure by the Garda Commissioner that the Real IRA may never be brought to justice for the Omagh bomb.
Pat Byrne said that he knows the identity of the Omagh bombers, but does not have enough evidence to prosecute them.
Stunned relatives and those injured in the bomb said they could scarcely believe what the Garda chief was saying, and that they always held out hope that someday they would hear in a courtroom what happened on that fateful day.
And one grieving father whose 21 year old only son was killed in the blast, appealed to the community in Ireland not to shelter the bombers.
Michael Gallagher said so many people were very good to Omagh following the bomb. "I would ask the wider community who supported us after the bomb to pray so that those people with knowledge of the bombers, will get the courage to come forward".
Commissioner Byrne also said he does not believe the Real IRA intended to kill 29 people on that day and that the atrocity was a 'tragic cock-up'.
Explaining that he would never make excuses for 'terrorists' he felt the Omagh bomb was a terrible mistake.
"Look at the bombs that happened before that we didn't intercept, look what happened there, they were commercial targets.
"I am the last person to make an excuse for any terrorist, but I have to be very accurate in how we fundamentally analyse the situation. And I do believe in relation to Omagh that it was a tragic cock-up," he said in an interview with the Irish News on Monday.
But the police chief has been slammed for 'even remotely justifying what the Omagh bombers did'.
Michael Gallagher who is Chairman of the Omagh Support and Self-help group which includes some families of the victims of the Omagh bomb said he is deeply saddened by what the Garda Commissioner said.
Mr Gallagher said that what the garda chief did by saying that the bomb was not intended to kill so many people 'was relegating murder to manslaughter'.
Stanley McCombe from Omagh, whose wife, Anne, was killed in the August 1998 bomb, also reacted angrily to the Garda Commissioner's comments that the Real IRA had not intended to kill 29 people.
The grieving husband said that anyone who brings a bomb into a crowded town and does not expect to injure someone, is very mistaken and he says he is amazed that someone of such a high position, would try to justify what happened. "You don't hand someone a loaded gun and tell them not to shoot anyone," he added.
Mr McCombe said he was always under the illusion that the perpetrators would be caught and this was the only thing was keeping them going on.
"To hear that the Garda chief knows who planted the bomb which killed my wife and her two work colleagues from Wattersons's shop, but has no evidence against them, is nothing short of a disgrace. It is an insult to the memory of Anne and all the other people who died".
He called for the Irish government to bring in changes to the law which would bring the bombers to justice.
Lawrence Rush, whose wife, Libbi was killed is furious at the Garda Commissioner saying the Real IRA did not intend to kill people.
Libbi Rush's shop was just across the street from where the bomb was placed and it took the full force of , the blast. Libbi was standing at the doorway and received horrific injuries.
Mr Rush said the Real IRA came into Omagh that afternoon a day when there was a carnival on and a lot of children about and they were carrying an 'antipersonnel device'. He does not believe for one minute that they were planning to hit a commercial target.
He said that in meetings he has had with investigating police officers since the bomb, he was told there were three police constables on duty in Omagh on that day. He said 27 more were drafted in but this was after the bomb went off. He said he blames the administration for allowing such a small number of police out in the field.
Mr Rush has travelled to Dublin for the preliminary hearings of Colm Murphy, the Dundalk man, who is the only one to stand trial for the Omagh bomb.
But he says he has not much faith in the perpetrators being brought to justice as he feels that the British and Irish governments will do whatever they have to to save the peace process.
He feels that the Commissioner's comments would indicate that the search for the bombers is over, although this was denied by a garda sergeant working on the case, who said that the investigation will continue.
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH/1336
Published Date: 16-Mar-00
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