INQUESTS ENTER FINAL WEEK
Inquests enter final week as families make heartfelt plea to bombers
By JOHN McCUSKER
Legal case to be made to have unborn twins included in official death toll
AS the Inquests into the victims of the Omagh bombing enter its final week, there have been pleas from the families who lost three generations that no such act should ever be contemplated again.
Within the past week, the Coroner's Court sitting at Omagh Leisure Centre has heard details surrounding the deaths of 16 of those caught up in the atrocity of 15th August, 1998.
A further seven Inquests are planned for today, with the remainder taking place between tomorrow and Monday. The Inquest into the death of 12-year-old James Barker, who was visiting the town on the day of the explosion, has been set for October 5th at Omagh Courthouse.
Many of the sittings have heard that victims would have died instantly and would not have known anything about what had happened to them. And Coroner John Leckey was told that, in most cases, medical attention could not have prevented the huge loss of life.
In a passionate plea to the bombers this week, the families of the Monaghan and Grimes victims begged for an assurance from the bombers that no further atrocities be planned.
A statement read out by solicitors representing the families also asked that the unborn twins which 30-year-old Avril Monaghan had been carrying be included in further reports of the tragedy therefore bring the official death toll to 31.
Barry Fox, solicitor for the Monaghan family, will make further submissions later this week in an effort to have the unborn twins declared full parties to the inquests.
Earlier in the proceedings, the RUC officer in charge of Omagh made an impassioned defence of the way his officers dealt with the bombing tragedy.
Superintendent James Baxter was briefly overcome as he told the Inquest that the only people capable of making a difference on the day of the bombing were the bombers and their accomplices, who had issued confused warnings of where the device had been planted.
Consultant surgeon at Tyrone County Hospital, Dominic Pinto outlined to Coroner John Leckey the scenes of sheer pandemonium which greeted him in the corridors and hospital wards following the explosion.
The scale of the disaster was unprecedented in the history of the Troubles, he said, and resembled a major disaster of battlefield proportions.
On Tuesday, barrister Michael Mansfield QC who is representing the family of Libbi Rush explained how the mindless atrocity had caused enduring devastation and daily suffering to her family.
However, despite his unbearable loss, the victim's husband, Laurence had strengthened his resolve to continue his wife's commitment to the community in which they had both lived.
Many of the victims' families, meanwhile, have expressed anger at the extent of injury details which have emerged throughout the past two weeks.
Families of some of those killed have appealed for more sensitive coverage of the hearings, following a litany of harrowing evidence from police officers and those who attended victims at the scene.
Stanley McCombe, who lost his wife Ann, said most of the families believed there was no need for such an extent of gruesome evidence to be produced in an open court.
By JOHN McCUSKER
Legal case to be made to have unborn twins included in official death toll
AS the Inquests into the victims of the Omagh bombing enter its final week, there have been pleas from the families who lost three generations that no such act should ever be contemplated again.
Within the past week, the Coroner's Court sitting at Omagh Leisure Centre has heard details surrounding the deaths of 16 of those caught up in the atrocity of 15th August, 1998.
A further seven Inquests are planned for today, with the remainder taking place between tomorrow and Monday. The Inquest into the death of 12-year-old James Barker, who was visiting the town on the day of the explosion, has been set for October 5th at Omagh Courthouse.
Many of the sittings have heard that victims would have died instantly and would not have known anything about what had happened to them. And Coroner John Leckey was told that, in most cases, medical attention could not have prevented the huge loss of life.
In a passionate plea to the bombers this week, the families of the Monaghan and Grimes victims begged for an assurance from the bombers that no further atrocities be planned.
A statement read out by solicitors representing the families also asked that the unborn twins which 30-year-old Avril Monaghan had been carrying be included in further reports of the tragedy therefore bring the official death toll to 31.
Barry Fox, solicitor for the Monaghan family, will make further submissions later this week in an effort to have the unborn twins declared full parties to the inquests.
Earlier in the proceedings, the RUC officer in charge of Omagh made an impassioned defence of the way his officers dealt with the bombing tragedy.
Superintendent James Baxter was briefly overcome as he told the Inquest that the only people capable of making a difference on the day of the bombing were the bombers and their accomplices, who had issued confused warnings of where the device had been planted.
Consultant surgeon at Tyrone County Hospital, Dominic Pinto outlined to Coroner John Leckey the scenes of sheer pandemonium which greeted him in the corridors and hospital wards following the explosion.
The scale of the disaster was unprecedented in the history of the Troubles, he said, and resembled a major disaster of battlefield proportions.
On Tuesday, barrister Michael Mansfield QC who is representing the family of Libbi Rush explained how the mindless atrocity had caused enduring devastation and daily suffering to her family.
However, despite his unbearable loss, the victim's husband, Laurence had strengthened his resolve to continue his wife's commitment to the community in which they had both lived.
Many of the victims' families, meanwhile, have expressed anger at the extent of injury details which have emerged throughout the past two weeks.
Families of some of those killed have appealed for more sensitive coverage of the hearings, following a litany of harrowing evidence from police officers and those who attended victims at the scene.
Stanley McCombe, who lost his wife Ann, said most of the families believed there was no need for such an extent of gruesome evidence to be produced in an open court.
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH/1452
Published Date: 21-Sep-00
Related Images
There have been no images archived for this article.