ALLEGED OMAGH BOMBER WAS LAUGHING HOURS AFTER ATTACK
Alleged Omagh bomber was 'laughing' hours after attack
THE High Court in Belfast has heard evidence that one of the man being sued by the Omagh relatives was seen drunkenly laughing and sniggering in a bar hours after the explosion that killed 29 people and unborn twins.
A detective informed the court that police were told Seamus Daly allegedly teased another drinker by accusing him of driving the car packed with explosives to the scene of the blast on August 15, 1998. The witness, Patrick Morgan, worked as a foreman on a site for businessman Colm Murphy, another of the five men being sued by the relatives. He claims to have seen his boss in the Emerald Bar in Dundalk on the night of the Omagh bomb.
Morgan said Seamus Daly was also there and that he was laughing, sniggering and drunk. He told police he overheard Daly say to another man, "You're the boy that drove that yoke to Omagh." He also claimed that another of the suspects, Seamus McKenna, was falsely signed in for work on the day of the atrocity.
However a detective did acknowledge to the court that Morgan had retracted his 'discussions,' on and off tape, subsequent to the interviewing process. Murphy and Daly are being sued along with Michael McKevitt, Liam Campbell and Seamus McKenna. All five deny responsibility.
Morgan told detectives he unwittingly lent his mobile telephone to his boss the day before the bombing. He was brought in for questioning months later because the investigation team believed this phone was used in the Vauxhall Cavalier that transported the bomb to Omagh. Transcripts of his interviews were read to the court by Gerry McLoughlin, one of the detectives who questioned him.
Asked about Daly's behaviour on the night of the Omagh bomb, Morgan stated, "He was drunk and he was slabbering. He said, 'You're the boy that drove that yoke to Omagh.' He was laughing and sniggering." Morgan also told police in interview that Seamus McKenna was a 'waster' who might have left the bar earlier that night because he was drunk.
Morgan also told detectives another unnamed man, described as stout and a butcher by trade, had been pacing the bar. "He just (looked) very guilty. He was going up and down, looking through a window," he said.
Brian Fee QC acting on behalf of Seamus McKenna said of Morgan's evidence regarding his client, "He made it clear he didn't like Mr McKenna and he wasn't afraid to make his views about him known. He regarded Mr McKenna as a complete waster and a guy who drank his head off." Mr Fee also suggested that the witness believed Murphy's workforce was some sort of Real IRA cell.
The witness also claimed in interviews to have registered Seamus McKenna at their building site that Saturday even though he was absent. Chief Superintendent Hamilton Heuston said Morgan who was a foreman on the site had made the admission to him while also stating he had 'some job keeping track' of the men on the site.
Asked by Tony McGleenan, for the Omagh families, what Morgan's demeanour was like during the police interviews, another former detective Gerry McLoughlin replied, "If my memory serves me right he was actually tearful. He did give the impression he was terrified of the people he was talking about."
The trial continues.
THE High Court in Belfast has heard evidence that one of the man being sued by the Omagh relatives was seen drunkenly laughing and sniggering in a bar hours after the explosion that killed 29 people and unborn twins.
A detective informed the court that police were told Seamus Daly allegedly teased another drinker by accusing him of driving the car packed with explosives to the scene of the blast on August 15, 1998. The witness, Patrick Morgan, worked as a foreman on a site for businessman Colm Murphy, another of the five men being sued by the relatives. He claims to have seen his boss in the Emerald Bar in Dundalk on the night of the Omagh bomb.
Morgan said Seamus Daly was also there and that he was laughing, sniggering and drunk. He told police he overheard Daly say to another man, "You're the boy that drove that yoke to Omagh." He also claimed that another of the suspects, Seamus McKenna, was falsely signed in for work on the day of the atrocity.
However a detective did acknowledge to the court that Morgan had retracted his 'discussions,' on and off tape, subsequent to the interviewing process. Murphy and Daly are being sued along with Michael McKevitt, Liam Campbell and Seamus McKenna. All five deny responsibility.
Morgan told detectives he unwittingly lent his mobile telephone to his boss the day before the bombing. He was brought in for questioning months later because the investigation team believed this phone was used in the Vauxhall Cavalier that transported the bomb to Omagh. Transcripts of his interviews were read to the court by Gerry McLoughlin, one of the detectives who questioned him.
Asked about Daly's behaviour on the night of the Omagh bomb, Morgan stated, "He was drunk and he was slabbering. He said, 'You're the boy that drove that yoke to Omagh.' He was laughing and sniggering." Morgan also told police in interview that Seamus McKenna was a 'waster' who might have left the bar earlier that night because he was drunk.
Morgan also told detectives another unnamed man, described as stout and a butcher by trade, had been pacing the bar. "He just (looked) very guilty. He was going up and down, looking through a window," he said.
Brian Fee QC acting on behalf of Seamus McKenna said of Morgan's evidence regarding his client, "He made it clear he didn't like Mr McKenna and he wasn't afraid to make his views about him known. He regarded Mr McKenna as a complete waster and a guy who drank his head off." Mr Fee also suggested that the witness believed Murphy's workforce was some sort of Real IRA cell.
The witness also claimed in interviews to have registered Seamus McKenna at their building site that Saturday even though he was absent. Chief Superintendent Hamilton Heuston said Morgan who was a foreman on the site had made the admission to him while also stating he had 'some job keeping track' of the men on the site.
Asked by Tony McGleenan, for the Omagh families, what Morgan's demeanour was like during the police interviews, another former detective Gerry McLoughlin replied, "If my memory serves me right he was actually tearful. He did give the impression he was terrified of the people he was talking about."
The trial continues.
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH/1949
Published Date: 19-Jun-08
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