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Omagh bombing

Omagh bombing
Part of the Troubles
The red Vauxhall Cavalier containing the bomb. This photograph was taken shortly before the explosion; the camera was found afterwards in the rubble. The man and child in the photo both survived.[1]
LocationOmagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland
Coordinates54°36′01″N 07°17′56″W / 54.60028°N 7.29889°W / 54.60028; -7.29889
Date15 August 1998 (1998-08-15)
3:10 pm (BST)
TargetCourthouse[2]
Attack type
Car bomb
Deaths29[3][4][5]
InjuredAbout 220 initially reported;[6] later reports stated over 300[4][7][8]
PerpetratorsReal IRA[4][5]

The Omagh bombing was a car bombing on 15 August 1998 in the town of Omagh in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.[6] It was carried out by the Real Irish Republican Army (Real IRA), a Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) splinter group who opposed the IRA's ceasefire and the Good Friday Agreement, signed earlier in the year. The bombing killed 29 people and injured about 220 others,[9] making it the deadliest incident of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Telephoned warnings which did not specify the location had been sent almost forty minutes beforehand, police inadvertently moved people toward the bomb.[10]

The bombing caused outrage both locally and internationally,[8][11] spurred on the Northern Ireland peace process,[3][4][12] and dealt a severe blow to the dissident Irish republican campaign. The Real IRA denied that the bomb was intended to kill civilians and apologised; shortly after, the group declared a ceasefire.[12] The victims included people of many backgrounds and ages: Protestants, Catholics, six teenagers, six children, a woman pregnant with twins, two Spanish tourists[13][14] and others on a day trip from the Republic of Ireland. Both unionists and Irish nationalists were killed and injured. As a result of the bombing, new anti-terrorism laws were swiftly enacted by the United Kingdom and Ireland.

British, Irish and US intelligence agencies allegedly had information which could have prevented the bombing, most of which came from double agents inside the Real IRA,[15] but this information was not given to the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC).[15] In 2008, the BBC reported that British intelligence agency GCHQ was monitoring conversations between the bombers as the bomb was being driven into Omagh.[16]

A 2001 report by the Police Ombudsman said that the RUC Special Branch failed to act on prior warnings and criticised the RUC's investigation of the bombing.[17] Police reportedly obtained circumstantial and coincidental evidence against some suspects, but were unable to convict.[18] Colm Murphy was tried and convicted of conspiring to cause the bombing, but was released on appeal after it was revealed that the Garda Síochána forged interview notes used in the case.[19] Murphy's nephew Sean Hoey was also tried but was acquitted.[20] In June 2009, the victims' families won a £1.6 million civil action settlement against four defendants, who were found liable for the bombing.[21] In 2014, Seamus Daly was charged with the murder of 29 people;[22] the case against him was withdrawn in 2016.[23]

  1. ^ Thorton, Chris. "Omagh: The edge of darkness – 15 August 2008". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  2. ^ Mooney & O'Toole 2004, pp. 211–2
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Kevin was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b c d "Man cleared over Omagh bombing". CNN.com. 20 December 2007. Retrieved 9 January 2008.
  5. ^ a b "Nine years on, the only Omagh bombing suspect is free". The Times. London. 21 December 2007. Retrieved 12 July 2019. (subscription required)
  6. ^ a b "Bomb Atrocity Rocks Northern Ireland". BBC News. 16 August 1998. Retrieved 11 September 2007.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference city was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ a b "Bravery awards for bomb helpers". BBC News. 17 November 1999. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  9. ^ "Omagh coroner rules on unborn twins". BBC News. 28 September 2000. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  10. ^ "Omagh bombing". Encyclopaedia Britannica. 29 November 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference Fein was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference apology was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Johnston, Wesley. "Those who died in the Omagh bomb, 15 August 1998". The Ireland Story. Retrieved 1 August 2008.
  14. ^ "Omagh Bombing: Northern Ireland's Blackest Day". Sky News. 27 February 2008. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
  15. ^ a b "Intelligence on Omagh bomb 'withheld from police'", The Guardian. 8 August 2013.
  16. ^ "GCHQ 'monitored Omagh bomb calls'", BBC.co.uk, 14 September 2008.
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference unfair was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ Cite error: The named reference media was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference RTÉ was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ "The quest to catch Omagh bombers". Irish Times. 15 August 2008. Retrieved 13 May 2009. (subscription required)
  21. ^ "Four found liable for Omagh bomb". RTÉ News. 8 June 2009. Retrieved 8 June 2009.
  22. ^ "Omagh bombing: Seamus Daly charged with 29 murders". BBC. 11 April 2014. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
  23. ^ "Omagh bomb: Murder case against Seamus Daly collapses". BBC. 1 March 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
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