Omagh Bombing Inquiry Resumes with Focus on Pre- and Post-Atrocity Events
New phase of hearings will examine how the 1998 Real IRA bombing was carried out and who was responsible, with a senior garda officer set to testify.
The Omagh Bombing Inquiry will resume its hearings on Monday, beginning the next phase of its investigation six months behind its original schedule. Twenty-nine people, including a woman pregnant with twins, were killed in the Aug. 15, 1998, bombing in County Tyrone, an event that remains the single deadliest atrocity of the Troubles.
This phase of the inquiry will concentrate on the events immediately preceding and following the bombing. Investigators aim to determine how the attack was executed and identify those responsible.
The inquiry was established to investigate whether U.K. state authorities could have prevented the bombing. It has already heard personal testimonies from those bereaved and injured in the Real IRA attack during its initial phase.
Witnesses scheduled to appear this week include a senior garda officer who is expected to provide initial evidence concerning the theft of the vehicle used in the bombing. The car was stolen in Carrickmacross, County Monaghan, two days prior to the explosion.
Previous witnesses in the second phase of the inquiry included police officials, Northern Ireland's police ombudsman, and Ronnie Flanagan, the then-chief constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC). The third phase is anticipated to last approximately four weeks.