Latest news with #OmaghBombing
Extra.ie
4 days ago
- Politics
- Extra.ie
Ryan Tubridy: 'My chat with Mary was compelling but at times disturbing'
What a pleasure it was to sit down and talk to former president Mary McAleese for the final episode of Season 3 of The Bookshelf podcast. We recorded the conversation last weekend in Dublin, and from the moment she walked into the room, I knew it would be a special encounter. She began by asking if I remembered what she wrote to me when I was in the doldrums two years ago, which was: 'There's life after RTÉ and I should know.' She went on to explain how difficult her time there as a journalist at the height of the Troubles was and why she felt she had to leave, and indeed, the opportunities that opened up as a direct result of her departure, which ultimately led to the Áras. Ryan Tubridy and Mary McAleese. Pic:for Ballymore The conversation was often deeply disturbing as Mary recalled how her profoundly deaf brother was attacked by thugs outside the family home and left for dead. Thankfully, he survived, but the scars run deep. On another occasion, gunmen arrived at their house and sprayed bullets from top to bottom and left to right in a bid to ethnically cleanse the McAleese family from their home, the street and the area. Luckily, as Mary suggests, they weren't the brightest terrorists as they chose to attack on December 8, a day when most Catholic families took the day off to go to town for early Christmas shopping. The interview was so compelling that I hardly touched on her time as a two-term President of Ireland. She remembers the campaign as being particularly vicious (at one point she feared for her family's safety) and suggested that candidates should not go after each other but rather focus on what she described as the interview board – the Irish people themselves. Ryan Tubridy and Mary McAleese. Pic: Supplied As our time drew to a close, I asked Mary for a high point and a low point of her 14 years in the Park. For the low point, she didn't miss a beat and quickly said 'Omagh'. If you listen back (or watch) the podcast, you'll hear a pause as Mary gathers her thoughts and immediately brings us on a dark and desperate walk through the awful events that became known as the Omagh Bombing. Her vivid and visceral recollections are spine-tingling, and her description of hugging community leaders and unlikely allies, such as David Trimble, stopped me in my tracks. Pic: Greg Wood/AFP via Getty Images On the other question of a high point, the former president said that while she was tempted to say the visit to Ireland by Queen Elizabeth II, she decided to opt for the opening of the Special Olympics when Ireland played host. Her face came alive with joy as Mary spoke of the undiluted pride she was filled with as she watched the Olympians mix with the likes of Nelson Mandela and Arnold Schwarzenegger but above all, how communities pulled together with countless volunteers to make the event a roaring success built on kindness, decency and the best of Irish. I'm only scratching the surface with the above description of this interview, and I'm glad to say the response has been extraordinary, with most people saying that so much of what Mary McAleese had to say passed them by when she was holding the highest office in the State. Imelda Staunton as Mrs. Kitty Warren Pic: Johan Persson Lots more suggested they'd love to see her return for a third term, but I think we'll leave that kind of chatter to our friends in the USA. If you're planning a trip to London soon, there are some wonderful theatre productions available to see. I've mentioned Giant, the Roald Dahl play starring John Lithgoe, which is still going and is truly the best thing I've seen on stage in many years. This week, I also got to see the George Bernard Shaw play Mrs Warren's Profession, which stars Imelda Staunton and her real-life daughter, Bessie Carter. It's a wonderful play and beautiful production that also proves how some ideas, topics and themes never grow old and remain majestic in the hands of GBS. Ryan Tubridy and Colm Toibin. Pic: Supplied The last time I met Colm Tóibín was at the White House 10 years ago on St. Patrick's Day, when Barack Obama was president. When we met again last week, we were in London and he was a guest on my radio show, ostensibly to discuss the paperback release of his Brooklyn sequel, Long Island. I asked Colm how he remembered his trip to the most famous residence in the world and he recalled how cold our departure was courtesy of the White House staff who clearly didn't know that a gathering of Irish people (abroad!) on St Patrick's Day would descend into a never-ending conversation and storytelling session that would and should end with some music. However, Colm reminded me that the staff formed a line across the room and slowly closed in on the assembled guests who had to shuffle backwards, inch by inch, until we were eventually in the portico, through the main door and out through the gate. It was one of many tales told by Colm, who was in such good form that I wished we could have taken the conversation on to another venue! We spoke about the enduring power of Ailish, the chief protagonist in both Brooklyn and Long Island. She was portrayed brilliantly by Saoirse Ronan who received an Oscar nomination for the part. Colm told the funniest story of how he was invited to the Oscars, but because he was 'only' the book's author, he had to walk the grey carpet (or lino as he called it) which was situated directly behind the red carpet where all the action was happening. The only saving grace of the evening was that one of the barmen at the venue was from Ireland and recognised Colm (who no longer drinks), which meant a steady flow of vino for the night. Small mercies!
Irish Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
Omagh bombing inquiry: bereaved families' long-standing quest for truth collides with reality
For those bereaved and injured in the August 1998 Omagh bombing , the inquiry into the atrocity brought hope that, finally, they might get answers. Could the UK authorities have prevented the bombing by Real IRA dissidents that killed 29 people including a woman who was pregnant with twins on a sunny Saturday afternoon? This week, that hope collided with reality. Over two days of opening statements, the inquiry heard from the UK government and Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) on the logistical challenges they faced in providing documents and exhibits to the inquiry. READ MORE The slow pace of disclosure has led to an 'unfortunate' gap of nine months, as lawyer to the inquiry, Paul Greaney KC, put it; the inquiry cannot now begin considering the bombing itself until March 2026, almost two years after it opened. Michael Mansfield KC, representing the family of one of the victims, 57-year-old mother of three Libby Rush, cut to the chase. 'It cannot be said that government departments were not on notice,' he said. 'Once this happened on the 15th August, 1998, are we to imagine that state authorities didn't immediately have meetings ... which should have ensured the preservation [of materials] – not 'Oh, we only got notice yesterday'.' In fairness, the task facing them is not inconsiderable. The PSNI has so far made ready 26,000 documents and 2,000 exhibits and reassigned staff. This is a body that is so pushed for resources that earlier this month 24 police officers were reallocated from tackling domestic violence and sexual abuse to deal with public disorder. [ The stories of the Omagh bomb victims Opens in new window ] Both its barrister and that representing the UK government repeatedly stressed their commitment to assisting the inquiry. None of their explanations, Philip Henry KC said for the PSNI, were an excuse but rather 'a candid explanation of what is involved, so that expectations are realistic'. Yet the difficulties continued. It emerged that a document said to be missing, then destroyed, was subsequently found. The inquiry chairman, Lord Turnbull, echoed families' concerns 'over statements made by state bodies about apparent inability to locate relevant documents' and warned any such assertions would be subject to 'the most rigorous scrutiny'. Lord Turnbull. Photograph: Northern Ireland Office/PA Wire There were concerns, too, around sensitive material and how this will be approached, particularly given the relevance of intelligence, including warnings said to have been passed on by an alleged British agent, to the answers the inquiry is seeking. Last month it emerged a 'considerable body of material' had not been shared with the inquiry because of applications by the UK government and the PSNI to redact information. This, said barrister Stephen Toal KC, representing the families of five of those killed, 'speaks to a defensive instinct, not a transparent one.' Just ask the family of Seán Brown. The GAA official was abducted and murdered by loyalists in Bellaghy, Co Derry, in 1997, the year before the Omagh bombing. The UK government is currently challenging a court ruling that it must hold a public inquiry into his killing. That the Omagh investigation is happening at all is the result of decades of campaigns and courtroom battles, not least by Michael Gallagher, whose 21-year-old son, Aiden, was among the victims. He brought the judicial review which resulted in the High Court judgment ordering the UK government to set up the inquiry. [ Omagh inquiry: Father of victim describes toll taken by years of campaigning for justice Opens in new window ] That same judge also recommended a similar inquiry south of the Border. The Irish Government was repeatedly criticised this week for failing to do so, though Lord Turnbull said he took the repeated assurances he had received about Dublin's commitment to assisting the inquiry 'in good faith'. Alan Kane KC quoted the future taoiseach Enda Kenny in the Dáil in 2004: 'You will get your truth, and so will Ireland.' 'Talk is cheap,' said Toal of both governments. 'They make warm statements about solidarity, but these families have learned to measure words against deeds.' As Lord Turnbull observed, some of those listening to the proceedings 'may have been thinking to themselves that if the various secretaries of state and other ministers involved had not so staunchly set their face against a public inquiry over the very many years and very many times that such requests were made, the problems now being grappled with would not be so acute.' Yet, he said: 'We are where we are.' Where we are is that the legacy of the North's Troubles still has not been dealt with, and the Omagh inquiry goes to the heart of one of its enduring tensions, the interests of national security versus the rights of individuals to life, to justice and to truth. The bereaved and injured have already suffered through decades of delay, obstruction and denial, broken promises, frustration heaped on devastation, and it is clear this inquiry will be a lengthy and complex one. States will always seek to protect their secrets, but a way must be found to balance these interests with the 'moral imperative', as one family barrister put it, to provide the answers which have been so desperately sought by so many, for so long. This is the reality; ultimately the hope, said Michael Mansfield, representing the Rush family, is that 'this public inquiry represents the beginning of the end of the story of the Omagh bombing'.
Irish Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
Victim of IRA attack allegedly involving British agent loses legal claim over probe ‘delay'
A man shot in an IRA attack that allegedly involved a British agent has lost a High Court battle against the police for temporarily diverting all available legacy-related resources to the Omagh bombing inquiry . Desmond McCabe claimed the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) decision to put other sensitive research work on hold for six months unlawfully breached an entitlement to have his claim for damages against Peter Keeley determined within a reasonable time. But a judge dismissed the challenge mounted on an alleged violation of Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Mr Justice Humphreys ruled on Friday: 'The uncontroverted evidence in this case is that no delay at all, let alone unreasonable delay ... has been caused by the impugned decision.' READ MORE Mr McCabe survived an attempted murder bid carried out by the IRA in the Newry area in November 1990. The shooting was among a series of attacks allegedly linked to Mr Keeley, a former British spy who infiltrated the Provisionals and who uses the pseudonym Kevin Fulton. Damages are being sought against the one-time agent, along with the police and ministry of defence, in a claim for negligence, misfeasance in public office, conspiracy, assault, battery and trespass. In March this year it was announced that all qualified PSNI researchers were being assigned to sensitive work on behalf of the public inquiry into the Real IRA bombing of Omagh in August 1998 which claimed the lives of 29 people, including a woman pregnant with twins. The request for material on 32 other dissident republican attacks in the 1990s led to the PSNI pausing all other sensitive legacy-related casework for six months due to underfunding and resources. Mr McCabe's lawyers claimed the decision was irrational and unlawfully breached Article 6 rights to have his civil action dealt with. Judicial review proceedings were brought against the chief constable, and also the Department of Justice for an alleged failure to provide the necessary resources to progress legacy litigation. But police insisted they have already provided sensitive discovery in a lead case among the series of actions related to the alleged activities of Mr Keely. Correspondence on behalf of the PSNI contended that the temporary redirection of sensitive research resources was not affecting the civil action. 'No delay has been occasioned to the lead case, or Desmond McCabe's case, as a result of the Omagh bombing inquiry related reallocation of resources,' it stated. Based on those assertions, Mr Justice Humphreys ruled that the challenge had no legal merit and must be dismissed. He confirmed: 'The applicant has not established any arguable case with realistic prospects of success.'
The Independent
24-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Government has ‘plain duty' to assist Omagh inquiry with swift disclosure
The UK Government has a 'plain duty' to ensure that full disclosure of documents is swiftly made to the Omagh Bombing Inquiry, its chair has said. Lord Turnbull said his experience to date over the cooperation of some state agencies with the inquiry had caused him to have 'some concerns'. The inquiry chair was speaking at the end of two days of hearings in which the legal representatives of core participants delivered opening statements. The Real IRA bomb in the Co Tyrone town in August 1998 killed 29 people, including a woman who was pregnant with twins, in the worst single atrocity in the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The public inquiry was set up by the previous secretary of state Chris Heaton-Harris to examine whether the explosion could have been prevented by the UK authorities. Lord Turnbull said he understood the challenges of providing disclosure of relevant documents to the inquiry were 'significant'. But he added: 'The fact remains that two years have already passed since the secretary of state announced that there was to be an enquiry. 'At many times since that point the progress towards setting up the inquiry and then of trying to move towards evidential hearings, has appeared to be frustratingly slow. 'Difficulties over providing disclosure of course impact on the ability to schedule evidential hearings.' The inquiry chair said some of those watching may have observed that if successive governments had 'not so staunchly set their face against a public inquiry the problems now being grappled with would not be so acute'. He added: 'Having opposed the setting up of an inquiry so long, there is a plain duty on the Secretary of State (Hilary Benn) and others in government to remedy that now by making available whatever resources are necessary to ensure that full disclosure can be swiftly made available. 'I say that not just because of the passage of time. 'My experience to date has caused me to have some concerns. 'I have not been convinced that some of those with whom the inquiry has to depend upon to provide it with the material it seeks have always been in a position properly to engage with the inquiry or to dedicate the necessary resources to those tasks. 'I therefore trust after all that has been said over today and yesterday, that my remarks and concerns will be passed on to the relevant ministers and others who manage the responses to the inquiry's requests.' Lord Turnbull also said that the inquiry would not 'simply accept statements' that documents had been lost or destroyed. He said: 'Where claims are made that documents of importance have been destroyed or cannot be located, material providers can expect such assertions to be subjected to the most rigorous scrutiny. 'Accordingly the inquiry will expect to hear detailed evidence as to the nature of the efforts made to locate any such documents and the processes around their storage and retention. 'And having done so, the inquiry will draw such inferences as seem appropriate in light of the nature and importance of the documents concerned, alongside the quality of any evidence given by way of explanation for their absence.'
BreakingNews.ie
24-06-2025
- Politics
- BreakingNews.ie
UK government has 'plain duty' to assist Omagh inquiry with swift disclosure
The UK Government has a 'plain duty' to ensure that full disclosure of documents is swiftly made to the Omagh Bombing Inquiry, its chair has said. Lord Turnbull said his experience to date over the cooperation of some state agencies with the inquiry had caused him to have 'some concerns'. Advertisement The inquiry chair was speaking at the end of two days of hearings in which the legal representatives of core participants delivered opening statements. The Real IRA bomb in the Co Tyrone town in August 1998 killed 29 people, including a woman who was pregnant with twins, in the worst single atrocity in the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The Omagh bomb devastated the Co Tyrone town in 1998 (Paul McErlane/PA) The public inquiry was set up by the previous secretary of state Chris Heaton-Harris to examine whether the explosion could have been prevented by the UK authorities. Lord Turnbull said he understood the challenges of providing disclosure of relevant documents to the inquiry were 'significant'. Advertisement But he added: 'The fact remains that two years have already passed since the secretary of state announced that there was to be an enquiry. 'At many times since that point the progress towards setting up the inquiry and then of trying to move towards evidential hearings, has appeared to be frustratingly slow. 'Difficulties over providing disclosure of course impact on the ability to schedule evidential hearings.' The inquiry chair said some of those watching may have observed that if successive governments had 'not so staunchly set their face against a public inquiry the problems now being grappled with would not be so acute'. Advertisement He added: 'Having opposed the setting up of an inquiry so long, there is a plain duty on the Secretary of State (Hilary Benn) and others in government to remedy that now by making available whatever resources are necessary to ensure that full disclosure can be swiftly made available. 'I say that not just because of the passage of time. 'My experience to date has caused me to have some concerns. 'I have not been convinced that some of those with whom the inquiry has to depend upon to provide it with the material it seeks have always been in a position properly to engage with the inquiry or to dedicate the necessary resources to those tasks. Advertisement 'I therefore trust after all that has been said over today and yesterday, that my remarks and concerns will be passed on to the relevant ministers and others who manage the responses to the inquiry's requests.' Lord Turnbull also said that the inquiry would not 'simply accept statements' that documents had been lost or destroyed. He said: 'Where claims are made that documents of importance have been destroyed or cannot be located, material providers can expect such assertions to be subjected to the most rigorous scrutiny. 'Accordingly the inquiry will expect to hear detailed evidence as to the nature of the efforts made to locate any such documents and the processes around their storage and retention. Advertisement 'And having done so, the inquiry will draw such inferences as seem appropriate in light of the nature and importance of the documents concerned, alongside the quality of any evidence given by way of explanation for their absence.'
