Omagh bomb accused faces relatives of 29 who died
STANDING just three feet apart with only a glass panel between them, the Irish Republican charged with the Omagh bombing yesterday came face to face with the families of the victims for the very first time.
Nearly 16 years on from the bloodiest atrocity of the Northern Ireland Troubles, Seamus Daly appeared at Dungannon Magistrates’ Court accused of the murders of 11 children and 18 men and women.
One of the women killed when the Real IRA bomb ripped through the bustling market town in August 1998 was pregnant with twins – and in a bitter twist of irony, Daly’s heavily pregnant wife Aine was sitting in
‘No emotion on his face’
the public gallery on the day she was due to give birth.
The 43-year-old IRA member has already been named as one of the men liable for the explosion in a landmark civil action taken by relatives after a fighting fund was launched by the Daily Mail.
But no one has ever been successfully prosecuted in the criminal courts, meaning that until yesterday none of the relatives had clapped eyes on the man they believe was responsible for the attack.
Michael Gallagher – who has fought for justice for the victims after his son Aiden, 21, died in the blast – told of the painful moment he locked eyes with the man he holds responsible for the act that has haunted his family.
Mr Gallagher said: ‘It was a strange feeling. For a long time I have pictured this moment but he didn’t look like a monster, he looked like an ordinary normal person. I just wanted to say to him, why did this happen? Why were these people murdered?
‘I stood just three or four feet away from him – there was just a glass screen between us. He glanced around and our eyes met. In that moment, I thought I’m going to face this man down. When he recognised who it was, he just turned away. There was no emotion on his face.
‘It was over in a flash, but it is a moment that I will never forget for the rest of my life. I will take it to my grave.’
Mr Gallagher, 65, added: ‘It was very difficult and painful at times just to look at him, but it was important to be there. There were a lot of his supporters around us, it was quite a threatening environment.’
Daly had attempted to persuade a judge to grant him bail on the grounds that his court appearance fell on the same day as his wife’s due date.
The father-of-one, who lives in Jonesborough, County Armagh, was arrested on Monday by the Police Service of Northern Ireland as he was on his way to a maternity hospital with his wife. At first Daly claimed to be his brother and was only formally identified thanks to fingerprint analysis.
Deputy District Judge Paul Conway said he was concerned Daly would flee to the Republic of Ireland and made the decision to remand him in custody.
Daly betrayed no emotion as he was told he is unlikely to be present for the birth of his second child. The decision to charge him was taken in consultation with the ‘highest level’ of Northern Ireland’s Public Prosecution Service after a review of the evidence linking the bricklayer and publican with the 500lb car bomb.
The court heard Daly was in a ‘scout car’ checking the route and was linked to the blast by mobile phone contact between him and those in the bomb car less than 30 minutes beforehand.
The defendant, who was convicted in 2000 of IRA membership, faces 29 counts of murder. He has also been charged with causing the explosion in Omagh, possession of a bomb with intent to endanger life or property – as well as conspiring to cause an explosion and possession of a bomb with intent over a separate attempted attack in Lisburn, County Down in April 1998.