Omagh families face new legal delay
A civil action by families of the Omagh bomb victims seeking £14m (€20.4m) compensation against the men they blame for the atrocity is expected to be delayed because of a legal challenge by Real IRA leader Michael McKevitt.
Court officials in Belfast confirmed today papers have been lodged opposing the British government’s decision to fund the relatives' case by almost £800,000 (€1.2m).
McKevitt, 54, from Blackrock near Dundalk, Co Louth, who is serving 20 years for directing terrorism, is one of five men being sued in the civil action by some of the relatives of the 29 people who were killed in the August 1998 bombing.
Last year, he lost a battle for legal aid to defend himself against the action.
The Omagh families had been hoping their civil action at the Northern Ireland High Court could go ahead later this year.
But with McKevitt’s legal representatives preparing to seek a judicial review challenging the legislation which provided for the British government funding, families fear they face yet another delay.
Michael Gallagher, whose son Aiden was among the dead, said: “It’s entirely up to him how he defends his name.
“It’s another legal hurdle we have to overcome.”
Mr Gallagher, who is due to address delegates in Bogotá next week at an international conference on terrorism, added: “We’ve had setbacks before. This is the nature of Omagh but we will continue until we get the truth.”
Last week, the Omagh families suffered a setback when an application for documents to aid their civil case was rejected at Dublin’s Special Criminal Court.
But they vowed to press on with the compensation suit against McKevitt and the four other men they claim who plotted the attack: Seamus Daly, Seamus McKenna, Liam Campbell and Colm Murphy.
Murphy, the only man to be convicted in connection with the Omagh atrocity, was released on bail last month pending a retrial after his original conviction was quashed.
