Editing Omagh bombing (section)

== Attack ==
=== Preparation and warnings ===
[[File:Lower Market Street, Omagh County Tyrone.jpg|thumb|right|Lower Market Street, site of the bombing, 2001. The courthouse is in the background]]
On 13 August, a maroon 1991 [[Vauxhall Cavalier#Mark III (1988–1995)|Vauxhall Cavalier]] was stolen from outside a house at St Macartan’s Villas in [[Carrickmacross]], [[County Monaghan]], [[Republic of Ireland]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gardai in Carrickmacross look for information on stolen bomb car |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/gardai-in-carrickmacross-look-for-information-on-stolen-bomb-car-1.184065 |access-date=2025-01-08 |website=The Irish Times |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Panorama" /> At that time, it bore the [[County Donegal]] registration number 91-DL-2554. The bombers replaced its [[Vehicle registration plates of Ireland|Republic of Ireland number plates]] with fake [[British car number plates#Northern Ireland|Northern Ireland plates]] (MDZ 5211), and loaded the car with about {{convert|500|lb|kg}} of fertiliser-based explosives.<ref name="Panorama" />

On Saturday 15 August, the bomb car was driven from County Monaghan across the [[Irish border]] to [[Omagh]], [[County Tyrone]], travelling north and west. A 'scout car' drove ahead of the bomb car to warn it of any [[Random checkpoint|checkpoints]], and the two cars were in constant contact by mobile phone.<ref name="Black Operations">{{harvnb|Mooney|O'Toole|2004|pp=33, 155–158}}</ref> At 14:19, the bomb car was parked outside S.D. Kells' clothes shop on Omagh's Market Street, at the eastern edge of the town centre, near the crossroads with Dublin Road.<ref name="Sky">{{cite news|url=http://news.sky.com/story/577796/omagh-bombing-northern-irelands-blackest-day|title=Omagh Bombing: Northern Ireland's Blackest Day|work=Sky News|date=27 February 2008|access-date=11 April 2014}}</ref> The driver could not find a parking space near the intended target, [[Omagh Courthouse]].<ref name="Black Operations" /> The two male bombers armed the bomb and set the [[Time bomb|timer]] to detonate it in forty minutes.<ref name="Black Operations"/> They left the car and walked east down Market Street towards Campsie Road, before leaving Omagh in the scout car.<ref name="Black Operations"/> A family of Spanish tourists happened to take photos next to the car; the man and child in the photograph survived but the photographer did not.<ref name="Edge of Darkness">{{cite news |last=Thorton |first=Chris |date=15 August 2008 |title=Omagh: The Edge of Darkness |url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/omagh-the-edge-of-darkness-28443663.html |work=Belfast Telegraph |access-date=27 June 2018}}</ref>

At around 14:30, three phone calls were made warning of a bomb in Omagh, using the same codeword that had been used in the Real IRA's bombing in Banbridge two weeks earlier: "Martha Pope".<ref name="Black Operations" /><ref name="Hoey">[http://www.bailii.org/nie/cases/NICC/2007/49.html The Queen -v- Sean Hoey &#91;2007&#93; NICC 49]. Crown Court for Northern Ireland.</ref><ref name="BBC warnings" /> The calls were made from [[telephone box]]es many miles away in southern [[County Armagh]].<ref name="Hoey" /> The first warning was telephoned to [[Ulster Television]] saying, "There's a bomb, courthouse, Omagh, main street, 500lb, explosion thirty minutes."<ref name="BBC warnings" /> One minute later, the office received a second warning saying, "Bomb, Omagh town, fifteen minutes." The caller claimed the warning on behalf of "[[Óglaigh na hÉireann]]".<ref name="BBC warnings" /> The next minute, the [[Coleraine]] office of the [[Samaritans (charity)|Samaritans]] received a call stating that a bomb would go off on the "main street" of Omagh "about 200 yards" (180 m) from the courthouse.<ref name="BBC warnings">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/events/northern_ireland/latest_news/153818.stm|title=Omagh bomb warnings released|work=BBC News|date=18 August 1998|access-date=11 April 2014}}</ref> The recipients passed on the information to the [[Royal Ulster Constabulary]] (RUC).<ref name="BBC warnings" />

[[BBC News]] stated that police "were clearing an area near the local courthouse, forty minutes after receiving a telephone warning, when the bomb detonated. But the warning was unclear and the wrong area was evacuated."<ref name="BBC" /> The warnings mentioned "main street" when there was no street by that name in Omagh, although Market Street–High Street was the town's main shopping street.<ref name="Panorama" /> It runs for hundreds of yards east–west from the site of the bomb to the courthouse.<ref name="Hoey" /> Given the warnings, police believed the bomb was near the courthouse, so they evacuated the surrounding buildings and streets. As it happened, they moved people away from the courthouse and towards the site of the bomb, placing a cordon at Scarffe's Entry.<ref name="CNN" /><ref name="Panorama" /><ref name="BBC warnings" /><ref name="BBC" /><ref name="CAIN">[http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/events/omagh/events.htm "Main Events surrounding the bomb in Omagh"].[[Conflict Archive on the Internet]]. Retrieved 18 February 2009.</ref> The courthouse is roughly {{convert|365|yd|m}} from the spot where the car bomb was parked.<ref name="Hoey" /> During the later [[Special Criminal Court]] trial of Real IRA director [[Michael McKevitt]], witnesses for the prosecution said that the inaccurate warnings were accidental.<ref name="Black Operations" /> McKevitt was a former "quartermaster general" in the [[Provisional IRA]].<ref>Andrew Sanders, ''Inside the IRA: Dissident Republicans and the War for Legitimacy'', p.209</ref>

=== Explosion and aftermath ===
[[File:Omagh after blast.jpg|thumb|right|The scene in Market Street minutes after the bomb went off]]
The car bomb exploded at 15:04 [[British Summer Time|BST]] in the crowded shopping area.<ref name="BBC" /> It tore the car into deadly shrapnel and created a fireball and shockwave. People were caught in "a storm" of glass, masonry and metal, as the blast destroyed shop fronts and blew the roofs off buildings. A thick cloud of dust and smoke filled the street. The blast was so strong that it tore up concrete and pipes burst; the water, running down the street, turned red from the blood of dead and wounded people. Within twenty-five minutes journalists were on the street taking pictures. Twenty-one people who had been standing near the bomb were killed outright. Eight more died on the way to or in a hospital.<ref name="dead" />

Injured survivor Marion Radford described hearing an "unearthly bang", followed by "an eeriness, a darkness that had just come over the place", then screams as she saw "bits of bodies, limbs" on the ground while she searched for her 16-year-old son, Alan. She later discovered he had been killed yards away from her after the two became separated minutes before the blast.<ref name="Panorama">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/audio_video/programmes/panorama/transcripts/transcript_09_10_00.txt|title=Who bombed Omagh? (Panorama transcript)|publisher=BBC|access-date=11 April 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunday-life/Isquothey-took-away-a-lot-of-good-lives-that-dayrsquot-13935559.html|title=They took away a lot of good lives that day|work=Belfast Telegraph|date=10 August 2008|access-date=11 April 2014}}</ref>

[[File:Tyrone County Hospital - geograph.org.uk - 64558.jpg|thumb|right|Tyrone County Hospital, where many of the bomb victims were taken]]

BBC News said that survivors described scenes of "utter carnage," with the dead and dying "strewn across the street and other victims screaming for help".<ref name="BBC" /> The injured were initially taken to two local hospitals, the [[Tyrone County Hospital]] and the Erne Hospital.<ref name="CAIN" /> A local leisure centre was set up as a casualty field centre, and the [[British Army]]'s [[St Lucia Barracks, Omagh|Lisanelly Barracks]] served as a makeshift [[morgue]].<ref name="CAIN" /><ref name="Guardian" /> According to the [[Conflict Archive on the Internet]], rescue workers likened the scene to "battlefield conditions".<ref name="CAIN" /> Tyrone County Hospital became overwhelmed, and appealed for local doctors to come in to help.<ref name="BBC" /><ref name="Guardian" />

Because of the stretched emergency services, buses, cars and helicopters were used to take the victims to other hospitals in Northern Ireland,<ref name="BBC" /><ref name="Guardian" /> including the [[Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast|Royal Victoria Hospital]] in Belfast and [[Altnagelvin Hospital]] in [[Derry]].<ref name="CAIN" /> A Tyrone County Hospital spokesman stated that they treated 108 casualties, 44 of whom had to be transferred to other hospitals.<ref name="Guardian" /> Paul McCormick of the [[Northern Ireland Ambulance Service]] said, "The injuries are horrific, from amputees, to severe head injuries to serious burns, and among them are women and children."<ref name="BBC" /> The morning after the bombing, a man was killed when his car collided with an ambulance ferrying bomb victims to hospitals in Belfast.<ref name="CAIN" />

Omagh Leisure Centre was used as a base for relatives and friends of the victims. There they could receive news updates.<ref name="CAIN" /> Twenty-nine people were killed, eighteen [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic]]s (including two Spaniards), ten [[Protestantism|Protestant]]s and one [[Mormonism|Mormon]].<ref name="dead" /><ref>"A decade later, silence in Omagh: On Friday, a silence will mark 10 years since the Omagh bombing, a crime for which no one has yet been convicted." By Dan Keenan, ''The Irish Times'', published Sat, Aug 9, 2008. Retrieved August 10, 2021. www.google.com/amp/s/www.irishtimes.com/news/a-decade-later-silence-in-omagh-1.928248%3fmode=amp.</ref> The last victim to die, Seán McGrath, was in critical condition in hospital for three weeks before dying from his injuries on 5 September.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/events/omagh/dead.htm|title=The Omagh Bomb – List of Those Killed|publisher=University of Ulster|access-date=11 April 2014}}</ref>

=== Reactions ===
There was a strong regional and international outcry against 'dissident' republicans and in favour of the [[Northern Ireland peace process]].<ref name="Kevin" /><ref name="CNN" /> [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]] [[Tony Blair]] called the bombing an "appalling act of savagery and evil."<ref name="bravery" /><ref name="BBC" /> [[Queen Elizabeth II]] expressed her sympathies to the victims' families, while the [[Charles III|Prince of Wales]] paid a visit to the town and spoke with the families of some of the victims.<ref name="BBC" /><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/events/northern_ireland/latest_news/153467.stm|title=Sad memories for Prince in Omagh|work=BBC News|date=18 August 1998|access-date=11 April 2014}}</ref> [[Pope John Paul II]] and [[President of the United States|President]] [[Bill Clinton]] also expressed their sympathies.<ref name="CAIN" /> The Spanish Ambassador to Ireland visited some of the injured.<ref name="CAIN" />

Churches across Northern Ireland called for a national day of mourning.<ref name="mourning" /> [[Church of Ireland]] [[Archbishop]] of Armagh [[Robin Eames]] said on [[BBC Radio]] that, "From the Church's point of view, all I am concerned about are not political arguments, not political niceties. I am concerned about the torment of ordinary people who don't deserve this."<ref name="mourning">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/events/northern_ireland/latest_news/152103.stm|title=National day of mourning call|work=BBC News|date=16 August 1998|access-date=11 April 2014}}</ref>

[[Social Democratic and Labour Party]] leader [[John Hume]] called the perpetrators of the bombing "undiluted fascists".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/nireland/stories/carbomb081698.htm|title=Car Bomb Kills 28 in Northern Ireland|newspaper=Washington Post|date=16 August 1998|access-date=11 April 2014}}</ref> [[Sinn Féin]]'s [[Martin McGuinness]] said, "This appalling act was carried out by those opposed to the peace process," while [[Gerry Adams]] said, "I am totally horrified by this action. I condemn it without any equivocation whatsoever."<ref name="Fein">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/events/northern_ireland/latest_news/151949.stm|title=Sinn Fein condemnation 'unequivocal'|work=BBC News |date=16 August 1998|access-date=9 January 2008}}</ref> McGuinness mentioned that both Catholics and Protestants alike were injured and killed, saying, "All of them were suffering together. I think all them were asking the question 'Why?', because so many of them had great expectations, great hopes for the future."<ref name="Fein" /> Sinn Féin as an organisation initially refused to co-operate with the investigation into the attack because the RUC was involved.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/716397.stm|title=Omagh families seek online justice|work=BBC News|date=17 April 2000|access-date=11 April 2014}}</ref> On 17 May 2007, McGuinness stated that Irish republicans would co-operate with an independent, international investigation if one were created.<ref name="timeline">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2002/jul/26/northernireland|title=Timeline: Omagh bombing|work=The Guardian|date=8 June 2009|access-date=11 April 2014}}</ref>

The security forces believed the Real IRA were responsible.<ref name="Guardian"/><ref name="BBC1">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/events/northern_ireland/latest_news/152156.stm|title=Omagh bombing kills 28|date=16 August 1998|access-date=14 March 2007|work=BBC News}}</ref> RUC Chief Constable [[Ronnie Flanagan]] accused the bombers of deliberately trying to direct civilians towards the bomb.<ref name="Guardian">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/1998/aug/16/northernireland.henrymcdonald1|title=Ulster carnage as bomb blast targets shoppers|work=The Guardian|date=16 August 1998|access-date=11 April 2014}}</ref>

As the trial of a suspect started in 2006, [[Her Majesty's Government|British government]] prosecutor Gordon Kerr called the warnings "not only wrong but... meaningless" and said that the nature of the warnings made it inevitable that people would be moved towards the bomb.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/trial-of-man-suspected-of-omagh-bombing-begins-417591.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220523/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/trial-of-man-suspected-of-omagh-bombing-begins-417591.html |archive-date=23 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Trial of man suspected of Omagh bombing begins|work=The Independent|date=26 September 2006|access-date=11 April 2014|location=London, UK|first=David|last=McKittrick}}</ref>

Three days after the bombing, the Real IRA claimed responsibility for planting the bomb but strongly denied intending to kill civilians and apologised to the victims. It also announced that "all military operations have been suspended".<ref name="apology">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/events/northern_ireland/focus/153629.stm|title=Real IRA apologises for Omagh bomb|work=BBC News|date=18 August 1998|access-date=11 April 2014}}</ref><ref name="RIRA">{{cite web|url=http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/events/peace/docs/rira18898a.htm|title=First Statement issued by the "real" IRA|date=18 August 1998|access-date=18 February 2009|publisher=University of Ulster}}</ref> The group came under intense pressure to end its campaign. IRA members visited the homes of sixty people connected with the Real IRA, and ordered them to disband and stop interfering with its arms dumps.<ref name=birth>{{cite news|url=http://www.nuzhound.com/articles/irish_news/arts2007/dec20_rise_RIRA.php|title=Birth and rise of the IRA – the Real IRA|first=Seamus|last=McKinney|work=The Irish News|date=20 December 2007|access-date=11 April 2014|archive-date=13 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413142208/http://www.nuzhound.com/articles/irish_news/arts2007/dec20_rise_RIRA.php|url-status=dead}}</ref> On 7 September, the Real IRA called a ceasefire, although it would later resume its campaign.<ref name="CAIN"/> The [[Irish National Liberation Army]] (INLA) also called a ceasefire on 22 August.<ref name="CAIN"/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/1999/aug/09/northernireland.audreygillan|title=Terror group says Ulster war is over|work=The Guardian|date=9 August 1999|access-date=11 April 2014}}</ref><ref name="INLA">{{cite web|url=http://www.start.umd.edu/start/data/tops/terrorist_organization_profile.asp?id=54 |title=Irish National Liberation Army |publisher=National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism |access-date=3 March 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100603235923/http://www.start.umd.edu/start/data/tops/terrorist_organization_profile.asp?id=54 |archive-date=3 June 2010 }}</ref> The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism has accused the INLA of providing supplies for the bombing.<ref name="INLA"/> The INLA continued to observe the ceasefire and later began to disarm.<ref name="INLA"/> BBC News reported that, "Like the other bombings in the early part of 1998 in places like Lisburn and Banbridge, Omagh was a conscious attempt by republicans who disagreed with the political strategy of Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness, to destabilise Northern Ireland in that vulnerable moment of hope. It failed&nbsp;– but there is a terrible irony to the way in which the campaign was halted only by the wave of revulsion triggered by the carnage at Omagh."<ref name="Kevin"/>

In response to the bombing, both the British and Irish governments vowed to enact tougher [[anti-terrorism]] laws. On 3 September, the British parliament passed the [[Criminal Justice (Terrorism and Conspiracy) Act 1998]], and the Irish parliament passed the [[Offences against the State Acts 1939–1998|Offences Against The State (Amendment) Bill]]. Members of both governments described the measures as "draconian" and the bills were rushed through, despite protests from members of parliament and [[civil liberties]] groups. The new measures included allowing suspected members of terrorist groups to be convicted on the word of a senior police officer, curtailment of the [[right to silence]], and longer detention periods.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/164426.stm "Terror crackdown passes UK parliament"]. BBC News. 4 September 1998.</ref><ref>[http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/othelem/chron/ch98.htm#Aug Chronology of the Conflict: 1998]. [[Conflict Archive on the Internet]] (CAIN).</ref>