Editing Omagh bombing (section)

=== 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>