Editing Omagh bombing

{{Short description|1998 car bombing in Northern Ireland by the Real IRA}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2018}}
{{Infobox terrorist attack
| title            = Omagh bombing
| partof           = [[the Troubles]]
| image            = Omagh imminent.jpg
| caption          = The red [[Vauxhall Cavalier]] containing the bomb. This photograph was taken shortly before the explosion; the camera was found in the rubble.
| location         = [[Omagh]], [[County Tyrone]], Northern Ireland
| coordinates      = {{Coord|54|36|01|N|07|17|56|W|display=inline,title|region:GB-NIR_type:event}}
| target           = [[Omagh Courthouse|Courthouse]]<ref>{{harvnb|Mooney|O'Toole|2004|pp=211–2}}</ref>
| date             = {{Start date and age|1998|8|15|df=y}}
| time             = 3:04&nbsp;pm
| timezone         = [[British Summer Time|BST]]
| type             = [[Car bomb]]
| fatalities       = 29<ref name="Kevin" /><ref name="CNN">{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/12/20/omagh.trial/index.html|title=Man cleared over Omagh bombing|work=CNN.com|date=20 December 2007|access-date=9 January 2008}}</ref><ref name="Times">{{cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/nine-years-on-the-only-omagh-bombing-suspect-is-free-ktv2qqvjvt8|title=Nine years on, the only Omagh bombing suspect is free|work=The Times|date=21 December 2007|access-date=12 July 2019|location=London}} {{subscription required}}</ref>
| injuries         = About 220 initially reported;<ref name="atrocity" /> later reports stated over 300<ref name="CNN" /><ref name="city" /><ref name="bravery" />
| perps            = [[Real Irish Republican Army|Real IRA]]<ref name="CNN" /><ref name="Times" />
}}
{{Campaignbox Dissident Irish Republican Campaign}}
{{Campaignbox Northern Ireland Troubles|state=collapsed}}

The '''Omagh bombing''' was a [[car bomb]]ing on 15 August 1998 in the town of [[Omagh]] in [[County Tyrone]], [[Northern Ireland]].<ref name="atrocity">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/151985.stm|title=Bomb Atrocity Rocks Northern Ireland|date=16 August 1998|access-date=11 September 2007|work=BBC News}}</ref> It was carried out by the [[Real Irish Republican Army]] (Real IRA), a [[Provisional Irish Republican Army]] (IRA) [[splinter group]] who opposed the IRA's ceasefire and the [[Good Friday Agreement]], signed earlier in the year. The bombing killed 29 people and injured about 220 others,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/946469.stm|title=Omagh coroner rules on unborn twins|date=28 September 2000|access-date=9 February 2016|work=BBC News}}</ref> making it the deadliest incident of [[the Troubles]] in Northern Ireland, and the deadliest single incident of the conflict overall.{{efn|The [[Dublin and Monaghan bombings]], that occurred on 17 May 1974 on the [[Republic of Ireland]], had a higher death toll of 34. However, these were four separate but coordinated bombings, and each individual attack had a lower death toll than the Omagh bombing}} Telephoned warnings which did not specify the location had been sent almost forty minutes beforehand, and police inadvertently moved people toward the bomb.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Omagh-bombing|title=Omagh bombing |date=29 November 2016|access-date=21 March 2017|work=Encyclopaedia Britannica}}</ref>

The bombing caused outrage both locally and internationally,<ref name="bravery">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/524462.stm|title=Bravery awards for bomb helpers|date=17 November 1999|work=BBC News|access-date=20 November 2015}}</ref><ref name="Fein" /> spurred on the [[Northern Ireland peace process]],<ref name="Kevin" /><ref name="CNN" /><ref name="apology" /> and dealt a severe blow to the [[dissident Irish republican campaign]]. The Real IRA denied that the bomb was intended to kill civilians and apologised; shortly after, the group declared a ceasefire.<ref name="apology" /> The victims included people of many backgrounds and ages: [[Protestantism in Ireland|Protestants]], [[Irish Catholics|Catholics]], six teenagers, six children, a woman pregnant with twins, two Spanish tourists<ref name="dead">{{cite web|url=http://www.wesleyjohnston.com/users/ireland/past/omagh/dead.html|title=Those who died in the Omagh bomb, 15 August 1998|first=Wesley|last=Johnston|work=The Ireland Story|access-date=1 August 2008}}</ref> and others on a day trip from the [[Republic of Ireland]]. Both [[Unionism in Ireland|unionists]] and [[Irish nationalists]] were killed and injured. As a result of the bombing, new [[anti-terrorism laws]] were swiftly enacted by the United Kingdom and Ireland.

British, Irish and US intelligence agencies allegedly had information which could have prevented the bombing, most of which came from [[double agents]] inside the Real IRA,<ref name=guardianaug13>[https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/aug/08/omagh-bombing-intelligence-withheld-ira "Intelligence on Omagh bomb 'withheld from police'"], ''[[The Guardian]]''. 8 August 2013.</ref> but this information was not given to the [[Royal Ulster Constabulary]] (RUC).<ref name=guardianaug13 /> In 2008, the [[BBC]] reported that British intelligence agency [[GCHQ]] had been monitoring conversations between the bombers as the bomb was being driven into Omagh.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7606834.stm "GCHQ 'monitored Omagh bomb calls'"], BBC.co.uk, 14 September 2008.</ref>

A 2001 report by the [[Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland|Police Ombudsman]] said that the [[RUC Special Branch]] failed to act on prior warnings and criticised the RUC's investigation of the bombing.<ref name="unfair" /> Police reportedly obtained circumstantial and coincidental evidence against some suspects, but were unable to convict.<ref name=media /> [[Colm Murphy]] was tried and convicted of conspiring to cause the bombing, but was released on appeal after it was revealed that the [[Garda Síochána]] forged interview notes used in the case.<ref name="RTÉ" /> Murphy's nephew Sean Hoey was also tried but was [[Acquittal|acquitted]].<ref name=itimes>{{cite news|access-date=13 May 2009|title=The quest to catch Omagh bombers|work=Irish Times|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2008/0815/breaking272.htm|date=15 August 2008}} {{subscription required}}</ref> In June 2009, the victims' families won a £1.6 million civil action settlement against four defendants, who were found liable for the bombing.<ref name="rte090608">{{cite news|url=http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/0608/omagh.html|title=Four found liable for Omagh bomb|date=8 June 2009|access-date=8 June 2009|work=RTÉ News}}</ref> In 2014, [[Seamus Daly]] was charged with the murder of 29 people;<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-26984920|title=Omagh bombing: Seamus Daly charged with 29 murders|date=11 April 2014|access-date=11 April 2014|work=BBC}}</ref> the case against him was withdrawn in 2016.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-35680970|title=Omagh bomb: Murder case against Seamus Daly collapses|date=1 March 2016|access-date=1 March 2016|work=BBC}}</ref>

== Background ==
{{Main|Northern Ireland peace process|Timeline of the Northern Ireland Troubles and peace process}}
After negotiations to end [[the Troubles]] had failed in 1996, there was a resumption of political violence in [[Northern Ireland]] which peaked during the [[Drumcree conflict|Drumcree crises]].<ref>{{harvnb|Darby|2001|p=96}}</ref> The peace process resumed in 1997. [[Sinn Féin]] accepted the [[Mitchell Principles]] in September 1997, which involved commitment to [[non-violence]], as part of the peace process negotiations.<ref name=fas>[https://fas.org/irp/world/para/nira.htm Real Irish Republican Army (RIRA) profile], [[Federation of American Scientists]]; retrieved 13 May 2009</ref> [[Dissident republican|Dissident]] members of the [[Provisional Irish Republican Army]] (IRA), who considered this as a betrayal of the [[Physical force Irish republicanism|republican struggle]] for a [[united Ireland]], left in October 1997 to form the [[Real Irish Republican Army]] (Real IRA).<ref name=fas /><ref name=birth />

The Real IRA's tactics were the same as those of the IRA before it. It targeted the British security forces and carried out bombings of symbolic or economic targets. The goal was to damage the economy and cause severe disruption, thereby putting pressure on the [[Government of the United Kingdom|British government]] to withdraw from Northern Ireland.<ref>O'Day, Alan. ''Political Violence in Northern Ireland''. Greenwood Publishing, 1997. p.20</ref> Warnings were sent before such bombings, along with a code word so that the authorities would know it was genuine. The Real IRA [[Real Irish Republican Army#Early campaign|began its paramilitary campaign]] with an attempted car bombing in [[Banbridge]], [[County Down]], on 7 January 1998. The {{convert|300|lb}} explosive was defused by security forces.<ref name=birth /> Over the following months, it [[Timeline of Real Irish Republican Army actions|mounted several car bomb and mortar attacks]]. There were also attacks or attempted attacks in [[Moira, County Down|Moira]], [[Portadown]], [[Armagh]], [[Newry]], [[Lisburn]], [[Belfast]], and [[Belleek, County Fermanagh|Belleek]], as well as [[1998 Banbridge bombing|another car bombing in Banbridge]] on 1 August, which caused thirty-five injuries but no deaths.<ref name=birth />

The Omagh bombing took place thirteen weeks after the [[Good Friday Agreement]] of April 1998 was signed. Intended to be a comprehensive solution to the Troubles, the agreement had broad support both in Ireland and internationally.<ref name=on>{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/08/15/omagh.bombing.anniversary/index.html|title=Deadly Omagh bombing remembered 10 years on|work=CNN.com|date=15 August 2008|access-date=11 April 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.taoiseach.gov.ie/index.asp?locID=375&docID=1365 |title=Statement to Seanad Éireann on the Omagh Bombing |publisher=Department of the Taoiseach |access-date=18 February 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050728094109/http://www.taoiseach.gov.ie/index.asp?locID=375&docID=1365 |archive-date=28 July 2005 }}</ref>

== 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>

== Responsibility ==
=== Allegations ===
The Real IRA claimed responsibility for the bombing at the time. On 7 February 2008, a Real IRA spokesman stated that the group "had minimal involvement in Omagh. Our code word was used; nothing more. To have stated this at the time would have been lost in an understandable wave of emotion. ... Omagh was an absolute tragedy. Any loss of civilian life is regrettable."<ref name="resumption">{{cite news|url=http://www.nwipp-newspapers.com/UH/free/349259728115496.php |title=Mackey slams Provos as RIRA vows resumption of violence |work=The Ulster Herald |date=7 February 2008 |access-date=11 April 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080213223602/http://www.nwipp-newspapers.com/UH/free/349259728115496.php |archive-date=13 February 2008 }}</ref>

On 9 October 2000, the BBC's ''[[Panorama (TV series)|Panorama]]'' programme aired the special "Who Bombed Omagh?", hosted by journalist [[John Ware (journalist)|John Ware]].<ref name="Panorama" /> The programme quoted RUC Chief Constable Ronnie Flanagan as saying, "Sadly up to this point we haven't been able to charge anyone with this terrible atrocity." ''Panorama'' alleged that the police on both sides of the Irish border knew the identity of the bombers.<ref name="Panorama" /> It said, "As the bomb car and the scout car headed for the border, the police believe they communicated by mobile phone. This is based on an analysis of calls made in the hours before, during and after the bombing. This analysis may prove to be the key to the Omagh bomb investigation."<ref name="Panorama" /> Using the phone records, the programme reported the names of the four prime suspects as Oliver Traynor, [[Liam Campbell]], [[Colm Murphy]], and [[Seamus Daly]].<ref name="Panorama" /> The police had leaked the information to the BBC since it was too circumstantial and coincidental to be used in court.<ref name=media>{{harvnb|de Burgh|2008|p=115}}</ref>

Northern Ireland Secretary [[Peter Mandelson]] praised the ''Panorama'' programme, calling it "a very powerful and very professional piece of work".<ref name="response1">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/964642.stm|title=Named Omagh 'suspect' in court|work=BBC News|date=10 October 2000|access-date=11 April 2014}}</ref> Irish [[Taoiseach]] [[Bertie Ahern]] criticised it, saying that "bandying around names on television" could hinder attempts to secure convictions. First Minister [[David Trimble]] stated that he had "very grave doubts" about it.<ref name="response1" /> Lawrence Rush, whose wife Elizabeth died in the bombing, tried legally to block the programme from being broadcast, saying, "This is media justice, we can't allow this to happen".<ref name="justice">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/964661.stm|title=Omagh programme was 'media justice'|work=BBC News|date=10 October 2000|access-date=11 April 2014}}</ref> [[Democratic Unionist Party]] [[Northern Ireland Assembly|assembly member]] Oliver Gibson, whose niece Esther died in the bombing, said that the government did not have the will to pursue those responsible and welcomed the programme.<ref name="justice" />

The police believe that the [[2001 BBC bombing|bombing of BBC Television Centre]] in [[London]] on 4 March 2001 was a revenge attack for the broadcast.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/mar/05/northernireland.ireland2|title=Bomb may be Panorama payback|date=5 March 2001|work=The Guardian|access-date=11 April 2014}}</ref> On 9 April 2003, the five Real IRA members behind the BBC bombing were convicted and sentenced to between sixteen and twenty-two years.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2930957.stm|title=Real IRA bombers jailed|work=BBC News|date=9 April 2003|access-date=11 April 2014}}</ref>

=== Prosecutions and court cases ===
On 22 September 1998, the RUC and [[Gardaí]] arrested twelve men in connection with the bombing. They subsequently released all of them without charge.<ref name="timeline" /> On 25 February 1999, they questioned and arrested at least seven suspects.<ref name="timeline" /> Builder and publican Colm Murphy, from [[County Louth|Ravensdale, County Louth]], was charged three days later for conspiracy and was convicted on 23 January 2002 by the Republic of Ireland's Special Criminal Court.<ref name="timeline" /> He was sentenced to fourteen years.<ref name="RTÉ" /> In January 2005, Murphy's conviction was quashed and a retrial was ordered by the [[Court of Criminal Appeal (Ireland)|Court of Criminal Appeal]], on the grounds that two Gardaí had falsified interview notes, and that Murphy's previous convictions were improperly taken into account by the trial judges.<ref name="RTÉ">{{cite news|url=http://www.rte.ie/news/2005/0121/omagh.html|title=Relatives disappointed with Omagh ruling|date=21 January 2005|access-date=14 March 2007|work=RTÉ News}}</ref>

On 28 October 2000, the families of four children killed in the bombing – James Barker, 12, Samantha McFarland, 17, Lorraine Wilson, 15, and 20-month-old Breda Devine – launched a [[civil action]] against the suspects named by the ''Panorama'' programme.<ref name="timeline" /> On 15 March 2001, the families of all twenty-nine people killed in the bombing launched a [[British pound|£]]2-million civil action against Real IRA suspects [[Liam Campbell]], [[Colm Murphy]], [[Seamus Daly]], Seamus McKenna and [[Michael McKevitt]].<ref name="timeline" /> Former Northern Ireland secretaries Peter Mandelson, [[Tom King, Baron King of Bridgwater|Tom King]], [[Peter Brooke, Baron Brooke of Sutton Mandeville|Peter Brooke]], [[Lord Hurd]], [[James Prior, Baron Prior|Lord Prior]] and [[Lord Merlyn-Rees]] signed up in support of the plaintiffs' legal fund.<ref name="timeline" /> The civil action began in Northern Ireland on 7 April 2008.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/7333107.stm|title=Omagh civil case 'unprecedented'|work=BBC News|date=7 April 2008|access-date=11 April 2014}}</ref>

On 6 September 2006, Murphy's nephew, Sean Hoey, an electrician from [[Jonesborough, County Armagh]], went on trial accused of twenty-nine counts of murder, and terrorism and explosives charges.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/sep/06/northernireland|title=Sickness halts Omagh trial|date=6 September 2006|access-date=14 March 2007|work=The Guardian}}</ref> Upon its completion, Hoey's trial found on 20 December 2007 that he was not guilty of all 56 charges against him.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/7154221.stm|title=Man not guilty of Omagh murders|date=20 December 2007|access-date=20 December 2007|work=BBC News}}</ref>

On 24 January 2008, former Chief Constable Ronnie Flanagan apologised to the victims' families for the lack of convictions in relation to the Omagh bombing.<ref name="ronnie">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/7205855.stm|title=Flanagan apology to bomb families|work=BBC News|date=24 January 2008|access-date=11 April 2014}}</ref> This apology was rejected by some of the victims' families.<ref name="ronnie" /> After the Hoey verdict, BBC News reporter Kevin Connolly stated, "The Omagh families were dignified in defeat, as they have been dignified at every stage of their fight for justice. Their campaigning will go on, but the prospect is surely receding now that anyone will ever be convicted of murdering their husbands and brothers and sisters and wives and children."<ref name="Kevin">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/7154952.stm|title=How the Omagh case unravelled|work=BBC News|date=20 December 2007|access-date=11 April 2014|first=Kevin|last=Connolly}}</ref> [[Police Service of Northern Ireland]] [[Chief Constable]] Sir [[Hugh Orde]] stated that he believed there would be no further prosecutions.<ref name=itimes />

On 8 June 2009, the civil case taken by victims' relatives concluded, with McKevitt, Campbell, Murphy and Daly being found to have been responsible for the bombing. McKenna (died 14 July 2013) was cleared of involvement.<ref name="rte090608" /> The others were held liable for {{GBP|1.6 million}} of damages. It was described as a "landmark" [[damages]] award internationally.<ref name="Landmark damages awarded for N. Ireland bombing">{{cite news|url=http://in.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-40164020090608|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180816025522/https://in.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-40164020090608|url-status=dead|archive-date=16 August 2018|title=Landmark damages awarded for N. Ireland bombing|date=8 June 2009|access-date=8 June 2009|work=Reuters (India)}}</ref> Murphy and Daly appealed and were granted a retrial, but this second trial also found them responsible for the bombing, with the judge describing the evidence as overwhelming.<ref name="Two men found responsible for Omagh bombing after landmark civil action">{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/two-men-found-responsible-for-omagh-bombing-after-landmark-civil-action-8542702.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220523/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/two-men-found-responsible-for-omagh-bombing-after-landmark-civil-action-8542702.html |archive-date=23 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Two men found responsible for Omagh bombing after landmark civil action|date=20 March 2013|access-date=21 March 2013|work=The Independent|location=London, UK|first=John|last=Hall}}</ref>

On 10 April 2014 Daly was charged with murdering the twenty-nine victims of the Omagh bombing and with other offences.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/10758911/Republican-charged-over-Omagh-bombing.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/10758911/Republican-charged-over-Omagh-bombing.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Republican charged over Omagh bombing|work=The Telegraph|date=10 April 2014|access-date=11 April 2014|location=London, UK|first=Tom|last=Whitehead}}{{cbignore}}</ref> He was arrested in Newry by police after he crossed the border into Northern Ireland.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/apr/10/man-charged-murder-29-people-omagh-bombing|title=Man charged with murder of 29 people in 1998 Omagh bombing|work=The Guardian|date=10 April 2014|access-date=11 April 2014}}</ref> The case against Daly was withdrawn in February 2016, with the Public Prosecution Service deciding there was "no reasonable prospect of conviction".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-35680970|title=Omagh bomb: Murder case against Seamus Daly collapses|date=1 March 2016|access-date=5 March 2016|work=BBC}}</ref>

In 2021, Michael Gallagher, whose son Aiden was killed during the attack, brought a case to the Belfast High Court which resulted in Mr Justice Mark Horner ruling that when considering certain grounds "there was a real prospect of preventing the Omagh bombing."<ref name="Horner-ruling">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-57937174|title=Omagh bomb: 'Real prospect attack could have been prevented'|work=BBC News|date=23 July 2021|accessdate=2 February 2023}}</ref> Horner also called for new investigations on both sides of the Irish border.<ref name="Horner-ruling"/>

=== Police Ombudsman report ===
[[Police Ombudsman]] [[Nuala O'Loan]] published a report on 12 December 2001 that strongly criticised the RUC over its handling of the bombing investigation.<ref name="unfair">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/1707299.stm|title=Omagh bomb report 'grossly unfair'|work=BBC News|date=12 December 2001|access-date=11 April 2014}}</ref><ref name="belfast">{{cite news|url=http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/victims/docs/newspapers/belfast_telegraph/thornton_bt_051107b.pdf|title=Nuala O'Loan: the job I didn't want to leave|work=The Belfast Telegraph|date=5 November 2007|access-date=11 April 2014}}</ref><ref name="report1">{{cite web|url=http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/issues/police/ombudsman/po121201omagh1.pdf|title=Statement by the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland on her Investigation of matters relating to the Omagh Bomb on 15 August 1998|date=12 December 2001|access-date=14 March 2007|publisher=University of Ulster}}</ref> Her report stated that RUC officers had ignored the previous warnings about a bomb and had failed to act on crucial intelligence.<ref name="Guardian" /><ref name="belfast" /><ref name="report" /> She went on to say that officers had been uncooperative and defensive during her inquiry.<ref name="report" /> The report concluded that, "The victims, their families, the people of Omagh and officers of the RUC were let down by defective leadership, poor judgement and a lack of urgency."<ref name="unfair" /> It recommended the setting up of a new investigation team independent of the new Police Service of Northern Ireland, which had since replaced the RUC, led by a senior officer from an outside police force.<ref name="unfair" />

Initially, the Police Association, which represents both senior officers and rank and file members of the Northern Ireland police, went to court to try to block the release of the O'Loan report.<ref name="Guardian" /><ref name="report" /> The Association stated that, "The ombudsman's report and associated decisions constitute a misuse of her statutory powers, responsibilities and functions."<ref name="report">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/2001264.stm|title=Fresh Conflict over Omagh bomb report|work=BBC News|date=22 May 2002|access-date=11 April 2014}}</ref> The group later dropped its efforts.<ref name="Guardian" /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2007/dec/21/leadersandreply.mainsection2|title=Justice denied|work=The Guardian|date=21 December 2007|access-date=11 April 2014}}</ref> RUC Chief Constable Ronnie Flanagan called the report "grossly unfair" and "an erroneous conclusion reached in advance and then a desperate attempt to find anything that might happen to fit in with that."<ref name="unfair" /> Other senior police officers also disputed the report's findings.<ref name="belfast" /><ref name="report" /> Flanagan issued a 190-page counter-report in response, and has also stated that he has considered taking legal action.<ref name="unfair" /><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/1780588.stm|title=Omagh report: PSNI rebuttal|date=24 January 2002|work=BBC News|access-date=11 April 2014}}</ref> He argued that the multiple warnings were given by the RIRA to cause confusion and lead to a greater loss of life.<ref name="Guardian" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wesleyjohnston.com/users/ireland/past/omagh/police_press_releases.html|title=Appendix B: Police Press Releases on the Omagh Bomb|first=Wesley|last=Johnston|access-date=14 March 2007}}</ref> Assistant Chief Constables Alan McQuillan and Sam Kincaid sent [[affidavits]] giving information that supported the report.<ref name="report" />

The families of the victims expressed varying reactions to the report.<ref name="reactions" /> Kevin Skelton, whose wife Philomena died in the attack, said that, "After the bomb at Omagh, we were told by Tony Blair and the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, that no stone would be left unturned&nbsp;... It seems to me that a lot of stones have been left unturned," but then expressed doubt that the bombing could have been prevented.<ref name="reactions" /> Lawrence Rush, whose wife Elizabeth died in the attack, said that, "There's no reason why Omagh should have happened – the police have been in dereliction of their duty."<ref name="reactions" /> Other Omagh residents said that the police did all that they could.<ref name="reactions">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/1706157.stm|title=Families shocked at Omagh report|work=BBC News|date=12 December 2001|access-date=11 April 2014}}</ref> The ''[[Belfast Telegraph]]'' called the report a "watershed in police accountability" and stated that it "broke the taboo around official criticism of police in Northern Ireland".<ref name="belfast" /> Upon leaving office on 5 November 2007, Nuala O'Loan stated that the report was not a personal battle between herself and Sir Ronnie, and did not lead to one. She stated that the "recommendations which we made were complied with".<ref name="belfast" />

=== Independent bombing investigation ===
On 7 February 2008, the [[Northern Ireland Policing Board]] decided to appoint a panel of independent experts to review the police's investigation of the bombing. Some of the relatives of the bombing victims criticised the decision, saying that an international public inquiry covering both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland should have been established instead. The review was to determine whether enough evidence exists for further prosecutions. and to investigate the possible [[perjury]] of two police witnesses made during Hoey's trial.<ref name="inquiry">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/7233834.stm|title=Omagh bomb investigation review|work=BBC News|date=7 February 2008|access-date=11 April 2014}}</ref> Sinn Féin member of the Policing Board [[Alex Maskey]] stated that, "Sinn Féin fully supports the families' right to call for a full cross-border independent inquiry while the Policing Board has its clear and legal obligation to scrutinise the police handling of the investigations ... We recognise that the board has a major responsibility in carrying out our duty in holding the PSNI to account in the interests of justice for the Omagh families".<ref name="meeting">{{cite news|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-15275103.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611123553/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-15275103.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 June 2014|title=Orde to outline the extent of dissident threat|work=The Belfast Telegraph|date=7 February 2008|access-date=11 April 2014}}</ref>

=== Advance warning allegations ===
In 2001, a [[double agent]] known as [[Kevin Fulton]] claimed he told his [[MI5]] [[Agent handling|handlers]] three days before the bombing that the Real IRA was about to bring a "huge bomb" across the border.<ref name="rightswatch16a">{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20131019094823/http://www.rwuk.org/new/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Omagh-Report-15-8-13.pdf Report into the Omagh bombing]}} by Rights Watch/UK (15 August 2013), pp. 12–13.</ref> Fulton claims he also told them who he believed was making it and where it was being made.<ref name="rightswatch16a" /> He said that MI5 did not pass his information over to the police.<ref name="rightswatch16a" /><ref name="mirror">{{cite news|url=https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-78946779|title=Omagh Bomb: Probe into RUC 'warning' nears end|work=The Sunday Mirror|date=7 October 2001|access-date=11 April 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.rte.ie/news/2006/0224/73414-omagh|title=MI5 withheld intelligence ahead of Omagh|date=24 February 2006|access-date=14 March 2007|work=RTÉ News}}</ref>

RUC Chief Constable [[Ronnie Flanagan]] called the allegations "preposterous" and said the information Fulton gave his handlers was full of "distortions and inaccuracies".<ref name="rightswatch16a" /> However, Flanagan admitted that some of Fulton's information was not passed to RUC Special Branch due to "an administrative error".<ref name="rightswatch16a" /> In September 2001, British security forces [[Informant|informer]] [[Willie Carlin (informer)|Willie Carlin]] said the Ombudsman had obtained evidence confirming Fulton's allegations. A spokesman for the Ombudsman neither confirmed nor denied this assertion.<ref name="mirror" />

David Rupert, an American citizen, was jointly run as an agent by MI5 and the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] (FBI). He worked as a fundraiser for the Real IRA. On 11 August 1998, four days before the bombing, Rupert informed his MI5 handlers that the Real IRA was planning a car bomb attack in Omagh or Derry. It is not known whether this information was passed to the RUC Special Branch.<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20131019094823/http://www.rwuk.org/new/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Omagh-Report-15-8-13.pdf Report into the Omagh bombing]}} by Rights Watch/UK (15 August 2013), p. 15</ref>

The Gardaí also had their own agent close to the Real IRA at the time, Paddy Dixon, who stole cars that were used by the group to transport bombs.<ref name=rightswatch16b>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20131019094823/http://www.rwuk.org/new/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Omagh-Report-15-8-13.pdf Report into the Omagh bombing]}}, Rights Watch/UK (15 August 2013), pp. 12–13.</ref> Days before the bombing, the Real IRA had Dixon steal the Vauxhall Cavalier it would use in the attack.<ref name=rightswatch16b /> Dixon immediately told his handler, Detective Sergeant John White. On 12 August, White passed this on to his superior, Detective Chief Superintendent Dermot Jennings.<ref name=rightswatch16b /> According to White, Jennings told him that they would let the bomb go through, mainly so that the Real IRA would not become suspicious of Dixon.<ref name=rightswatch16b />

In 2003, a transcript of a conversation between Dixon and White was released. In it, Dixon confirms that Gardaí let the bomb go through and says that, "Omagh is going to blow up in their faces".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/oct/19/northernireland1|title=Omagh agent claims Garda let bomb pass|work=The Guardian|date=19 October 2003|access-date=11 April 2014}}</ref> In February 2004, PSNI Chief Constable Hugh Orde called for the Republic of Ireland to hand over Dixon.<ref name="Guardian" /> In March 2006, Chief Constable Orde stated that "security services did not withhold intelligence that was relevant or would have progressed the Omagh inquiry".<ref name="Orde">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/4763714.stm|title=MI5 "did not retain Omagh advice|work=BBC News|date=1 March 2006|access-date=11 April 2014}}</ref> He stated that the dissident republicans investigated by MI5 were members of a different [[terrorist cell|cell]] than the perpetrators of the Omagh bombing.<ref name="Orde" />

A 2013 independent report concluded that the British, Irish and US intelligence agencies "starved" police in Omagh of intelligence that could have prevented the bombing. The report was commissioned by the victims' families and produced by Rights Watch (UK).<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/aug/08/omagh-bombing-intelligence-withheld-ira "Intelligence on Omagh bomb 'withheld from police'"], theguardian.com, 8 August 2013.</ref>

=== GCHQ monitoring ===
A BBC ''Panorama'' documentary, titled "Omagh: What the Police Were Never Told", was aired in September 2008. It revealed that the British intelligence agency [[Government Communications Headquarters|GCHQ]] was monitoring mobile phone calls between the bombers as the bomb car was being driven into Omagh.<ref name=rightswatch15>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20131019094823/http://www.rwuk.org/new/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Omagh-Report-15-8-13.pdf Report into the Omagh bombing]}}, rwuk.org (August 2013), pp. 15–16.</ref> Ray White, former Assistant Chief of RUC Special Branch, said GCHQ had been monitoring mobile phones at their request. He said he believed GCHQ were listening to the phone calls 'live', rather than merely recording them for later.<ref name=rightswatch15 /> John Ware claimed that a listening device had been hidden in the car and that GCHQ had recordings of what was said. None of this information was given to the RUC in Omagh at the time.<ref name=rightswatch15 /> Transcripts of the phone calls were later handed over to RUC Special Branch.<ref name="BBC">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7606834.stm|title=GCHQ 'monitored Omagh bomb calls'|date=14 September 2008|access-date=14 September 2008|work=BBC News}}</ref>

=== Independent statutory inquiry ===
In February 2023, Northern Ireland Secretary [[Chris Heaton-Harris]] announced an independent statutory inquiry.<ref name="statutory-inquiry">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-64495873|title=Omagh bombing: UK government announces independent statutory inquiry|work=BBC News|first1=Ali|last1=Gordon|first2=Matt|last2=Fox|date=2 February 2023|accessdate=2 February 2023}}</ref> As opposed to a public inquiry, the chairman would decide which portions of the investigations could be made available to the public and the press.<ref name="statutory-inquiry"/> The inquiry will look into four different issues highlighted by a 2021 High Court ruling, namely the handling and sharing of intelligence, the use of mobile phone analysis, the possibility of the existence of advance knowledge of the bomb, and whether the attack could have been prevented by disruption operations.<ref name="statutory-inquiry"/>

=== Public inquiry ===
A [[public inquiry]] into the Omagh bombing began on 28 January 2025. The inquiry, which held a preliminary session the previous year, was established by the UK government to investigate whether the Real IRA bombing could have been prevented.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Omagh Bombing Inquiry: First day commemorates two victims from Spain |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cy8xrn23mvgt |access-date=2025-01-28 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref> The inquiry will not identify the individuals responsible for the attack.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Omagh bombing inquiry latest: Victims remembered as inquiry opens |url=https://news.sky.com/story/omagh-bombing-inquiry-latest-victims-remembered-as-inquiry-opens-13298063 |access-date=2025-01-28 |website=Sky News |language=en}}</ref>

== Victims' support group ==
The families of the victims of the bomb created the Omagh Support and Self Help Group after the bombing.<ref name="website" /> The organisation is led by Michael Gallagher, whose 21-year-old son, Aidan, was killed in the bombing.<ref name="four">{{cite web|url=http://www.channel4.com/programmes/omagh/episode-guide|title=Omagh (Channel 4 Drama)|publisher=Channel 4|access-date=18 February 2009}}</ref> Its website provides over 5,000 newspaper articles, video recordings, audio recordings, and other information sources relating to the events leading up to and following the bombing as well as information about other terrorist attacks.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nwipp-newspapers.com/UH/free/14577624231621.php |title=Omagh support group launch digital archive |work=The Ulster Herald |date=29 March 2007 |access-date=11 April 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090108215747/http://www.nwipp-newspapers.com/UH/free/14577624231621.php |archive-date=8 January 2009 }}</ref>

The group's five core objectives are "relief of poverty, sickness, disability of victims", "advancement of education and protection", "raising awareness of needs and experiences of victims, and the effects of terrorism", "welfare rights advice and information", and "improving conditions of life for victims".<ref name="website" /> The group also provides support to victims of [[The troubles#Casualties|other bombings in Ireland]], as well other [[terrorism|terrorist bombings]], such as the [[2004 Madrid train bombings]].<ref name="website">{{cite web|url=http://www.omaghbomb.co.uk|title=Beginnings|publisher=Omagh Support and Self Help Group|access-date=18 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131124133115/http://www.omaghbomb.co.uk/|archive-date=24 November 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> The group has protested outside meetings of the [[32 County Sovereignty Movement]], an [[Irish republican]] political activist group opposed to the [[Good Friday Agreement]] that the families believe is part of the RIRA.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/1041038.stm|title=Omagh families' vigil at 'fundraiser'|work=BBC News|date=26 November 2000|access-date=11 April 2014}}</ref>

In April 2000, the group argued that the attack breached Article 57 of the [[Geneva Convention]] and stated that they would pursue the alleged bombers using international law.<ref name="courts">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/708084.stm|title=Omagh families head to international courts|work=BBC News|date=10 April 2000|access-date=11 April 2014}}</ref> Michael Gallagher told [[BBC Radio Ulster]] that, "The republican movement refused to co-operate and those people hold the key to solving this mystery. Because they have difficulty in working with the RUC and Gardaí, we can't get justice."<ref name="courts" /> In January 2002, Gallagher told BBC News that, "There is such a deeply-held sense of frustration and depression" and called the [[anti-terrorist]] legislation passed in the wake of the Omagh bombing "ineffective".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/1776332.stm|title=Living with the Omagh legacy|work=BBC News|date=22 January 2002|access-date=11 April 2014}}</ref> He expressed support for the controversial ''Panorama'' programme, stating that it reminded "people that what happened in Omagh is still capable of happening in other towns".<ref name="justice" />

In February 2002, Prime Minister Tony Blair declined a written request by the group to meet with him at [[Downing Street]]. Group members accused the Prime Minister of ignoring concerns about the police's handling of the bombing investigation.<ref name="snub" /> A Downing Street spokesman stated that, "The Prime Minister of course understands the relatives' concerns, but [he] believes that a meeting with the Minister of State at the Northern Ireland Office is the right place to air their concerns at this stage."<ref name="snub">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2002/feb/17/northernireland.northernireland|title=Fury as Blair snubs Omagh families|work=The Guardian|date=17 February 2002|access-date=11 April 2014}}</ref>

The death of Adrian Gallagher, along with the experiences of his father Michael and those of other families in the Omagh Support and Self Help Group formed the story of the television film ''[[Omagh (film)|Omagh]]'', a [[Channel 4]]-[[RTÉ]] co-production.<ref name="four" /> Film-maker [[Paul Greengrass]] stated "the families of the Omagh Support and Self Help Group have been in the public eye throughout the last five years, pursuing a legal campaign, shortly to come before the courts, with far-reaching implications for all of us and it feels the right moment for them to be heard, to bring their story to a wider audience so we can all understand the journey they have made."<ref name="four" /> In promotion for the film, Channel 4 stated that the group had pursued "a patient, determined, indomitable campaign to bring those responsible for the bomb to justice, and to hold to account politicians and police on both sides of the border who promised so much in the immediate aftermath of the atrocity but who in the families' eyes have delivered all too little."<ref name="four" />

== Memorials ==
=== National remembrance ===

A nationwide minute of silence was observed across the [[Republic of Ireland]] at 3:10 p.m. on 22 August 1998; exactly one week after the bombing.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://m.independent.ie/irish-news/a-moment-of-perfect-peace-as-a-nation-stops-to-pray-26178132.html | title=A moment of perfect peace as a nation stops to pray | date=21 August 1998 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://m.independent.ie/irish-news/one-silent-minute-reaching-eternity-26178244.html | title=One silent minute reaching eternity | date=23 August 1998 }}</ref>

=== Omagh memorial ===
[[File:Omagh Bomb Memorial (23), January 2010.JPG|thumb|upright|right|Omagh Memorial at the bomb site]]
In late 1999, [[Omagh District Council]] established the Omagh Memorial Working Group to devise a permanent memorial to the bombing victims.<ref name="city" /> Its members come from both public and private sectors alongside representatives from the Omagh Churches Forum and members of the victims' families.<ref name="city" /> The chief executive of the Omagh Council, John McKinney, stated in March 2000 that, "we are working towards a memorial. It is a very sensitive issue."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/669967.stm|title=Omagh bereaved 'not let down'|work=BBC News|date=8 March 2000|access-date=11 April 2014}}</ref> In April 2007, the council announced the launch of a public art design competition by the Omagh Memorial Working Group.<ref name="city">{{cite press release|url=http://www.omagh.gov.uk/the_council/press_releases/item.php?id=396|title=Design Competition Launched for Omagh Bomb Memorial|publisher=Omagh District Council|date=17 April 2007|access-date=18 February 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080920122545/http://www.omagh.gov.uk/the_council/press_releases/item.php?id=396|archive-date=20 September 2008}}</ref> The group's goal was to create a permanent memorial in time for the tenth anniversary of the bombing on 15 August 2008.<ref name="city" /><ref name="memorial" /> It had a total budget of £240,000.<ref name="city" />

Since space for a monument on Market Street itself is limited, the final memorial was to be split between the actual bombing site and the temporary Memorial Garden about 300 metres away.<ref name="light">{{cite news|url=http://www.seanhillen.com/Fintan_O%27Toole_I_Times_2.htm|title=A monument that casts a human light|first=Fintan|last=O'Toole|work=Irish Times|date=22 September 2007|access-date=18 February 2009|archive-date=4 July 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080704052838/http://www.seanhillen.com/Fintan_O%27Toole_I_Times_2.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> Artist Sean Hillen and architect Desmond Fitzgerald won the contest with a design that, in the words of the ''Irish Times'', "centres on that most primal yet mobile of elements: light."<ref name="light" /> A heliostat mirror was to be placed in the memorial park tracking the sun in order to project a constant beam of sunlight onto 31 small mirrors, each etched with the name of a victim.<ref name="memorial" /><ref name="light" /> All the mirrors were then to bounce the light onto a heart-shaped crystal within an [[obelisk]] pillar that stands at the bomb site.<ref name="memorial" /><ref name="light" />

In September 2007, the Omagh Council's proposed wording on a memorial plaque – "dissident republican car bomb" – brought it into conflict with several of the victims' families.<ref name="memorial">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/6999827.stm|title=Omagh memorial in inscription row|work=BBC News|date=18 September 2007|access-date=11 April 2014}}</ref> Michael Gallagher has stated that "there can be no ambiguity over what happened on 15 August 1998, and no dancing around words can distract from the truth."<ref name="memorial" /> The Council appointed an independent mediator in an attempt to reach an agreement with those families.<ref name="memorial" /><ref>However, the controversy as to the proper framing of the public commemoration of the Omagh bombing, lives on – see the article "[https://www.irishnews.com/news/northernirelandnews/2019/01/09/news/council-to-consider-action-over-new-plaque-on-omagh-bomb-memorial-1524203/ Council to consider action over new plaque on Omagh bomb memoria] l" of 9 January 2019, as published in [[The Irish News]] website (retrieved 24 May 2019)</ref> Construction started on the memorial on 27 July 2008.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/regional/omagh-memorial-lifted-into-place-1-1873025|title=Omagh memorial lifted into place|work=News Letter|date=28 July 2008|access-date=1 August 2008}}</ref>

On 15 August 2008, a memorial service was held in Omagh.<ref name=marks>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2008/aug/15/northernireland.uksecurity|title=Omagh marks 10th anniversary of deadly bombing|first=Rachel|last=Stevenson|work=The Guardian|date=15 August 2008|access-date=18 February 2009}}</ref> Senior government representatives from the UK, the Republic of Ireland and the [[Stormont Assembly]] were present, along with relatives of many of the victims.<ref name=marks /> A number of bereaved families, however, boycotted the service and held their own service the following Sunday.<ref name=marks /> They argued that the [[Sinn Féin]]-dominated Omagh council would not acknowledge that [[Irish Republicanism|republicans]] were responsible for the bombing.<ref name=marks />

A memorial service was held on 15 August 2018 to mark twenty years since the bombing. A bell was rung 32 times at 15:10, the time the bomb went off, to represent the 31 victims with an extra peal for those who have lost their lives in attacks all over the world.<ref name="20th year memorial service">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-45144511|title=Omagh bomb: Bell tolls to mark 20th anniversary|date=15 August 2018}}</ref> A memorial service was also held on 13 August 2023 to mark the 25th anniversary of the bombing.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-66486029 |title=Omagh bomb: Memorial service marking 25th anniversary |work=BBC News |publisher=BBC |date=13 August 2023 |accessdate=13 August 2023}}</ref>

=== Media memorials ===
The bombing inspired the song "[[Paper Sun (Def Leppard song)|Paper Sun]]" by [[United Kingdom|British]] [[hard rock]] band [[Def Leppard]].<ref name="def">{{cite web|url=http://www.antiwarsongs.org/canzone.php?id=40475|title=Paper Sun by Def Leppard|publisher=antiwarsongs.org|access-date=11 April 2014}}</ref>

Another song inspired by the bombings was "[[Peace on Earth (U2 song)|Peace on Earth]]" by rock group [[U2]].<ref name="u2" /> It includes the line, "They're reading names out over the radio. All the folks the rest of us won't get to know. Sean and Julia, Gareth, Ann, and Breda."<ref name="u2">{{cite web|url=http://www.u2faqs.com/songs/#23|title=Who are the people listed in "Peace On Earth"?|publisher=u2faqs.com|access-date=11 April 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140509191226/http://www.u2faqs.com/songs/#23|archive-date=9 May 2014}}</ref> The five names mentioned are five of the victims from this attack.<ref name="u2" /> Another line, "She never got to say goodbye, To see the colour in his eyes, now he's in the dirt" was about how James Barker, a victim, was remembered by his mother Donna Barker in an article in the ''[[Irish Times]]'' after the bombing in Omagh.<ref name="u2" /> U2 guitarist [[The Edge]] has described the song as "the most bitter song U2 has ever written".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.atu2.com/news/closer-to-the-edge.html|title=Closer to the Edge|work=Irish Times|date=21 October 2000|access-date=18 February 2009}}</ref> The names of all 29 people killed during the bombing were recited at the conclusion of the group's anti-violence anthem "[[Sunday Bloody Sunday]]" during the [[Elevation Tour]]; one performance is captured on the concert video ''[[U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle, Ireland]]''.<ref>{{cite video|people=U2 |medium=Concert DVD|title=U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle|location=Slane Castle, Ireland|year=2003}}</ref>

[[Republic of Ireland|Irish]] state broadcaster [[RTÉ]] and [[United Kingdom|UK]] network [[Channel 4]] co-produced the 2004 film ''[[Omagh (film)|Omagh]]'' dramatising the events surrounding the bombing and its aftermath. It was directed by [[Pete Travis]] and was first shown on television in both countries in May 2004.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Press Association |title=Families praise film about Omagh bombing |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/families-praise-film-about-omagh-bombing-1.978839 |website=irishtimes.com |publisher=The Irish Times |access-date=21 August 2020}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Timeline of Real IRA actions]]
* [[Timeline of the Northern Ireland Troubles]]
* [[The Troubles in Omagh]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Sources ==
* {{cite book|title=The effects of violence on peace processes|first=John|last=Darby|publisher=United States Institute of Peace Press|year=2001|isbn=978-1-929223-31-2|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/effectsofviolenc0000darb}}
* {{cite book|first1=John|last1=Mooney|first2=Michael|last2=O'Toole|title=Black Operations: The Secret War Against the Real IRA|publisher=Maverick House|year=2004|isbn=0-9542945-9-9}}
* {{cite book|title=Investigative Journalism: Context and Practice|publisher=Routledge|year=2008|isbn=978-0-415-44144-5|first=Hugo|last=de Burgh}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.omaghbombmemorial.com/ Bombing Memorial Website]
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20131124133115/http://www.omaghbomb.co.uk/ Omagh Support and Self Help Group]}}
* [http://www.channel4.com/omagh Reflections on Omagh bombing from five years on]
* [https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/aug/08/omagh-bombing-intelligence-withheld-ira Intelligence on Omagh bomb 'withheld from police']
* {{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20240810153748/https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/life/features/its-never-too-late-to-chase-your-dreams-says-woman-blinded-in-omagh-bombing/a450327182.html One of the Omagh bombing survivors just graduated with a Masters degree]}}
{{RIRA/32CSM}}
{{The Troubles|state=collapsed}}
{{Murders in the United Kingdom in the 1990s}}

[[Category:1998 in Northern Ireland]]
[[Category:1998 murders in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:1998 building bombings]]
[[Category:1990s in County Tyrone]]
[[Category:20th-century mass murder in Northern Ireland]]
[[Category:Attacks by Republicans since the Good Friday Agreement]]
[[Category:Car and truck bombings in 1998]]
[[Category:August 1998 crimes]]
[[Category:August 1998 in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Building bombings in Northern Ireland]]
[[Category:Car and truck bombings in Northern Ireland]]
[[Category:Explosions in County Tyrone]]
[[Category:Mass murder in 1998]]
[[Category:Murder in County Tyrone]]
[[Category:Omagh|Bombing]]
[[Category:Real Irish Republican Army actions]]
[[Category:Terrorist incidents in County Tyrone]]
[[Category:Terrorist incidents in the United Kingdom in 1998]]
[[Category:1990s murders in Northern Ireland]]
[[Category:1998 murders in Ireland]]
[[Category:The Troubles in County Tyrone]]
[[Category:1998 disasters in Ireland]]
[[Category:Terrorist incidents in Ireland in the 1990s]]
[[Category:Attacks on government buildings and structures in Northern Ireland]]
[[Category:Attacks on shops in Northern Ireland]]