Dublin ‘must start own Omagh bomb inquiry’ says NI Assembly
Cillian Sherlock, Irish News, March 12th, 2025
Assembly motion calls on Irish government to set up probe into whether atrocity was preventable
THE Irish government should start its own public inquiry into the Omagh bombing, according to a motion passed by the assembly.
Dublin has said it will fully cooperate with the UK inquiry into the bombing, which is operating out of Omagh, but the Irish government has stopped short of committing to a separate public inquiry.
The Republic’s Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan said the Irish government expects to agree one a memorandum of understanding with the UK Omagh Bombing Inquiry in the coming weeks.
The existing probe is examining whether the atrocity carried out by the Real IRA in the Co Tyrone town in August 1998 could have been prevented.
The bomb killed 29 people, including a woman who was pregnant with twins, in the worst single atrocity in the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
All those who were killed were remembered during commemorative hearings at the inquiry earlier this year, and evidence was also heard from those injured and emergency workers who responded.
The motion passed by the assembly yesterday “laments the lack of any tangible effort” by the Irish government to conduct their own inquiry into the Omagh bombing atrocity or deal with the wider aftermath of the Troubles.
Dublin must take commitments to victims seriously
The motion was brought by UUP MLAs Doug Beattie, Dr Steve Aiken, Robbie Butler and John Stewart.
Mr Beattie told the assembly that the vehicle that delivered the bomb was stolen in the Republic, adding that the explosives were also sourced and assembled south of the border.
“Yet the Dublin government does not feel the need to hold a public inquiry in parallel to the UK inquiry or even a commission of investigation,” he said.
“They clearly do not take their commitment to victims seriously, and many victims do not trust their hollow words. They do not trust some weak memorandum of understanding in regards to information sharing, and they have good reason not to trust them.”
Mr Beattie said that commitments on implementing new legislation will be “pointless” if it does not include powers to compel witnesses from the Republic of Ireland, including gardaí and military intelligence, to address the Omagh bomb inquiry.
Mr Butler told the assembly that the intent of the motion was to seek truth and justice for innocent victims of terrorism.
He said the legacy of pain from the Troubles spreads beyond Northern Ireland and added that means “the government of the Republic of Ireland need to act”.
However, Mr Butler said “active engagement is not enough”.
He told the assembly: “We need to tie this down and it needs to be codified and it needs to be done in agreement between the UK government and the Irish government.”
Mr Butler said there also needs to be a parallel or standalone inquiry in the Republic of Ireland, adding: “Warm words will not cut it.”
He told the assembly: “If a government knows and is holding on to information that would give relief and release to these people, shame on them.”
He added: “In 2025, there’s absolutely no reason why the government in the Republic of Ireland shouldn’t do what our government in the UK do, and that is to fess up and provide the absolute truth for victims of terrorism. “
The UUP motion also called on the UK government to initiate an inquiry into the role of the Irish state during the Troubles, but this wording was replaced by a DUP amendment.
The DUP amendment states that the assembly believes the memorandum of understanding between the Omagh Bombing Inquiry and the Irish government will be “entirely deficient” in providing answers for the victims and their families.
It also calls on the Irish government to initiate a public inquiry into the bombing, with powers to compel any person in the Republic to provide evidence, information, and material pertinent to a full and unfettered investigation on behalf of victims and survivors.
That amendment was brought by DUP MLAs Joanne Bunting, Maurice Bradley and Stephen Dunne.
Ms Bunting said it was “imperative” that the Irish government instigates its own inquiry.
Comment
I'm not sure the Dublin government will ever set up a public inquiry. There’s just to much you know what hitting the fan.
UPDATE:
Alliance MLA proposes former prison as a peace tourism attraction.
Suzanne Breen, Belfast Telegraph, March 12th, 2025
ECONOMY COMMITTEE’S MAZE MEETING SEEKS TO END DEADLOCK OVER DEVELOPMENT
Stormont’s Economy Committee will meet today at the former Maze prison site as attempts are made to find a way forward so its potential for development isn’t lost.
Alliance MLA David Honeyford proposed that the committee meet at the site to focus minds “on what is being wasted by years of inaction”.
“We know the huge social and economic potential of the Maze/Long Kesh but a lack of political agreement on the way forward has prevented progress at the site.
“This is an opportunity for MLAs not just to discuss the issue, but to visibly see what we are missing out on.
“There will be a tour of the jail and then committee members will meet in the Eikon Centre.”
The Lagan Valley MLA said “peace tourism” had been identified as a major factor in growing the number of visitors to Northern Ireland.
“The Maze/Long Kesh site could be opened and marketed as a major peace attraction for foreign visitors,” he said.
“Of course, it must be done sensitively, but we should have the confidence to tell our story factually. The site could be held up as a beacon of hope and inspiration for others.
Peace Centres in Balkans
“I’ve visited great examples of how this can be achieved in Sarajevo and Mostar in Bosnia. We can’t keep hiding behind a narrative of fear, and using it as an excuse to prevent progress.”
Mr Honeyford added: “Some 70% of our visitors travel through Dublin Airport. If we are to reach the target of doubling the percentage of GDP that tourism delivers, something needs to change.
“The Maze/Long Kesh site offers an opportunity to do that. We should be showcasing Northern Ireland’s story.”
Thousands of republican and loyalist prisoners were housed in the Maze from 1971 to 2000.
Ten IRA and INLA hunger-strikers died in the jail in 1981. Two years later, it was the scene of the biggest prison escape in British peacetime history when 38 IRA inmates hijacked a prison meals lorry.
Four prison officers were stabbed during the breakout, including one who died of a heart attack.
The former jail comprises part of the 347-acre site that falls under the remit of the Maze Long Kesh Development Corporation, established in 2011.
Not Just a Prison site
Mr Honeyford said: “The history of the Maze/Long Kesh isn’t just one of the 30 years of the Troubles, it’s wider than that.
“There was a former Royal Air Force station there which was used during World War II. The listed buildings include the old prison and the World War II hangars which the Ulster Aviation Society occupies.”
He said an indoor athletics facility could be one of the many developments built on the site.
“We don’t have anything like that in Northern Ireland. Our athletes and cyclists training for the Olympics or Commonwealth games have to go to Dublin or Athlone. We should have a facility here,” he added.
SDLP Opposition leader Matthew O’Toole said that the saga over the regeneration of the site has been “going on longer than The Mousetrap”.
The DUP blocked plans to build a peace centre at the Maze in 2013 over claims it would become a “shrine to terrorism”.
UPDATE:
Belfast Council considers Irish street signs at one end and English at the other
By Staff Reporter, Irish News, March 12th, 2025
More “long streets” in Belfast could see Irish language signs erected in parts where they are wanted by residents and English-only signs in stretches where they are not.
Members of Belfast City Council have agreed to survey residents of three streets in the north of the city over dual language signs, where council officials have warned it could spark “community tension”.
Under the council’s policy on bilingual signage, one resident or a local councillor can trigger a survey asking residents if they support a new sign.
In most cases, if 15% of residents support a new sign, then it will be erected, however some applications with a majority opposing the signs have been put to the “back of the queue”.
At the recent meeting of the council’s People and Communities Committee (PCC), it was agreed to survey the three “long streets” in north Belfast, with council officials to provide additional analysis of the results to gauge any difference of opinion in different parts of the street.
The result could see parts of the streets featuring Irish and English signage, while other parts remain English language only.
This currently exists in the Donegall Road, where bilingual signage has been installed in the Falls Road side, but not past the Broadway roundabout towards the loyalist Village and Sandy Row areas.
Potential for community tension
A council report said: “Carrying out of a survey in itself in these areas has the potential to give rise to community tension, as could the erection of the street signs and therefore has the potential to give rise to adverse impact on the grounds of good relations. It is acknowledged, however, the process could alternatively assist in promoting cultural and linguistic diversity.”
It added: “The council retains ‘residual discretion’ in relation to these applications. In effect this gives elected members the option to not proceed to survey and/or halt the erection of an Irish language street sign in this street where, in the view of elected members...this action would be considered inappropriate.”
A council officer told the committee meeting: “The proposal is not to have the 15 percent apply to the whole street. It is not a case that we will undertake the survey, and if 15 percent show support that we would come forward with a recommendation for the entire street.
“What we are suggesting is that we would present the survey findings in a bit finer grain...and then it would be a matter for the committee to consider whether they would want to implement the dual language street sign, and what location.”
Majority votes?
The PCC committee last week agreed to install bilingual signs in four streets for which the applications had previously been deferred.
Council officers have proposed an updated mechanism to deal with such streets.
Alliance councillor Jenna Maghie said her party backs the threshold “while also allowing the committee the discretion to consider local opinions”.
“Our position is clear: we support the 15% threshold, but if the survey reveals that more people are opposed, we would like the decision to be deferred and reassessed,” she told the Irish News.
“We have consistently stated that we will support the provision of dual language street signage in line with best practice where demand from local residents is demonstrated through transparent procedures.”
SDLP councillor Gary McKeown said the council is “working through the various scenarios that will understandably arise” in the signs policy roll-out.
Green Party councillor Anthony Flynn said: “We will support proposals for dual-language signage that meet the policy threshold and will not engage in any narratives that attempt to uphold an idea that any street or area can have a political affiliation.”
However, DUP councillor Fred Cobain said: “What is the point of coming back to these applications at a later date if the majority are opposed? That date could be six weeks, or six months. No-one is against dual language signs where residents want them, but if a majority is opposed, that should be respected.”
PSNI sued by four Catholic officers over sectarianism
EX-COP WHO SPOKE TO BELFAST TELEGRAPH AMONG THOSE TAKING DISCRIMINATION CASES
Sam McBride, Belfast Telegraph, March 12th, 2025
Four serving or former Catholic PSNI officers are taking High Court action against the police in relation to alleged sectarian discrimination.
On Saturday the Belfast Telegraph carried a detailed interview with 'Sean' (not his real name), who was one of the first Catholic recruits to the new force when he joined in 2002.
He was medically retired in December due to complex post-traumatic stress disorder brought on by more than two decades of service in which his friends were seriously wounded by dissident republicans and he himself was chased by them while attending a match at his local GAA club.
But he also said he'd witnessed repeated sectarianism within the PSNI, including the denigration of nationalist politicians when they were on TV, mocking of Catholic officers on Ash Wednesday, and an officer who referred to “Fenian b******s”.
Now Sean has instructed KRW Law to issue High Court civil proceedings for damages in relation to the religious and political discrimination he experienced.
His solicitor Kevin Winters said: “This wasn't an easy decision for Sean to make given the well documented difficulties he experienced throughout his time in front line policing.
“However, on balance he feels compelled to take this case, if nothing else than to put a marker down. He sees his case contributing to opening up the debate on residual sectarian attitudes which still unfortunately permeate the PSNI.
“When he joined up just after the Good Friday Agreement he did so with the best of intentions to help make a change to policing and society. He never envisaged that, 20 years later, he'd be instructing solicitors to take legal action in relation to some of the problems he encountered during that time.
“He feels strongly enough about it to take a stand and in doing so hopefully contribute to making a culture change.”
Sean's case is one of four his firm has been involved in over the last nine months. He said: “The common thread running through each of the case details relates to embedded cultural sectarianism, some of which is at a low level but in other instances is quite significant.”
He said, in each of the cases, “there's an understandable hesitancy about venturing into legal action of this nature” due not only to the inherent risks of court action, but “the added difficulties of both institutional pressure to keep quiet” and the risk of personal harm.
Mr Winters said the officers had demonstrated bravery by coming forward and that while “as a proportion of the overall numbers in policing we are talking about an extremely small number of complainants”, four officers “shouldn't find themselves in 2025 having to take cases of this nature”.
Deep sense of despair and alarm
Writing in today's Belfast Telegraph, former senior PSNI officer Jon Burrows said he'd read Saturday's article “with a deep sense of despair and alarm” because he knew it would make it harder for the police to attract Catholic recruits — already a serious problem.
Mr Burrows, who was the PSNI's head of discipline, said the issues raised are “of vital public interest” and it is now important they are investigated fully.
Sean said he had not reported the incidents at the time due to a desire to fit in, a fear of being ostracised, and a concern that, as a member of the riot section, the people against whom he would be making allegations could be standing beside him during disturbances.
Mr Burrows said: “Sean's account of a sectarian culture in the PSNI is one that I simply do not recognise. I am not a blind defender of the PSNI, and I have been vocal in articulating the problems in the organisation, but I do not believe that a sectarian culture is one of them.”
He accepted, in an organisation of more than 9,000 people, it would inevitably contain some bigots.
Nevertheless, he said he had never heard a PSNI officer make a sectarian remark, even though he'd uncovered evidence of police officers engaged in all sorts of other bad behaviour, including sexual misconduct, domestic violence and drugs.
However, a serving Catholic officer told the Belfast Telegraph he had experienced sectarianism and “I know it still goes on out there”. The individual added: “I would still fear speaking out.”
Multiple Catholic officers who have spoken to this newspaper over the last two years have referred to sectarian incidents. A much smaller number of Catholic officers have told us they've never encountered such problems, suggesting the issue involves particular sections of the force rather than the entire organisation.
At the time of going to press, the PSNI had not responded to a request for comment.
Last week Deputy Chief Constable Bobby Singleton expressed dismay at what Sean said had happened, branding it as “disgraceful”.
Adding he would like to meet Sean, he said while he didn't believe the incidents were “a true reflection of the service's overall culture, I'm not naive and recognise and accept that there have been incidents where the biases and prejudice that exist within our society have manifest in our workplace”.
The PSNI faces many problems, but sectarianism in force isn't one of them
Jon Burrows, Belfast Telegraph, March 12th, 2025
It was with a deep sense of despair and alarm that I read Sam McBride's article about the experiences of a former PSNI officer.
I knew what I was reading would damage public trust in the PSNI and ongoing attempts to encourage Catholic recruitment.
Of course, that is not to criticise the publication of the article or to dismiss out of hand the account provided by 'Sean' of his alleged experiences in the PSNI.
The issues raised are of vital public interest because everyone who bravely steps up to be a police officer deserves to be treated with fairness and respect in their workplace. Moreover, police officers are entrusted with vast powers and extremely sensitive information.
The public must be able to trust that officers will exercise those powers and conduct their duties fairly and impartially.
However, Sean's account of a sectarian culture in the PSNI is one that I simply do not recognise. I am not a blind defender of the PSNI, and I have been vocal in articulating the problems in the organisation, but I do not believe that a sectarian culture is one of them.
Before I explain why, let me be clear that Sean's accusations are extremely serious and in my view warrant formal investigation by the PSNI.
The allegations of sectarianism are either true or they are not; if it is true that officers used language such as “fenian b*****ds” they need to be dismissed, and if the allegations have no substance, then the public record must be set straight.
I never heard any officer make sectarian remarks when I was in the PSNI. I held various supervisory, and leadership ranks in the PSNI for 17 years and not once did an officer bring concerns of sectarian conduct to me. I had a close bond with the officers I commanded, and many brought various matters to my attention, from sensitive personal issues to concerns about a colleague committing theft, but never sectarianism.
Volume of Complaints
When I was Head of Discipline Branch for the PSNI, I dealt with a huge volume of internal complaints made by police officers against their own colleagues, but sectarianism never featured as an alleged motivation. Often, investigations I oversaw led to deep dives into personal mobile phones or years of email communications. Sectarianism wasn't detected.
Let me be clear, some of what I saw in that role shocked me: officers who abused their position with vulnerable women for sexual purposes, who were involved in drug crime, who were domestic violence perpetrators, or who were common thieves.
Relatively speaking, these were small numbers of officers in a large organisation of exemplary and courageous men and women. I hope by being candid about the misconduct I did see, I have credibility when I say what I saw no evidence of — namely sectarianism.
Of course, in an organisation of 6,374 officers and 2,836 staff members, there will be some bigots, but everyone in PSNI knows that dismissal is the surefire outcome if caught engaging in sectarian conduct.
I know of only one case in recent years where sectarian language was alleged, and that officer was sacked.
The notion of officers being openly sectarian in what is a mixed (albeit not completely representative) workforce where there is a zero-tolerance approach to sectarianism is difficult to fathom.
No independent review or inspection has detected a sectarian culture in the PSNI. I am unaware of the Police Ombudsman making such findings despite investigating thousands of public complaints. There are 2,079 Catholic PSNI officers, and there are no indications from Employment Tribunals of a sectarian problem, and police officers are not typically shy of litigation.
In 2023, there was an extensive internal Cultural Audit of the PSNI conducted by an Irish company, and its findings chimed with issues I have been raising for years, but a sectarian culture was not one of them.
Yet the workforce did speak to the auditors candidly and confidentially about feeling under-supported by their organisation, how fearful they were of being thrown under a bus if something went wrong, and how therefore a culture of risk aversion had become entrenched in the PSNI.
Accountability in policing is like cholesterol; there are good and bad types.
Unfortunately, in Northern Ireland, the hyper-accountability of policing means officers are subject to long drawn-out misconduct investigations, relentless hostility from some political and media commentators, and the disputes of the past are often litigated on the backs of young officers today.
Senior leaders in the PSNI, unfortunately, have not always been sufficiently robust in defending the organisation from unfair attacks or showcasing the achievements of the organisation. An entire organisation's morale was affected, and this cut across all the demographics in the police service.
There are many problems in the PSNI, and the new Chief Constable needs help in completing a rescue mission, starting with more money to ease the burden on an exhausted workforce. The testimony provided by Sean made for troubling reading and warrants a thorough investigation to establish the facts.
However, at a time when we need the brightest and the best to apply to the PSNI, I would not want anyone to ignore the noble calling of policing through a misplaced fear of entering a sectarian workforce, which I know the PSNI is not.
Jon Burrows is a former head of the PSNI's discipline branch
LCC chairman in court to give a character reference for gunrunner
Allison Morris, Belfast Telegraph, March 12th, 2025
DAVID CAMPBELL SAYS HE IS ATTENDING IN PERSONAL CAPACITY TO LEND SUPPORT FOR UVF MAN IRVINE
The chair of the Loyalist Communities Council (LCC) accompanied gunrunner Winston 'Winkie' Irvine to court yesterday to provide him a character reference.
David Campbell was pictured at Belfast Crown Court where Irvine and a co-accused were due to be sentenced.
It is understood Mr Campbell attended in a personal capacity and not in a formal role representing the LCC.
However, the case was adjourned. Irvine (49), of Ballysillan Road in north Belfast, and co-accused Robin Workman (53), of Shore Road in Larne, were both present in court.
They were due to go on trial at Belfast Crown Court last December in a non-jury case in front of Judge Gordon Kerr.
But following legal discussions, Irvine's counsel Brenda Campbell KC and Michael Borrelli KC for Workman applied for their clients to be rearraigned on all charges.
Both admitted possessing firearms and ammunition in suspicious circumstances.
They also admitted two counts of possessing a handgun without a certificate, one count of possessing ammunition without a certificate, possessing a prohibited weapon and possessing a firearm without a certificate.
Sentencing had already been twice delayed due to the criminal barristers' strike.
While sentencing was expected to go ahead yesterday, Judge Kerr postponed the hearing due to a late disclosure being sought by the defence.
Judge Kerr said: “I was notified yesterday (Monday) that there was to be an application in relation to disclosure matters on Thursday.”
He added: “There may be material that is relevant to the issues that I have to determine and it would be quite improper for me to proceed prior to any submissions that may be made on behalf of the defendants.
“The court is unable even to give a date at the moment when these proceedings, as a plea of guilty, may resume and the proper time to deal with that issue is Friday.”
A disclosure application will now take place tomorrow, with a further hearing on Friday to set a time for the defence to consider the contents.
While the duty to disclose does not end at the point of verdict, it is highly unusual for disclosure to be sought at this stage of the proceedings and following guilty pleas.
Loyalist Peacekeeper
Since pleading guilty, Irvine has been lobbying dozens of public figures to provide references to the court on his behalf, to paint him as a loyalist peacekeeper.
This is despite his guilty plea to having guns belonging to the UVF.
A detective told a previous hearing: “The police case would be that this has the hallmarks of a paramilitary operation, given the amount of ammunition and range of weaponry and component parts that were found, that this is typical of the type of stuff that paramilitary organisations in Northern Ireland have access to.
“Persons who would have access to such large amounts would only be trusted members of the organisation.”
During his time on bail, Irvine, a member of the Shankill UVF's B Company, continued to work for publicly-funded community groups and even hosted a “cultural” event at a Belfast hotel attended by members of the PSNI.
At the same time, he helped organise and participated in a UVF show of strength on the Newtownards Road in east Belfast.
Irvine was pictured last June standing with around 1,500 loyalists in formation at a parade organised by the Shankill UVF.
Police said at the time they were investigating the demonstration, which was organised by Irvine and others in an attempt to overthrow the alleged leader of the UVF in east Belfast.
Irvine's defence team is expected to provide numerous references from clergy and civic society, to be considered in mitigation by the judge.
David Campbell attended in person, but others have provided written references.
Mr Campbell did not return calls requesting comment.
The LCC includes representatives from the UDA, UVF and Red Hand Commando.
Last year, the group controversially met with two DUP ministers.
Gordon Lyons met them to discuss “economic deprivation, educational disadvantage and infrastructure neglect” in loyalist and unionist communities, according to the LCC.
The group also met with Education Minister Paul Givan, where they raised objections to an Irish language primary school in east Belfast.
Irvine and Workman will appear at Belfast Crown Court on Friday where a new date for sentencing will be set.
