Witness sceptical of Irish government commitment to Omagh inquiry while lawyers to escalate strike next month

Allan Preston, Irish News, January 30th, 2025

THE sister of a teenager killed in the Omagh bombing has said that an inquiry into the atrocity will be incomplete without full participation from the Irish government.

Omagh High School pupil Alan Radford (16) was just days away from receiving his GCSE results when he had been in the town centre on August 15, 1998, helping his mother with the weekly shop.

He was one of 29 people, including a woman pregnant with twins, who died in the Real IRA bombing.

As a new inquiry continued yesterday, Alan’s sister Claire Hayes spoke to the BBC.

Aged 15 at the time of her brother’s death, she said: “Alan was the most innocent, purest, kindest human being I have ever met in my life.

“Everything Alan done was for the purpose of others to try and make the life of somebody just that wee bit brighter, even if it was just by giving a smile or making a comment.”

Helping neighbours with babysitting and grass cutting, despite his hay fever, she added: “He had no ounce of malice in him, no hatred.”

At home when the bomb detonated, she recalled: “The explosion went off, the wall shook beneath me and I seen the puff of smoke and instantly it was like something inside me just died in that moment.”

Shortly afterwards, friends told her the bomb was supposed to have been at the courthouse but exploded in the town centre.

“That’s when panic set in for me, because I knew mum and Alan was always at that end of the town.”

Her brother had planned to open a bank account, stepping away from their mother in a shop he was last seen crossing the street towards the car containing the bomb.

Ms Hayes said she was thankful her mother didn’t see Alan’s body.

“I have always said ‘mum, you were never meant to see your son lying in the street like that with the injuries he sustained’.”

Ms Hayes said she had personal questions about everyone who had been with her brother in his last moments.

“I know there’s a lot of people who wouldn’t want to know those details, but for me, I need to know.

“It pains me so much to know that he died alone on the street in such a barbaric way. He didn’t deserve that death.”

Very sceptical of Irish Government’s commitment to Inquiry

“ I am very sceptical. When the Irish government isn’t taking part it’s not a full inquiry. So for me, there’s already a flaw

“So for me, there’s already a flaw and that doesn’t give me comfort knowing that this bomb was made in the south, the car was stolen in the south, the people are from the south, they went back across the government to the south.

“And the southern government have said they will help, but they’re not compelled to do so.

“For me, for Alan, that isn’t something that I wanted. I wanted it to be complete, robust, transparent for him so we know absolutely everything.”

On Tuesday, Tánaiste Simon Harris said during a visit to Stormont that the Irish government would cooperate in full, but that a legal mechanism was needed to hand over all documents.

Ms Hayes said nothing less than “complete disclosure” from the Irish government would do.

“Why not give us the full details, the full facts. Why not be part of this from day one?

“Find a mechanism? Just find it within yourself to go and get what we need.”

Ms Hayes said she expected the inquiry to find the bombing was preventable, but that it would be a “diluted” version of the truth.

She added that her mother (78) still feels unable to talk about the tragedy.

“She cannot go to that place, she’s never been able to. Mum suffers deeply. Alan was the wee man of our house and done so much with mum, for mum, he was very protective of her.”

On her own trauma, Ms Hayes also said she was suffering nightmares as the inquiry approached and felt like she was 15-years-old again.

Two victims only 20 months old when murdered by Real IRA

Liam Tunney, Belfast Telegraph, January 30th, 2025

A toddler who was murdered in the Omagh bombing “charmed everyone'” with her joyful demeanour, the inquiry has heard.

Maura Monaghan was just 20 months old when she died in the blast along with her mother Avril (30), who was pregnant with twins, and grandmother Mary Grimes (66).

Her sister, Aoibheann Monaghan, speaking through a presentation played for the inquiry, revealed her sisters had been given the names Eimear and Evelyn. She also recalled Maura winning first place in the local 'bonny baby' competition.

“Her bubbly personality and unmistakable head of curly hair made her stand out even as a baby, and she lit up every room she entered,” she said.

“From a young age, it was clear Maura had a joyful nature. She charmed everyone with her lively energy, always clapping her tiny hands and flashing a smile.

“Her bright eyes and playful demeanour made her a natural fit when our parents decided to enter her in the town's bonny baby competition at the local summer fair.

“Maura missed out on so many of life's milestones, including going to school, creating friendships, family holidays and life events. Though Maura's time with us was brief, her spirit lives on in the stories we share, the laughter we still find and the love that continues to bind our family together.

“Maura may have left this world too soon, but she will forever remain a shining light for us and we have no doubt that the world would have been a better place had she lived.” Through a further presentation, Aoibheann also told the story of her mother Avril and her unborn siblings to the inquiry. Photographs, including ultrasound scans of the twins, were shown on the screen. She said her mum had a great love of Irish sports and had approached life with a positive attitude.

“Our mummy was calm and nurturing and approached life with a can-do attitude. No matter the challenge, she faced it, and was never one to dwell on the negatives,” Aoibheann said.

“She had a love of traditional Irish sports like camogie and Irish dancing, as well as taking part in fundraisers and exchanges with Beragh youth club.

“It was in her late teens that mummy met our daddy Michael at a disco in Kelly's Inn. They began a courtship that led to a beautiful Christmas wedding at the Westenra Hotel Monaghan in 1991.

“Her life at the age of 30 was tragically cut short on August 15, 1998. On the day of our granny's 66th birthday, they travelled to Omagh to celebrate when fate intervened.

“The Omagh bomb stole our mummy from our loved ones, leaving behind a grieving husband and three of her children, aged only five, four and three, as well as the wider Monaghan and Grimes family.

“Our mummy was heavily pregnant with twins on the day of the Omagh bomb and she was due to give birth in two months.

“Our parents had discussed that they would be named Eimear and Evelyn - two little girls who our family were extremely excited to welcoming into the Monaghan and Grimes family circle.

“Unfortunately, that day did not come, and the pictures of the scan are a reminder of the many futures that never became a reality following the bomb on August 15, 1998. The loss we as a family have experienced over the last 26 years cannot be measured.

“We are, however, eternally grateful for the time we did have with them and we only hope that no other family has to suffer as we did.”

Former coroner said he could not recall any one family suffering such a heavy loss in the Troubles.

The story of Aoibheann's grandmother was relayed to the inquiry by her son Fearghal, who said she was a “wonderful wife, mother, grandmother, sister, friend and neighbour”. “The Omagh bomb changed all our lives forever,” he said. “A modest woman all her days, our mother let her actions and her endless compassion speak for her.

“She was happiest in the kitchen in Dromore, surrounded by her family and grandchildren, or on one of her regular trips down to Knockavilly to catch up with brothers and sisters. Her tragic passing in the cruellest of ways possible, the Omagh bomb, robbed us, her family, her husband, her friends and neighbours a chance to pay back the love and affection she had shown to all of us.

“The inquest in September 2000, coroner Mr John Leckey opened proceedings by saying he could not recall any one family suffering such a loss in the history of the Troubles.

“Were it not for their faith, love and compassion that our mother and our father Mick passed on to us 11 children and 28 grandchildren, and indeed the local community, they and we would not have been fit to carry on with the quiet dignity and resolve to make society a better place for everyone.”

Earlier, the inquiry heard the story of Breda Devine, who was also 20 months. She was with her mum in town, shopping for an upcoming family wedding.

Family solicitor Karl McGuckin told the inquiry: “Breda was born three months prematurely and was said to have clung to life in hospital and grown to be a healthy little girl.

“She was due to be the flower girl at the wedding of her uncle and auntie, which was due to take place the following weekend. The reason the family were in Omagh town centre was for Breda's mother to buy a wedding present for Breda's uncle and some shoes for Breda to wear at the wedding.

“Breda was the second youngest victim of the bomb and her funeral took place at St Mary's Church, Aughabrack. She was given a guard of honour by the GAA team her family was a part of.”

he inquiry continues today, where it will hear the stories of Debra-Anne Cartwright (20), Geraldine Breslin (43) and Gareth Conway (18).

Long accuses barristers of ‘unreasonable’ demands in legal aid dispute

David Young, Irish News, January 30th, 2025

THE justice minister yesterday accused criminal barristers of making “unreasonable” and “impossible” demands in an ongoing industrial dispute over fees.

Naomi Long asked why defence barristers are extending their ongoing boycott of legal aid-funded Crown Court cases for another four weeks given she has already committed to increasing their fee rates by 16%.

Ms Long said there are processes to follow before any rise can be introduced and she cannot simply click her fingers and make it happen immediately.

She also robustly rejected a claim from the Bar Council that her department has not been meaningfully engaging with barristers to find a resolution to the impasse.

Chief Constable Jon Boutcher also raised concerns about the action which has seen many Crown Court cases grind to a halt. He spoke to reporters after the launch of the PSNI’s Power to Change campaign yesterday.

He said the people most affected by the growing backlog of cases are victims and warned that the risk of them withdrawing support for prosecutions is likely to increase the longer the delays extend.

Members of the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) have not been appearing in legally-aided Crown Court cases in January, and on Tuesday night they announced the action will continue through February.

In addition to the withdrawal of services, criminal barristers have refused to take new instructions in the most serious cases since the beginning of November 2024.

Dispute to escalate in February

From February, the refusal to take new instructions will extend to multi-complainant “Category D” cases.

The CBA argues that fees for legally-aided criminal work have not been increased since 2005, rendering them worth just 50% of their original value.

Ms Long and Mr Boutcher were asked about the extension of the boycott as they attended the launch in Belfast of a new initiative to combat domestic violence and misogynistic attitudes in Northern Ireland.

“I stood up in December in the chamber and committed to the 16% increase in uplift in legal service fees for the profession,” said the minister.

“I think most people would find a 16% uplift in their fees quite a significant move from the department.”

Ms Long added: “It is not true to say that the department has not engaged. In fact, I have reached out and asked for an urgent meeting with the Bar. I already have a meeting scheduled with the Law Society.

“So it’s not true to say that – my officials have been constantly engaged and we have changed our order of programme in order to try to reflect their concerns.

“However, there are some things that they are demanding that are not just unreasonable, they are impossible. I have to go through due process in order to bring that 16% increase into being.

“There are processes in place that have to be followed and it doesn’t only apply to legal aid, it applies to every piece of public expenditure.

“I cannot simply click my fingers today and make that happen tomorrow.

“That is not a reasonable demand,” she said.