Nuala O’Loan
Saturday August 15, 1998 was a glorious summer day. Like thousands of others, I will never forget it. At approximately 3.05pm that afternoon a massive terrorist bomb exploded in Omagh. Three telephone calls were made, the first at 2.29pm warning that a bomb was going to detonate in the town. Police were clearing the streets when the bomb exploded. Twenty-nine people and two unborn children died in the explosion. Some 250 people were injured, some of them seriously. There was very extensive damage to property. It was the single worst terrorist incident since the start of ‘The Troubles’ in 1969.
Responsibility for the bomb was claimed by the Real Irish Republican Army (RIRA). A police investigation was established after the bombing, but no-one has been prosecuted for the murders in Northern Ireland.
Investigation
Nearly three years later I was Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland when, on July 29, 2001, the lead story in the Sunday People newspaper was about allegations from a man described as a former British security force agent, called Kevin Fulton. It was headed “I told cops about Omagh”, and the implication was that the Omagh Bomb could have been prevented had the police acted on the information which Kevin Fulton had provided. The article also included other serious allegations.
I discussed it in detail with my staff and concluded, on balance, that it was in the public interest, to investigate the allegations being made by Kevin Fulton and any other surrounding and relevant issues in relation to this matter.
It was a profoundly difficult investigation but by the end of it, it was clear that there had been major problems with the investigation including the fact that Special Branch had not shared relevant material with the investigators, and that a detailed anonymous call was made to police on August 4, 1998 which stated that an unspecified attack would be made on police in Omagh on August 15, 1998. The police officer who received the telephone call informed Special Branch immediately. The Omagh Commander, who should have been informed of the threat, was not told about it until two years later on August 15, 2000. Had he been told about it he could have decided what action to take to protect the town and its police officers on August 15, 1998.
Other intelligence was also identified relevant to the Omagh bombing, which was not shared as it should have been.
We rapidly also established that, following a very good internal review of the Omagh investigation, the RUC were aware that there had been major failings in the investigation including the fact that significant intelligence held by Special Branch was not shared with the investigators. Little had been done to address the many issues raised.
No attempt was made to investigate whether there were any links”
Among the intelligence not shared by Special Branch was material relating to previous linked explosions: in January 1998 in Enniskillen; in February 1998 in Moira; in April 1998 in Lisburn, in May 1998 in Belleek; in July 1998 in Newry, and in August 1998 in Banbridge. In July 1998 there had also been an attempted mortar attack in Newry. No attempt was made to investigate whether there were any links between those explosions and what happened in Omagh.
Then there emerged information about listening exercises by British authorities on particular telephones in Ireland during the relevant period.
Determination
It became clear that RIRA had been operating across the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Eventually a Garda sergeant, John White, produced copious information to me about the alleged involvement of a Garda informant in procuring cars for RIRA for use in the North. This information, he said, was reported back to Garda authorities, who took some action. His information included the fact that his informant had been asked to supply a particular car with a big boot, capable of carrying a very significant load to be used by RIRA before the Omagh bombing, that the informant had been unable to find a car and that eventually another car was found which was used by the Omagh bombers. I reported it to the Irish Government.
There is evidence that the bomb was made in Ireland and driven into Northern Ireland on August 15, 1998.
I have always said that “The persons responsible for the Omagh Bombing are the terrorists who planned and executed the atrocity”.
The courage and determination of the relatives of those killed has been extraordinary. They sought a series of inquiries and brought court actions, north and south over decades seeking to establish what had happened and much more information emerged in court hearings about the activities of RIRA.
The judge said there would be real advantage if one were to take place”
In July 2021, Mr Justice Horner in the NI High Court said he was satisfied that there were “certain grounds which give rise to plausible arguments that there was a real prospect of preventing the Omagh bombing that deserve to be fully investigated through an Article 2 ECHR compliant investigation.” While not within his power to order an investigation in the Republic of Ireland, the judge said there would be real advantage if one were to take place simultaneously with one in Northern Ireland. In 2023 the British Government established a public inquiry to determine whether the bomb could have been prevented by UK state authorities. It held a preliminary hearing in July 2024 and began substantive hearings on January 28 this year.
Opportunity
The Irish Government has promised full cooperation with the British Inquiry but has not established its own inquiry into what happened in Ireland before the bombing. It should do so.
These terrorists were working across the border. They were able to do so, despite the existence of anti-terrorist activity in the UK and Ireland.
This is an opportunity to learn from the past, to care for the victims and survivors of Omagh. We need to be able to reassure them and the public in general that we know what happened, that we have identified how the Real IRA were able to operate with impunity in 1998.
People need to know, above all, that their governments will not cover up”
We have a responsibility to those so terribly affected by the Omagh Bomb to provide the most complete picture possible. This will emerge most effectively if there are two inquiries running side by side sharing all relevant information, with one aim; to establish what was known, whether the bomb could have been prevented.
People need to know, above all, that their governments will not cover up at times like this, but will act with courage and integrity.
There had been major failings in the investigation including the fact that significant intelligence held by Special Branch was not shared with the investigators”
The courage and determination of the relatives of those killed has been extraordinary. They sought a series of inquiries and brought court actions, north and south over decades seeking to establish what had happened”