Gerard McSorley was traveling the day a bomb shook the foundations of Omagh -- his hometown. He was returning to Dublin, where he was living at the time, and his sister, who was in London struggling to piece together the events of the day, was frantic to reach him. On entering his house, he answered the phone to his sister's hysterics. Images of bodies and general confusion … [Read more...] about Omagh
Omagh
Omagh Suspect’s Trial Date Set
The trial of the alleged leader of the "Real IRA," Michael McKevitt, is expected to go ahead in February. McKevitt is the first man in Ireland to be charged with directing terrorist activities and faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. The dissident republican, who is married to Bernadette Sands, the sister of hunger striker Bobby Sands, is said to have led the gang … [Read more...] about Omagh Suspect’s Trial Date Set
Fury Over Claim That Omagh
Bomb Warnings Were Ignored
A report on the Omagh atrocity has heavily criticized the controversial Special Branch of the Northern Irish police force for allegedly failing to act on an informer's warning that dissident republicans intended to launch an attack in the County Tyrone town. A wave of disgust greeted the news that the warning had been received 11 days before the massive Real IRA bomb ripped the … [Read more...] about Fury Over Claim That Omagh
Bomb Warnings Were Ignored
The Last Word: The Far Side of Revenge
There was a terrible silence in Omagh in the days after the bombing. It seemed that not even birdsong could be heard in a town that was full of life and joy and laughter when the world turned upside down on 15 August 1998. To those who know nothing of Northern Ireland it may seem distasteful to engage in the arithmetic of tragedy, but the difference with Omagh was that the … [Read more...] about The Last Word: The Far Side of Revenge