Inquest hears true toll of Omagh bomb

In this story: Confused bomb warnings Attempt to count twins among fatalities RELATED STORIES, SITES

OMAGH, Northern Ireland (Reuters) -- The true toll of the bomb which devasted the market town of Omagh in Northern Ireland is far in excess of the 29 who lost their lives in the blast, an inquest was told.

Charting the horror of the 1998 car-bombing by renegade republicans opposed to British rule, Coroner John Leckey said more than 300 people were injured -- some very seriously -- and other mentally scarred for life.

Among the uncounted victims of Northern Ireland's worst-ever bombing were the unborn twins of a pregnant woman.

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"The true number of casualties -- and the word 'casualties' deserves to have a generous interpretation -- from the Omagh bomb explosion is, without doubt, far in excess of the number killed and injured, and the exact number may never be known," the coroner said.

The inquest opened as a massive investigation by police on both sides of the border showed little sign of progress. Police say they know who the bombers are but lack evidence to charge them.

The bomb was set off by the "Real IRA," which split from the Irish Republican Army. The Real IRA opposes the peace process, which, after 30 years of violence, has given Northern Ireland a new power-sharing government of pro-British Protestant and pro-Irish Roman Catholic parties.

In an opening statement to the inquest, which is expected to last four weeks, Leckey said his job was to establish facts, not to apportion criminal blame.

"The hearing of the inquests into the deaths of the 29 deceased ... will be a harrowing time for their families and, inevitably, it will resurrect many sad and unpleasant memories," he told families and lawyers in a municipal leisure complex fitted out as a coroner's court for the four-week hearing.

The inquest heard on Wednesday how republican paramilitaries delivered conflicting telephone warnings just minutes before the blast. Police were still trying to clear the main street in Omagh when the bomb went off.

Margaret Hall, a programme assistant with Ulster Television in Belfast, told how she answered two telephone bomb warnings in three minutes from a man who spoke nervously in a muffled voice.

The calls pinpointed Omagh but the warning time changed between the calls.

In the first call she thought the caller was "some sort of nutcase." She added: "I then heard him say: 'Bomb. Courthouse. Omagh. Main Street. 500 lbs (230 kg). Explosion 30 minutes'."

In the second call, he gave the codeword "Martha Pope" and then said: "Fifteen minutes. Bomb. Omagh town."

Another witness said she received a warning call that placed the bomb about 200 yards (metres) from the courthouse.

The bomb had exploded just after 3 p.m., on a fine Saturday afternoon when the town was thronged with shoppers.

Leckey recalled that one of the victims, Avril Monaghan, was pregnant when she was killed.

"As a consequence of the explosion 29 persons died including a 30-year-old woman who was about 34 weeks pregnant and expecting twin girls.

"The unborn twin girls also died as a result of the bomb explosion. Who could deny that the true number of fatalities was in reality 31?"

Monaghan's 18-month-old daughter Maura Teresa and her mother Mary Grimes, 65, were also killed in the explosion.

Lawyer Barry Fox, for Monaghan's family, asked Leckey to rule that the inquest was on 31 victims, rather than 29.

Leckey deferred the matter pending the examination of Monaghan's death at a later stage in the inquest.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Northern Ireland Office
Omagh District Council - Northern Ireland
Police Press Releases on the Omagh Bomb

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