'Cruelty inflicted' on family who lost three in bombing

An ultrasound picture of Avril Monaghan's unborn twins has been shown at the Omagh Bombing Inquiry - an attack which also claimed the lives of her mother and daughter.

The inquiry heard the Real IRA (RIRA) bombing changed the family forever.

The attack, carried out in 1998, was the biggest single atrocity of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

It claimed the lives of Mrs Monaghan, 30; her 20-month-old daughter, Maura; as well as her mother, Mary Grimes, 66.

Inquiry chairman Lord Turnbull said the family's loss was "incomprehensible".

He made reference to a coroner stating in 2020 that no single family had ever suffered such a loss in the entirety of the troubles.

"Twenty-six years later, those words still resonate as a powerful measure of the extent of the cruelty inflicted upon this family," he said.

Mrs Grimes, a former nurse and midwife, was killed on her 66th birthday.

Family members testified to the inquiry on Tuesday afternoon - the first time they had ever spoken publicly about the attack.

Fearghal Grimes, one of Mary's children, reading from a statement, said: "The Omagh bomb changed all our lives forever".

"Our mother had a strong Catholic faith, a strong work ethic, and a deep sense of family values, and she lived these out every day."

Pictures of Mrs Grimes were shown.

The inquiry was then played a video tribute to Avril Monaghan, spoken by her daughter, Aoibheann.

"Her life at the age of 30 was tragically cut short on 15 August 1998.

"On the day of our granny's 66th birthday, they travelled to Omagh to celebrate when fate intervened.

"Our mummy was heavily pregnant with twins, and she was due to give birth in two months."

She said they were to be named Eimear and Evelyn.

"The pictures of the scan are a reminder of the futures that never became a reality following the bomb.

"The loss we as a family have experienced over the last 26 years cannot be measured and there is no replacement for time we would have had with mummy, Maura, Eimear, Evelyn and granny."

Claire Hayes, whose brother Alan Radford was killed in the bomb when he was 16, said she was sceptical of the outcome of the inquiry due to what she believes is a lack of transparency from government bodies.

The said she believes the conclusion of the inquiry will bring out "a very diluted version of the truth".

Ms Hayes made her comments before addressing the inquiry, which is sitting for a second day at the Strule Arts Centre in Omagh.

Speaking to BBC's Good Morning Ulster, Ms Hayes said the inquiry would give families an answer as to whether the bomb could have been stopped, but that she doubted the full truth would emerge.

"There are too many redactions that can be made, there are too many protections in place for the likes of MI5 or informants or whoever," she continued.

"When the Irish government isn't partaking in it, it's not a full inquiry so for me there's already a flaw.

"We need complete transparency from the southern government."

She added that while the Irish government has said it will help "they're not compelled to do so and - for me, for Alan - that's not something I wanted".

"I wanted it to be completely robust and completely transparent for him so we know absolutely everything."

Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Micheál Martin said on Tuesday that he has made it "very clear" that the Irish government must cooperate fully with the inquiry.

Tánaiste (deputy Irish prime minister) Simon Harris said the Irish government would "not be found wanting".

The Irish government has promised to co-operate with the inquiry – the bombers launched the attack from across the border.

Dublin previously indicated there was no new evidence to merit a separate public inquiry in the Republic of Ireland.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer welcomed the Irish government's commitment to co-operate with the inquiry.

He said Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn had raised the importance of working together with the Irish government at a previous meeting

Sir Keir was responding to a question from Democratic Unionist Party ( DUP) leader Gavin Robinson who asked the prime minister to use his office to ensure the "truth is delivered and justice arrives for the families".

• TIMELINE: The families' search for justice
• VICTIMS: Who were the 29 people who died?

The inquiry was told on Wednesday that Alan Radford died helping his mother do the weekly shopping.

Ms Hayes gave evidence about the Omagh High School pupil, who was one of five siblings, adding that he had "a heart of gold".

"Whereas other teenage boys would have been knocking about the park, he had so much dedication to my mother he went every Saturday with her into town to help carry the shopping home.

"Alan was by her side every week."

She said he would have helped neighbours cook, clean and cut the grass.

"He was so loving, so compassionate, with everybody."

Recalling an untypical teenage boy "with the innocence of a new-born child", she said he had been bullied.

He had hoped to attend Omagh College and pursue a career in the hospitality sector.

On the day of the bombing, Ms Hayes said she remembered her brother leaving home with his mother and telling him to get his hair cut.

Following the explosion, her brother Paul had gone into Omagh to help the victims, but he never found Alan.

Twenty-four hours later, the family got a phone call to go to the temporary morgue.

Alan's body was covered in a tartan blanket, but Paul knew it was him by his hair.

"Alan was my other half. There are no words for the immense grief I feel.

"My life has been shattered.

"Alan would only have wanted justice, peace and for human kindness to prevail."

The inquiry chairman, Lord Turnbull, thanked her for taking part, adding: "It is clear that for you and for others, the world is a much poorer place without him."

Another of the lives marked at the inquiry on Tuesday was that of Breda Devine who, at just 20-months-old, was the second youngest victim of the attack.

A short statement was read out by a solicitor.

Her mother, Tracey, who was badly injured in the bombing, had taken her into town to buy shoes for a family wedding the following weekend.

She was due to have been a flower girl.

The inquiry is seeking to determine whether the bombing could have been prevented by UK state authorities.

This phase of the inquiry will last four weeks and is also hearing evidence from survivors and first responders.

The bomb exploded in Omagh town centre on a busy Saturday afternoon on 15 August 1998.

The attack took place four months after the signing of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.

The RIRA - a dissident republican paramilitary group - disagreed with the Provisional IRA's decision to call a ceasefire ahead of the talks and continued to plant car bombs in towns across Northern Ireland.

But the Omagh bomb was by far the RIRA's most deadly attack.

Nine children, including a baby, were among the dead.

More than 200 other people were wounded, some of whom survived with life-changing injuries.

Three days after the 1998 attack, the Real IRA released a statement claiming responsibility for the explosion.

It apologised to "civilian" victims and said its targets had been commercial.

Almost 27 years on, no-one has been convicted of carrying out the murders by a criminal court.

In 2009, the judge in that case ruled four of the men - Michael McKevitt, Liam Campbell, Colm Murphy and Seamus Daly were all liable for the Omagh bomb.

The four men were ordered to pay a total of £1.6m in damages to the relatives, but appeals against the ruling delayed the compensation process.

A fifth man, Seamus McKenna, was acquitted in the civil action and later died in a roofing accident in 2013.