Summary

  • The Omagh Bombing Inquiry is examining whether the single worst atrocity of the Troubles could have been prevented

  • Twenty-nine people, including a woman expecting twins, were murdered in the Real IRA attack on 15 August 1998

  • Thursday will be the seventh day of hearings

  • The inquiry hears 17-year-old Samantha McFarland had been due to be a bridesmaid in September 1998

  • Sean McGrath was a businessman who was killed when the bomb exploded in the street where he was born 61 years earlier

  • Elizabeth "Libbi" Rush, who ran a business in Market Street, is described as the "moral compass" of her family

Live Reporting

Edited by Luke Sproule. Warning: This page contains distressing details

  1. Priority is 'truth for victims'

    Naomi Long wearing a black jumper. She has long red hair and is stood in front of a number of microphonesGetty Images

    Stormont’s Justice Minister Naomi Long said she would have “no objections” to a parallel inquiry running in the Republic of Ireland.

    The priority, she said, is "to make sure the victims of the Omagh bomb get the truth".

    "From my party perspective if that is the best way to get truth and justice then I would be supportive of them (the Irish government) taking it forward," Long said.

    She added: “Two parallel inquiries may mean people having to give evidence more than once, it may mean people having to be re-traumatised.”

  2. Not 'the right time' to discuss Irish inquiry

    Ahead of the resumption of the inquiry today, Michael Gallagher, whose son Aiden was one of those killed in the bombing, tells the BBC it’s not the right time to discuss whether the Irish government should have established its own parallel inquiry.

    "This is a hugely important discussion but not at this time. Let’s park it until we get these memorial hearings over," Mr Gallagher says.

    On Sunday former Irish government minister Charlie Flanagan said Ireland should have established its own parallel inquiry, adding he was concerned vital evidence may not be seen by the public inquiry.

    Michael Gallagher standing outside Omagh support group building. he has grey hair and is wearing glasses, a heavy overcoat and a red jumper

    Michael Gallager's son Aiden was killed in the 1998 bombing

    Mr Flanagan said an Irish inquiry could have worked in tandem with the one in the UK and said he feared "there will be gaps" in evidence.

    However Mr Gallagher said that in the here and now it was "important we give space and allow the families to concentrate on the memory of the victims".

    Mr Gallagher urged Flanagan and other politicians to come to the inquiry “not as politicians but as human beings, and listen and learn from that process."

  3. 'Senseless loss of a happy, young boy'

    Shaun is sitting on a bus while wearing a grey school jumper and a red shirt.Omagh Inquiry

    A presentation showing photos of Shaun are then played over a song played by the Omagh Community Choir - which was set up after the bombing.

    Afterwards, the chairman, Lord Turnbull, thanks Shaun's mother and says her statement shows the lasting effect on a mother following the "senseless" loss of her first-born son.

    "A child who was killed before he even reached his teenage years," he says.

    The statement and photos show the life of a "happy and young" boy in a supportive family. It also illustrates the "harm and pain" inflicted on the family.

    The inquiry is now on a break until 14:00 GMT.

  4. Shaun's poem on peace

    Irish President Mary McAleese walks past Shaun McLaughlin in a school hall.McLaughlin Family

    A picture of Shaun with Mary McAleese was shown at the inquiry

    In the months before the bomb, Shaun had written a poem that he had presented to the then Irish President Mary McAleese.

    It focused on peace and reconciliation.

    His aunt reads it to the inquiry: "Orange and green it doesn’t matter, united now, don’t shatter our dream.

    "Scatter the seeds of peace over our land, so we can travel hand in hand across the bridge of hope."

  5. Getting answers 'a constant battle'

    Shaun’s mother says she hopes the inquiry brings answers for the victims of the Omagh bombing.

    "It is difficult when stories about Omagh appear in the newspaper or television," she says.

    "The constant battle to get answers and find out what happened that day is relentless. None of the families deserved what happened that day."

  6. Siblings in 'pieces' after death

    Shaun McLaughlin (middle) smiles in a school photo alongside his sister Elaine and brother Christopher. All three are wearing a red school jumper and a white collared shirt. Elaine on the left has shoulder length dark hair and a full fringe, beside her is Shaun who has dark short hair and on the right is Christopher with blond hair. They are smiling as they stand in front of a blue background.McLaughlin family

    Shaun had two siblings - Elaine and Christopher - who were in "complete pieces" after Shaun's death.

    Ms McLaughlin says Christopher shared a room with Shaun, and could not sleep in his own bed or enter the room for six months after the attack.

    She says that Christopher had recurring nightmares and had to sleep in his parent's bed.

    Elaine insisted on sleeping in Shaun's bed, and eventually the pair had to swap rooms.

    "Christopher did eventually settle down but it was a long time before his nightmares stopped," she adds.

  7. Politicians made funeral 'a farce'

    Mrs McLaughlin says that after Shaun's death she was "totally numb" and angry, and that she did not process anything until a month or six weeks after the bombing.

    She describes the funeral as a "total farce".

    "There were too many important people from the political parties.

    "They all even had reserved seats, but there was no reserved seats for the three families who were burying their children."

    She adds at one point, her brothers asked people to move so the family could sit.

    "My son was buried before I could even get near his grave."

  8. Mum insisted son's coffin would not be closed

    Later on that Sunday evening, Shaun’s mother went to Omagh to see her son.

    “I think at that point you do not actually see things right but we had to go because until I had seen Shaun, I still thought he was going to come home,” she says.

    His remains were brought home on the Monday.

    His mother says she insisted that his coffin would be open during the wake.

    shaun mclaughlinMcLaughlin family

    “I was told it could not but I insisted. They had to do a lot of work to cover up the injuries. The state of his face meant it took a lot longer than they thought it would,” she says.

    She recalls the huge crowds that attended his funeral, and how thousands of people stood at the roadside.

    People came to the family home “all day and all night”.

    “It was a distraction but at that stage I was somewhere else,” she says.

  9. Identified by his watch

    Shaun’s father, John, searched several hospitals.

    He eventually found the 12-year-old in the early hours of the morning after the bombing at Omagh Leisure centre, the inquiry is told.

    The schoolboy could not be easily identified because he had “been very badly disfigured”.

    His dad had been able to identify him by his watch, his mother says.

    Later on that Sunday morning, the family gathered at their home in Buncrana.

    “I started to then think about how we would be bringing Shaun back home. We were told it would be Tuesday at the earliest – that meant Shaun would be on his own from Saturday to Tuesday. I couldn’t cope with this, I became very emotional and annoyed."

  10. 'Shaun never got off the bus'

    As details began to emerge of the attack, the family were in touch with the police but did not go to Omagh.

    They were told the bus with the students would be coming back to Buncrana at about 9pm.

    "We still thought there would be a chance that the boys would be on it," she says.

    "We went to the school and I think it was at that stage for some reason I felt there was a good chance that they were not going home.

    "I sat and watched all the other children get off the bus, but Shaun never got off."

    Mrs McLaughlin says her husband then left for Omagh, which began the "longest night of my life".

  11. Shaun was 'so excited' about trip

    Shaun McLaughlin with his mum - he is being hugged by his mum and is laughing. A man is planting a kiss on the cheek of his mumMcLaughlin family

    One of the pictures shown during the tribute

    Mrs McLaughlin says Shaun loved playing football and cycling with his friends. He was a "happy, lively and content" boy.

    His mother continues that Shaun had been "so excited" about the trip, having been for the previous two years.

    His mother says she wasn't aware the students would be going into town after a trip to the Ulster American Folk Park museum.

    Shaun's mother says she was getting groceries when she was told a bus from Buncrana had been caught up in the attack.

  12. Mother did not think son was going into Omagh

    After a 20-minute break, we're now hearing about Shaun McLaughlin.

    He was 12 years old when he was killed in the attack.

    A statement from Shaun's mother Patricia McLaughlin is read out by his aunt, Marjorie McDaid.

    She says Shaun was on a school trip when he was killed, but she did not think he was going into the town itself.

    Shaun was her first baby and only five and a half pounds when he was born, the statement continues.

    Ms McLaughlin says that it was a difficult birth, in which the pair almost died, but they had made a full recovery.

    Patricia McLaughlin and her sister Marjorie McDaid at the Omagh bomb inquiry. They are sitting at a table. Mrs McLaughlin has paper in front of her, while her sister reads them. Mrs McLaughlin has a tan duffel coat on and her sister has a black coat with a fur trim. Both are wearing glassesOmagh Bombing Inquiry

  13. Pictures of 'deeply loved' daughter

    A sepia toned picture of Esther Gibson in a school uniform - a striped tie, a grey jumper and a white collared shirt.Omagh Inquiry

    Here are some of the pictures of Ms Gibson shown during her pen portrait.

    The tribute, read by her niece, says that she was raised in a rural community in County Tyrone, living on the family farm with her mother and father.

    It also describes Ms Gibson as the eldest daughter in a "close-knit family" who took on responsibilities from a young age.

    She had a passion for learning and community engagement, and was in the Girl Guides.

    Two black and white photos are sat side by side on a white background showing Esther Gibson as a baby wearing a white dress.Omagh Inquiry
    Esther Gibson is standing in front of a grey car wearing her brown and yellow Girl Guides uniform.Omagh Inquiry

  14. 'Cruelly robbed of a new life'

    Inquiry chairman Rt Hon Lord Turnbull responds to the tributes by thanking her four sisters for sharing them.

    He says Ms Gibson was “plainly a generous and caring Christian person" who had “a strong sense of community”.

    She was a role model for others, he adds, through her “life and personality”.

    Ms Gibson, he said, had been “cruelly robbed” of a new life “full of promise and happiness”.

  15. 'Broken spirits, shattered dreams'

    Caroline Martin sits at a desk behind two microphones. She has short blond hair and is wearing a feathery black coatOmagh Bombing Inquiry

    Caroline Martin read a poem on behalf of her three other sisters. Esther was the eldest.

    Esther Gibson's sister, Caroline Martin, began her testimony with a poem written by a close relative.

    It referred to Ms Gibson as a "silent, special bridesmaid" at Ms Martin's wedding.

    The pair had agreed that the younger sister would get married first.

    The poem references a bouquet of blue flowers which were left on the communion table on Ms Martin's wedding day as a tribute to her sister.

    It ends: "Broken spirits, shattered dreams, blue ribbons holding together memories, sweet memories that will linger always."

  16. 'Warmth and generosity' remembered

    A cover page of a presentation which says Pen Portrait on Behalf of the Gibson Family, with a picture of Esther Gibson beside it. She is wearing a polar neck and a silver necklaceOmagh Bombing Inquiry

    This morning's hearing begins with a tribute to Esther Gibson, who was shopping on the day of the attack.

    Pictures of Ms Gibson are played on a screen as an overview of her life is narrated by her niece.

    She is described as a devoted Christian, who was known for her "warmth and generosity".

    It adds that Ms Gibson was "deeply loved" by her family and her absence is profoundly felt.

  17. Inquiry begins

    The second week of the Omagh Bombing Inquiry is now under way.

    You can stream the inquiry by clicking "watch live" at the top of this page.

  18. 'I died with her'

    Omagh bomb victim Esther GibsonGibson family

    One of those who will be commemorated on Monday is Esther Gibson, a Sunday school teacher who was shopping in Omagh when she died.

    The 36-year-old had been preparing for her wedding, which was due to take place the following summer, and she and her fiancé Kenneth had their engagement portrait taken in the town that day.

    After her death Kenneth said: "When they killed her I died with her."

    You can read more about the 29 victims here.

  19. Remembering the Buncrana schoolboys

    Eight year old Oran Doherty standing in a garden wearing a black shirtDoherty family

    The first day of the second week of the inquiry will remember two schoolboys from Buncrana in the Republic of Ireland.

    Eight-year-old Oran Doherty was a student at Buncrana Primary School, and was killed alongside friends James Barker and Shaun McLaughlin.

    He had been looking forward to the trip to Omagh and his sister gave him sweets for the journey because had was a bad traveller, she said.

    A smiling Shaun McLaughlin stands in front of a wall. He is wearing a blue sweatshirtMcLaughlin family

    Tributes will also be heard on Monday to Shaun McLaughlin, 12, who went to the same school and lived close to his friend Oran in their hometown in County Donegal.

    He was a Manchester United supporter and an altar boy at a church in Buncrana.

    You can read more about the 29 victims here.

  20. What happened in Omagh on 15 August 1998?

    Two men stand in the rubble and aftermath of the 1998 omagh bombPA Media

    The bomb detonated in a car parked in the middle of the town

    The Omagh bombing on 15 August 1998 killed 29 people, including a woman pregnant with twins.

    The dissident republican Real IRA later claimed responsibility for the attack, in which more than 200 people were injured.

    It exploded on a busy Saturday afternoon.

    The town's streets were packed with shoppers, including families buying uniforms and other school supplies for the beginning of the new term.

    It is the worst single atrocity of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

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

    The Real IRA - a dissident republican paramilitary group - disagreed with the decision of the much larger Provisional IRA to call a ceasefire ahead of the talks.

    To read a detailed timeline of events, click here.