The Omagh Bombing Inquiry is examining whether the worst atrocity of the Troubles could have been prevented
The third day is happening in Strule Arts Centre in the County Tyrone town
Twenty-nine people, including a woman expecting twins, were murdered in the Real IRA attack on 15 August 1998
Relatives have the opportunity to speak or provide statements in memory of those who died
Thursday morning heard a tribute to Debra-Anne Cartwright, 20
The inquiry then heard a personal tribute from Gareth McCrystal, the son of 43-year-old victim Geraldine Breslin
The next commemoration was of Gareth Conway, 18, from his sister
Ross McKee
BBC News NI
Thank you for joining us today for the second day of coverage of the Omagh Bombing Inquiry.
The live page was written by myself and Catherine Moore. It was edited by Amy Stewart.
Join us again tomorrow, Thursday, at 10am for further coverage of the inquiry.
The chairman of the inquiry expresses his gratitude to the Grimes, Ahern and Monaghan families for the assistance they have provided to the inquiry.
He says the killing of Mary Grimes, Avril Monaghan, and Maura Monaghan along with Avril’s unborn children constitutes an “incomprehensible loss”.
Lord Turnbull says Mary Grimes was clearly one of the “most decent, kind, and hard working mothers and friends, one could encounter”.
He says the strength of love Avril Monaghan displayed to her children and the family bonds created have continued to guide them.
He says her daughter Aoibheann, in expressing her thanks to the friends and community for support, had shown a level of dignity and compassion that was “truly humbling”.
He expressed profound gratitude to the families for their assistance.
Baby Maura had a "joyful nature," Aoibheann says, charming everyone with her "lively energy", always clapping her hands and smiling.
Her parents entered her in their town's Bonny Baby Competition at the local summer fair, a tradition celebrating the babies in the community.
Maura's curly hair and infectious laughter "easily won the judges over".
This is just one of "many cherished milestones", Aoibheann says, adding that Maura had "so much to give the world".
She missed out on "so many of life's milestones", Aoibheann says - going to school, making friendships, family holidays and life events.
"Though Maura's time with us was brief, her spirit lives on in the stories we share, the laughter we still find and the love that continues to bind our family together," she adds.
"Maura may have left this world too soon but she will forever remain a shining light for us and we have no doubt that the world would be a better place had she lived."
Image source, Family pictureA presentation is now played with photographs of baby Maura, the youngest victim of the bomb, along with a tribute read by her sister Aoibheann.
Maura was born in 1996 and "quickly became a source of light and joy to our family and everyone around her", Aoibheann says.
She had a "bubbly personality and "unmistakable head of curly hair".
"She lit up every room she entered," Aoibheann adds.
At the beginning of 1997 the family celebrated Maura's christening - which Aoibheann says was "such a special day".
"She was dressed in a delicate gown that had been in the family for generations."
Image source, Family pictureAoibheann says she knows that her mother Avril "would have been proud of all that we as a family have achieved" - and pictures from Aoibheann and her sister's weddings to the opening of their brother's pizza shop and the birth of the first grandchild, are shown.
"In a life marked by joy, love and loss, our mummy's story remains one of devotion to her family, a dedication to community and a profound love that continues to inspire those she left behind," Aoibheann says.
She knows that those they have lost are "guardian angels" for the family.
But - their loss "cannot be measured", Aoibheann says, and there is "no replacement" for the time they would have had together.
However she says the family are "eternally grateful for the time we did have with them and we only hope that no other family has to suffer as we did".
Aoibheann thanks her family, friends and community for their support and love over the years.
"It has got us through the darkest and toughest of days."
The inquiry is shown an image of a poem written by Avril, called Peace. An extract is below.
"Oh that we, before it is too late,
Could cast aside the curse of war and hate,
Then pray that conflict among men would cease
and let the world rejoice in love and peace."
Image source, Family pictureIn her down-time Avril liked to knit, which reflected her "patient spirit", Aoibheann says.
But on the day of the Omagh bomb, her life was "tragically cut short", along with the lives of her mother, Mary, daughter, Maura, and her unborn twins.
It was Mary's 66th birthday, and they had travelled to Omagh to celebrate.
Avril left behind a grieving husband, and three other children aged only five, four and three, as well as the wider family.
A photograph of the twins' ultrasound scan is shown in the presentation.
"Our parents had discussed that they would be named Eimear and Evelyn - two little girls who our family was extremely excited to meet and welcome into the Monaghan and Grimes family circle," Aoibheann says.
"Unfortunately that day did not come and the pictures of the scans are a reminder of the many futures that never became a reality following the bomb."
Avril's wedding dress was "lovingly made by her sister Mary", Aoibheann says, and her parents honeymooned in Tenerife.
At home, they created a "warm and nurturing environment for their family".
By the age of 30, Avril was the proud mother of four children, with twins on the way, Aoibheann says.
"Each of her children brought her joy but her third child Patrick was a particularly special addition to the family as he was the first boy on the Monaghan side."
Between the children's births, Avril worked as an accounts clerk in a local Omagh business.
"She was calm and nurturing and approached life with a can-do attitude," Aoibheann adds.
"No matter the challenge she faced it and was never one to dwell on the negatives."
Image source, Family pictureA presentation of photographs of Avril Monaghan, Mary's daughter, is now played to the inquiry, with a pen portrait recorded by Avril's daughter, Aoibheann.
Avril's life began in the "farmlands of County Tyrone", with nine brothers, one sister and her parents.
From a young age she cooked meals for the family and learned to manage a bustling household, Aoibheann says.
Image source, Family pictureShe attended local primary school and later Loreto Grammar School in Omagh.
She went to university in Coleraine but "the pull of home was too strong and she soon returned to the familiar comforts of her family", Aoibheann says.
Avril loved camogie and Irish dancing and took part in fundraisers with the local youth club.
She met her husband Michael when she was in her late teens at a disco in Kelly's in Ballygawley, Aoibheann adds.
"They began a courtship that led to a beautiful Christmas wedding in 1991."
Fearghal says Mary's "tragic passing in the cruellest of ways possible" robbed her family and friends of the "chance to pay back the love and affection she had shown to all of us".
The "massive crowds" at Mary's funeral - and at the funerals of her daughter Avril, granddaughter Maura and Avril's unborn twins - "reflected the enormity of the loss", he says.
At the Omagh Bombing Inquest in 2000 the coroner said he could not remember "any one family suffering such a loss in the history of the Troubles," Fearghal adds.
"Were it not for the faith, love and compassion that our mother and father passed onto us 11 children and 28 grandchildren, and indeed to the local community, they and we would not have been fit to carry on with the quiet dignity and resolution to make society a better place for everyone."
Image source, Family pictureThe inquiry hears that Mary Grimes initially worked as a district nurse and midwife following her marriage.
However, she later gave up these roles to devote all her time to the family home.
He says with her husband Mick they raised 11 children, running a large dairy farm.
"Our mother Mary was never idle,” her son Fearghal adds.
He added that she helped out in the milking parlour every day, never stopped cooking and knitted various items.
He also said she “had a strong Catholic faith, a strong work ethic and a deep sense of family values”.
Image source, Family pictureA picture of Mary was shown in the inquiry
At the inquiry this afternoon, Fearghal Grimes will speak about his mother, Mary, and Aoibheann Monaghan will speak about her mother, Avril.
Fearghal sits at the inquiry with his brother Patrick. He reads a pen portrait that they have both written.
"Our mother woke up on the morning of 15 August looking forward to her birthday, going to Mass and to town with her pregnant daughter Avril and granddaughter Maura," he says.
However the Omagh bomb "changed all [their] lives forever".
Image source, Omagh InquiryMary was a "wonderful wife, mother, grandmother, sister, friend and neighbour," Fearghal says.
She grew up on the family farm with three brothers and five sisters before training as a nurse and midwife and working in Glasgow.
While on a break to County Tyrone she met their father, Mick, and they soon got married.
Initially she worked as a district nurse, Fearghal says, but when children arrived she gave up these roles to "devote all the time to the family home".
Image source, Family pictureThe inquiry has now resumed and you can click the play button at the top of the page to follow along.
The afternoon session will commemorate three generations of one family.
They were Avril Monaghan, who was pregnant with twins, her daughter Maura, the youngest victim and Avril's mother Mary Grimes
Enda McClafferty
BBC News NI political editor
The Prime Minister was speaking at Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has welcomed the Irish government's commitment to cooperate with the Omagh bombing inquiry.
Sir Keir was responding to a question from 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".
Sir Keir also reminded MP's that the High Court in Belfast had previously recommended that the Irish government also hold a public inquiry.
He said it was a "cross border atrocity" as the bomb was prepared and transported from the Republic of Ireland.
The Irish government had previously ruled out holding a separate public inquiry insisting there was no new evidence to merit one.
But the victims families have urged the Irish government to reconsider and some have warned of taking court action if Dublin fails to fully cooperate.
Yesterday the Tánaiste (Irish Deputy Prime Minister) Simon Harris said Dublin would fully cooperate with the Omagh bombing Inquiry, but that it still had to find the "right mechanism" for the co-operation.
The inquiry is currently on a break for lunch.
We will be back when it resumes, in about an hour.
Image source, FamilyThe inquiry resumes and pen portrait evidence is read out on behalf of Breda Devine's family, by their lawyer.
She was a toddler killed in the bomb, while out with her mother Tracey.
The lawyer says Breda was 20 months old at the time of her death.
She had been born three months prematurely and was said to have “clung to life in hospital and had grown to be a healthy little girl”.
“She was from Donemana, County Tyrone, where her family lived and had three siblings.
“On 15 August she was out in Omagh town centre with her mother, uncle and future auntie at the time of the explosion.
"She was due to be the flower girl at the wedding of her uncle and auntie which was due to take place the following weekend.
"The reason the family was in Omagh town centre was for Breda’s mother to buy a wedding present for Breda’s uncle and shoes for Breda to wear at the wedding.”
He says Breda was the second youngest victim of the bomb and that at her funeral she was given a guard of honour by the “GAA team her family were a part of”.
The inquiry is now back and the feed has now resumed.
You can watch it by clicking on the play button at the top of the page.
Image source, Family pictureAs Claire Hayes concludes, a beautiful montage of images is played reflecting the life of Alan Radford, set to Celine Dion's music.
We have included two pictures from this montage.
It concludes with the words: "Loved and remembered everyday."
Image source, Radford family pictureChairman Lord Turnbull then addresses Claire Hayes.
He says it is clear from “what you have said so eloquently that Alan was a much loved and loving son, brother and uncle”.
“He must have been a great source of support and pride for your mother and perhaps you would be kind enough to pass on to her that it has been obvious to all of us that she had such good reason to be proud of him,” he adds.
“It is clear that for you and for others, the world is a much poorer place without him."
He thanks her for her generosity in helping the inquiry understand who Alan was and what his loss meant.
Finally, Claire describes Alan as her "other half".
"There are no words for the immense grief I feel, how shattered my life has been without him. Alan would only have wanted justice, peace and for humankind to prevail."
She calls for those who "caused this carnage to be made to face the consequences".
Claire says she would like to finish with some Celine Dion lyrics. An extract is below.
"For all the times you stood by me
For all the the truth you made me see,
"For all the joy you brought to my life,
"And for all the wrong that you made right,
"For every dream that you made come true,
"And for all the love I found in you,
"I will forever be thankful."
The final part of Alan's pen portrait focuses on remarks from his family, read by Claire.
Alan's brother, Paul, says Alan was "too innocent and too young".
His sister, Elaine, says their family has been "broken beyond repair".
"Our family has been changed beyond all recognition," she says.
Elaine's statement adds that she felt unsafe after Alan's murder and "terrified" the same would happen again.
She left home to live elsewhere with her husband and children.
"Alan was a loving brother and will forever live in our hearts," she adds.
Alan's mother described him as "just the best son".
His nephew and nieces say they "would love to have met him" but they "love him very much".
Image source, PA Media/Family handoutClaire says that, when the bomb went off, her brother Paul had gone to town to help.
"But he never found his brother," she adds.
Twenty-four hours after the bomb the family got a call.
Her sister Elaine and Paul had to go to identify their brother's body at the makeshift morgue.
"He was lying there, our innocent blue-eyed boy, covered in a tartan blanket.
"When my brother saw his hair, without the blanket pulled back he said: 'That's him'.
"He knew it was him by his hair," she adds.
She says the images that her siblings saw that day stay with them.