Service marks fourth anniversary of Omagh atrocity

Hundreds of people gathered in Omagh today to join in an ecumenical service to mark the fourth anniversary of the bomb which killed 29 people and unborn twins.

The service, which was attended by relatives of the victims and those who were injured as a result of the atrocity, was led by Church leaders from the province's main religious faiths and also members of the public.

Shops and local businesses in the town closed whilst the short service of commemoration took place at around 1pm this afternoon in the Memorial Garden in Drumragh Avenue.

David Bolton of the Omagh Trauma Centre said: "I think we do see four years on from the tragedy, significant progress and changes being made in the life of the community, and also thankfully in the lives of many individuals."

However, only one person has so far been imprisoned in relation to the Omagh bomb. On January 22, Colm Murphy, a 49-year-old father of four and "a long-time republican extremist" according to the trial judge, was jailed for 14 years for conspiracy to cause an explosion.

Relatives of the bomb victims, frustrated by the lack of progress with criminal proceedings, are pursuing a civil action against the men whom they believe were behind the explosion. Writs were issued to five men by a solicitor acting for the families on July 26 and the families will have the case heard in court – albeit without the prospect of imprisonment if found culpable.

Relatives of the victims had expressed their concerns over the progress of the criminal investigation into the atrocity.

The Police Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan added her weight to those calls and published her own criticisms in a controversial report last year which blamed leading PSNI investigators as exercising "defective leadership, poor judgement and a lack of urgency" in their conduct of the case.

The then chief constable, Sir Ronnie Flanagan, said that the conclusions of Mrs O'Loan's report were "erroneous".

A Metropolitan police officer has since been brought in to "quality assure" the investigation and the new head of the inquiry team – Assistant Chief Constable Sam Kincaid – has pledged to lead the inquiry with renewed vigour.

"As long as I am in charge of this I am personally guaranteeing that this will be an enthusiastic and professional investigation," he said.

ACC Kincaid said he wanted to be judged over what was achieved in the next six to nine months.

(GMcG)