Families serve writs on Omagh suspects

Writs were served today on five men suspected by the families of the Omagh bomb victims of being responsible for the blast.

Lawyers acting for the Omagh Victims Legal Trust served the writs at the homes of Seamus Daly and Seamus McKenna in Dundalk, Co Louth, at 6.45am.

Neither man answered the door, but one writ was handed to the father of Mr Daly and the other was put through the letter box of the McKenna house.

The serving of writs is the first stage in a fight by the families to bring the suspected bombers to justice through civil action after the authorities failed to charge anyone with the murders of the 29 people, including a woman pregnant with twins, with the August 1998 bombing.

Lawyer Jason McHugh later went to Portlaoise Prison more than 100 miles south to serve writs on three more men who are being held there on unconnected matters.

Mr McHugh, who was accompanied by Irish police when he went to the addresses of the suspected Real IRA members, said: "I asked for them to be there in case there was a breach of the peace – there wasn't.

"I went to the last known addresses of the two men , but neither came to the door. I put one writ through the letter box and the other was passed through a window to Mr Daly's father.

"I am satisfied that they have been served."

Serving the writs, which is the first stage in a bid to win damages from the suspects, will come as a massive relief for the families of the victims, who had started to fear that no court action would ever take place.

The Omagh bombing was the worst single atrocity in 30 years of violence in Northern Ireland.

A 500lb Real IRA car bomb exploded in the centre of the County Tyrone town, which was packed with shoppers and visitors on a sunny Saturday afternoon.

The men on whom the writs were served could ignore the legal action, which is due to take place in Belfast.

But that will not stop the Omagh families having their day in court and having the case against the men detailed in public.

The families could still win judgment by default, threatening the personal assets of the suspects.

Michael Gallagher, who lost his teenage son Aiden in the bomb atrocity, travelled with the lawyers to watch the writs being served.

Stanley McCombe, whose wife was murdered in the bombing, expressed relief that the legal moves that had been planned for more than a year, were finally under way.

He said from his Omagh home: "I think everyone is relieved that we have got to this stage – at least the families are doing something – the Government doesn't seem to be doing too much."

He said he would be surprised if the men on whom the writs were served were to turn up in Belfast for the court case.

"I knew last night the writs were about to be served. I have no indication when the court case will be but I would be quite surprised if they did turn up," he said.

But the families wanted their time in court, he said, adding: "We want to be heard and to put the evidence against the suspects to the court."

Service of the writs came the day after the Omagh Trust announced that it had finally raised enough money through its public appeal to launch the legal action – and only days before the deadline for that action to start.

Last August, on the eve of the third anniversary of the bombing, solicitors acting for the families issued writs in the High Court in Belfast and had 12 months to serve them on the men named.

The writs claim "damages (including aggravated damages and/or exemplary damages) as a result of the explosion of a bomb at Omagh town centre on 15 August 1998 for which the defendants and each of them are responsible".

It is the first time alleged terrorists have been sued.

The writs also demand damages for "the intentional infliction of harm, trespass to the person and/or conspiracy to commit trespass to the person and/or conspiracy to injure".

The writs name not only individuals – Seamus McKenna and Seamus Daly whose writs have been served, as well as Michael McKevitt, Liam Campbell and Colm Murphy, in Portloaise – but also the Real IRA.