Death of toddler in bomb recalled

Inquest has heard evidence of 26 victims of blast

Omagh inquest day 12

At the end of its third week, people supporting relatives of those killed in the Omagh bombing have said they have found the inquest more difficult than they had anticipated.

The inquest is hearing evidence about the deaths of 29 people killed by the 500lb Real IRA bomb, which exploded in the busy centre of the County Tyrone town on Saturday 15 August 1998.

On Friday, the inquest heard evidence in detail about the deaths of four more victims of the bomb.

Speaking after the hearing, director of community care for the Sperrin and Lakeland Health Trust David Bolton, said many families had mixed feelings about the inquest.

But he said "on balance" it had been worth having because pieces of the jigsaw, missing for two years, had slipped into place, and truth had at times brought consolation.

The daughter of Olive Hawkes, 60, told the coroner that the the inquest had done nothing more than to paint a vivid picture in their minds forever of the day the so-called Real IRA destroyed their family unit.

She said they felt at times "almost ashamed" to be part of proceedings whereby those "whom we should be honouring for their bravery and compassion are being questioned and almost overshadowing those directly responsible for the murder".

Toddler's mother unconscious

Mr Leckey also heard how the mother of toddler Breda Devine was only able to to grieve for the child two months later when she came out of a coma caused by the blast.

Tracey Devine was seriously injured in the blast which killed her 21-month-old daughter.

Mrs Devine's brother Gary McGillion and his fiancee - now wife - Donna Marie Keys, were also casualties, suffering extensive burns in the blast which happened after they bought shoes for Breda.

She was to have been flower girl at their wedding.

Continuing bomb scares

Coroner John Leckey denounced the "evil people" responsible for recent bomb scares in Omagh as he heard that a teenage boy killed in the atrocity two years ago had, only moments earlier, assured his Scottish mother that the Real IRA warnings were "probably a hoax".

Mr Leckey spoke of the "evil perpetrators" of the bombing and told the hearing into the death Alan Radford, 16, that "there are still evil people out there" with two bomb alerts in Omagh since the inquest started.

Alan's mother, Marion, who was in the town centre shopping with her son on the day of the bombing, told the court that the security scare was her first experience of a bomb alert in Northern Ireland.

She said: "I said to Alan, we had better go home and he said: 'Wait a minute, it's probably only a hoax'."

She left him briefly to shop in the Salad Bowl fruit and vegetable shop when the bomb went off. She could not find out what had happened to him until the afternoon of the following day.

Alan had been planning to start a catering course the following month.

The inquest also heard about the death of Samantha McFarland, 17, who was killed along with her friend and fellow Oxfam voluntary worker, Lorraine Wilson, 15.

Police to give evidence

The inquest has heard evidence about the deaths of all but three of the 29 victims and is expected to continue for another two weeks.

Mr Leckey is to hear an application from one of the bereaved families for formal recognition of the two unborn twins who died along with their mother, Avril Monaghan, her daughter, Maura, 20 months, and her mother, Mary Grimes, 66.

He is also due to consider legal submissions about the scope of the inquest before police officers, who passed on the misleading Real IRA bomb warnings to colleagues on the ground, enter the witness box.

Police and some of the relatives have expressed concern about the approach taken by some lawyers towards officers giving evidence.