He described the group as “experienced terrorists motivated by a desire not to get caught” as he began to set out a “working hypothesis” on how the massacre was carried out.
asserted
massacre → describe → hypothesis
The public inquiry, chaired by Lord Turnbull, has begun evidential hearings on Monday in Belfast.
asserted
inquiry → chair → Belfast
The hearings, which have been delayed for six months, will centre on the period before and after the bombing and will examine how it was carried out and who was responsible.
asserted
who → delay → bombing
The Real IRA bomb in the Co Tyrone town on August 15 1998 killed 29 people, including a woman who was pregnant with twins, in the worst single atrocity in the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
asserted
who → kill → Ireland
The inquiry was set up by the previous government to examine whether the explosion could have been prevented by the UK authorities.
uncertain
explosion → set → authorities
Last year, the inquiry heard personal statements from those affected by the massacre.
asserted
inquiry → hear → massacre
Mr Greaney told the inquiry: “By the 12th of August 1998, at the latest, a plan was in place for a car to be stolen for use as a vehicle to transport a bomb, and it’s clear that a particular type of car had been identified for that purpose, namely a Vauxhall Cavalier.”
asserted
type → tell → purpose
The barrister referred to Murphy, who died in 2023 and was previously found liable for the bombing in a civil trial, as being a central figure in the plot.
asserted
who → refer → plot
He said: “As we shall see, the evidence suggests that Colm Murphy sat like a spider at the centre of the web of the plan to detonate a bomb in Omagh.”
uncertain
Murphy → say → Omagh
Mr Greaney said the Real IRA had previously admitted responsibility for the Omagh bombing.
asserted
IRA → say → bombing
He said: “The inquiry legal team assesses that this violent dissident republican terrorist group did indeed play a key role in the attack.”
asserted
group → say → attack
Mr Greaney told the inquiry that a Vauxhall Cavalier was stolen from Carrickmacross in Co Monaghan in the early hours of August 13.
asserted
Cavalier → tell → August
He said the car been stolen “effectively to order”.
asserted
car → say → order
He said witness evidence showed it was likely three other Vauxhall Cavaliers on the same street or nearby had been interfered with on the same night.
asserted
Cavaliers → say → night
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Mr Greaney said the car was shortly afterward taken to the border town of Dundalk.
asserted
car → read → Dundalk
He said: “It was the home town and base of operations of many of those whom the inquiry legal team has identified as being key individuals in this chapter.”
asserted
team → say → chapter
The inquiry was told the car was then made available to Seamus Daly “ready to be loaded with a bomb”.
asserted
car → tell → bomb
Daly was previously found liable for the Omagh bombing in a civil case.
asserted
Daly → find → case
Mr Greaney told the inquiry that false number plates were quickly fitted to the stolen Vauxhall Cavalier
He said: “The fitting of cloned number plates on stolen vehicles used to transport bombs to their place of detonation was a common thread in dissident republican terrorist attacks in the late 1990s in Northern Ireland.
“
asserted
fitting → tell → Ireland
We’re describing a tactic in which a car would be stolen, and then the number plate for a legitimate vehicle of a similar make, model, and appearance would then be manufactured and applied to the stolen vehicle.
asserted
plate → describe → vehicle
“In this way, it was calculated that if the stolen vehicle were to be the subject of a check on police systems, its status as stolen would be less likely to be revealed.
asserted
status → calculate → systems
“Those transporting bombs would wish to attract as little attention as possible.
asserted
Those → transport → attention
“This tactic, the tactic of using cloned number plates, was part of the terrorist tradecraft.”
asserted
tactic → use → tradecraft
The barrister told the inquiry that the dissident republicans who had plotted the Omagh attack had been “engaged in a campaign of violence”, which had begun months before.
asserted
which → tell → violence
He added: “They were experienced terrorists, and they were motivated by a desire not to be caught.”
asserted
they → add → desire
Mr Greaney also said there were “sound reasons” to believe that Daly was in a scout car which led the bomb into Omagh on August 15, and that Séamus McKenna, who is now dead, was in the vehicle containing the device.
asserted
who → say → device
The inquiry heard that there were practical reasons for the use of two cars.
asserted
inquiry → hear → cars
Mr Greaney said the scout car provided the means to “get away quickly”.
asserted
car → say → means
Later this week the inquiry is expected to hear a pre-recorded witness statement from a senior Garda officer about the theft of the car used in the explosion.
asserted
inquiry → expect → explosion
Speaking ahead of the hearing, Michael Gallagher, whose son Aiden was among those killed in the dissident attack, said: “I think it is important that we do get into the nitty-gritty of what happened in the lead-up to Omagh, particularly in the last few days.
asserted
what → speak → days
“I think it is going to be difficult but hugely important.
asserted
it → think → ?
“This was a cross-border crime and most of the evidential opportunities lie within the Republic.
asserted
most → lie → Republic
“We welcome the fact that the gardaí are engaging and co-operating with the inquiry.
asserted
gardaí → welcome → inquiry
“We just hope in the end we will get truth and dignity out of this process.”
asserted
we → hope → process
Claire Hayes, whose brother Alan Radford was killed in the bomb, said the latest hearings had been a “long time coming”.
asserted
hearings → kill → bomb
She said: “This chapter is a pivotal point in the inquiry process.”
asserted
chapter → say → process
Ms Hayes added: “We are now 28 years past the bomb and there has been very little engagement from the south of Ireland.
asserted
We → add → Ireland
“I want them to pass on all the knowledge they have.”
asserted
they → want → knowledge
The Aporia
