The scene of devastation following the Real IRA bomb attack on Omagh
Prosecutors in the North have dropped the charges against a bricklayer accused of murdering 29 people in the 1998 Omagh bomb – three schoolboys from Buncrana were among the victims.
Sean McLaughlin, Oran Doherty and James Barker died in the terrorist attack.
Seamus Daly, 45, had been on remand in prison since being charged with the Real IRA atrocity and a range of other terror offences in April 2014.
Seven years ago, Daly was one of four men successfully sued for bombing the Co Tyrone market town when he was found liable for the attack in a landmark civil case taken by some of the bereaved families.
No-one has ever been convicted of the murders in a criminal court.
Daly, from Co Armagh, has always denied involvement in the bombing which inflicted the greatest loss of life of any terror atrocity in the history of the Northern Ireland Troubles.
The dead came from both sides of the Irish border, England and Spain. One of the victims was pregnant with twins.
The dramatic decision by the Northern Ireland Public Prosecution Service (PPS) comes before Daly’s case had even reached the floor of the Crown Court.
Murdered: Oran Doherty
A pre-trial hearing commenced in Omagh Magistrates’ Court last week to establish whether the evidence in the case was of sufficient strength to warrant such a trial.
That decision has now been taken out of District Judge Peter King’s hands, as the PPS has withdrawn the charges before the preliminary hearing had reached conclusion.
A PPS lawyer officially withdrew the prosecution during a routine magistrate’s hearing at Ballymena Courthouse, Co Antrim, on Tuesday morning.
Families of victims in Buncrana were told of the decision yesterday.
Those who died were:
- James Barker, 12, Buncrana, Co Donegal. Originally from Surrey, England
- Fernando Blasco Baselga, 12, from Madrid, Spain
- Geraldine Breslin, 43, Omagh
- Deborah-Ann Cartwright, 20, Omagh
- Gareth Conway, 18, Carrickmore, Co Tyrone
- Breda Devine, 20 months, Donemana, Co Tyrone
- Oran Doherty, 8, Buncrana, Co Donegal
- Aiden Gallagher, 21, Omagh
- Esther Gibson, 36, Beragh, Co Tyrone
- Mary Grimes, 65, Beragh, Co Tyrone
- Olive Hawkes, 60, Omagh
- Julia Hughes, 21, Omagh
- Brenda Logue, 17, Omagh
- Ann McCombe, 45, Omagh
- Brian McCrory, 54, Omagh
- Samantha McFarland, 17, Omagh
- Sean McGrath, 61, Omagh
- Sean McLoughlin, 12, Buncrana, Co Donegal
- Jolene Marlow, 17, Omagh
- Avril Monaghan, 30, Augher, Co Tyrone (who was pregnant with twins)
- Maura Monaghan, 18 months, Augher, Co Tyrone
- Alan Radford, 16, Omagh, Co Tyrone
- Rocio Abad Ramos, 23, Madrid, Spain
- Elizabeth Rush, 57, Omagh
- Veda Short, 46, Omagh
- Philomena Skelton, 39, Drumquin, Co Tyrone
- Fred White, 60, Omagh
- Bryan White, 27, Omagh
- Lorraine Wilson, 15, Omagh