A Garda spokesman has defended an interview by the Commissioner, Pat Byrne, in which the Commissioner conceded that those who masterminded the Omagh bombing would probably never be caught, even though it was known who carried it out. In the interview in this morning's Irish News, Commissioner Byrne says that he knows the identity of those behind the blast but that it is proving difficult to get the evidence to link them to the atrocity. He added that the leads in the Omagh investigation had been very much reduced.
The families of the Omagh bomb victims have appealed to the Irish and British governments to keep the investigation into the atrocity active. On Morning Ireland, Michael Gallagher, whose 21-year-old son Adrian died in the blast, said that it was very difficult for the families to hear that those responsible for the bomb might escape justice. Mr Gallagher said that Commissioner Byrne's comments came as a surprise and appealed to anyone one who had information to contact either police force. 29 people died and more than 200 were injured in the 1998 blast. So far, one man has been charged in connection with the 1998 bombing. His trial date at Dublin's Special Criminal Court has yet to be fixed.
