Latest news with #WAVETraumaCentre
BreakingNews.ie
16-05-2025
- Politics
- BreakingNews.ie
Human remains discovered at site of previous search for Disappeared victim
Further fragments of human remains have been found at a site where investigators had carried out a search for Disappeared victim of the Troubles, Joe Lynskey. The development comes less than two months after investigators announced that remains exhumed from the cemetery site in Annyalla, Co Monaghan, were not those of Mr Lynskey. Advertisement The Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains (ICLVR) said other remains have now been found after it received information about a different area of the cemetery that does not incorporate any family graves. Searches were carried out at the cemetery for Joe Lynskey, one of the IRA's Disappeared (WAVE Trauma Centre/PA) The commission stressed that the information did not directly relate to the disappearance of Mr Lynskey. However, investigators said they were keeping an 'open mind', pending the results of tests to determine whether the remains do belong to the IRA murder victim. Mr Lynskey, a former monk from Belfast who later joined the IRA, was abducted, murdered and secretly buried by members of the republican paramilitary group in 1972. Advertisement He was one of 17 people who were Disappeared by republican paramilitaries during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The ICLVR did not become aware that Mr Lynskey was one of the Disappeared until 2010. A number of searches since then have all failed to locate his remains. The commission was set up by the UK and Irish governments during the peace process to investigate the whereabouts of the Disappeared. Thirteen have been formally found. As well as Mr Lynskey, the commission is also tasked with finding three other Disappeared victims – Co Tyrone teenager Columba McVeigh, British Army Captain Robert Nairac, and Seamus Maguire, who was in his mid-20s and from near Lurgan, Co Armagh. Advertisement The commission opened a grave in November last year after it received information related to 'suspicious' historical activity during the 1970s at a grave in Annyalla cemetery. The site of the first search at Annyalla Cemetery in Co Monaghan, where the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims Remains carried out an exhumation (Jonathan McCambridge/PA) It instigated the exhumation operation to establish whether Mr Lynskey had been secretly buried there by the IRA. In March, the commission said tests had confirmed that the remains did not belong to Mr Lynskey. It said the remains recovered from the grave also did not belong to any member of the family who own the plot. Advertisement The ICLVR further confirmed that the remains were not those of any of the three other Disappeared victims the commission continues to search for. Eamonn Henry, lead investigator at the ICLVR, announced the latest development at the Annyalla site in a statement on Friday. 'Following the recent exhumation at Annyalla Cemetery in relation to the search for Joe Lynskey, information came to the ICLVR indicating another small area of interest within the confines of the cemetery,' he said. 'This was not another family grave site. Advertisement 'I want to emphasise that this information did not relate directly to the disappearance of Joe Lynskey and so until we have a positive identification or the elimination of the remains as those of Joe Lynskey or any of the other of the Disappeared, we have to keep an open mind'. He said the State Pathologist had been notified and the remains have been taken away for technical examination. Mr Henry added: 'We know only too well that the Lynskey family have had hopes raised before only to be bitterly disappointed and so, as ever, expectations have to be managed. 'The process of identification could take some time and we will continue to offer the family what support we can'. Mr Henry renewed the appeal for information on all of the remaining Disappeared cases. 'Regardless of the outcome, this work at Annyalla shows that where we have credible information, we will act on it,' he said. 'This week also marks the 48th anniversary (15th May) of the murder and secret burial of Robert Nairac. 'We need information on his and the other outstanding cases and anyone with information can be assured that it will be treated in the strictest confidence. 'Our humanitarian work is entirely information-driven to get us to the right places where we can use the considerable technical expertise at our disposal to locate the remains of those disappeared and to return them to their loved ones for Christian burial. 'Anyone who helps with that will be doing a great service to families who have suffered so much for so long'.
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Omagh bomb dead to be remembered as inquiry opens
The initial stage of the Omagh Bombing Inquiry opens on Tuesday. The hearing will commemorate the lives of the 29 people murdered in the County Tyrone bombing, including a woman expecting twins. The attack, carried out in 1998 by the Real IRA, was the biggest single atrocity of the Troubles. Detailed pen portraits of the victims will be read out during the hearing, in many instances by their relatives. People injured or affected by the bombing will give testimony during four weeks of evidence. The WAVE Trauma Centre is offering support to witnesses and their families "at a stressful and traumatic time". Its chief executive Sandra Peake said: "Reliving that day will be harrowing. "For all those impacted on that terrible day, the bombing is anything but a distant memory. "It lives with them every day." The inquiry seeks to determine whether the bombing could have been prevented by UK state authorities. The commemorative hearings begin at Strule Arts Centre in Omagh on Tuesday. Some relatives have agreed to give testimony directly – in other instances their statements will be delivered by lawyers. Inquiry chairman Lord Turnbull has said he wants to understand "the terrible consequences people suffered because of the bomb". Hearings will be held up to four days a week and are expected to finish on 20 February. The first day will remember two victims from Madrid, Spain. Twelve-year-old Fernando Blasco Baselga was in Omagh for a visit to the Ulster American Folk Park. Rocio Abad Ramos, 23, was also part of the same language exchange group which had been based in Buncrana in County Donegal. A preliminary hearing was held last July, at which Lord Turnbull pledged to undertake his task "rigorously and fearlessly". The Irish government has promised to co-operate with the inquiry – the bombers launched the attack from across the border. The Omagh bomb exploded in the town centre on a busy Saturday afternoon on 15 August 1998. The streets were packed with shoppers, including families who were buying uniforms and other supplies as children were due to return to school after summer. The attack took place four months after the signing of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. Also known as the Belfast Agreement, the international peace deal helped to bring an end to 30 years of violence in Northern Ireland, knowns as the Troubles. The treaty had ushered in a period of hope and optimism but not everyone involved in the conflict supported the outcome of the peace talks. The Real IRA (RIRA) - a dissident republican paramilitary group - had disagreed with the decision of the much larger Provisional IRA to call a ceasefire ahead of the talks. It set up its own faction and continued to plant car bombs in towns across Northern Ireland, some of which exploded causing multiple injuries. But the Omagh bomb was by far the RIRA's most deadly attack. Nine children, including a baby, were among the dead. More than 200 other people were wounded, some of whom survived with life-changing injuries. Three days after the 1998 attack, the Real IRA released a statement claiming responsibility for the explosion. It apologised to "civilian" victims and said its targets had been commercial. Almost 27 years on, no-one has been convicted of carrying out the murders by a criminal court. A handful of men have been prosecuted on charges linked to the attack but each of them were either acquitted or had their convictions overturned on appeal. With no criminal convictions secured, the victims' families then begin a landmark civil case, suing five men they alleged were involved in the bombing. In 2009, the judge in that case ruled four of the men - Michael McKevitt, Liam Campbell, Colm Murphy and Seamus Daly were all liable for the Omagh bomb. The four men were ordered to pay a total of £1.6m in damages to the relatives, but appeals against the ruling delayed the compensation process. A fifth man, Seamus McKenna, was acquitted in the civil action and later died in a roofing accident in 2013. Michael McKevitt, who was alleged to have been the leader of the Real IRA at the time of the bombing, died in 2021 having been diagnosed with cancer. He had spent 15 years in jail after an Irish court convicted him of directing terrorism, a new offence introduced by the Irish government in response to the Omagh bomb. Colm Murphy, originally from County Armagh, was jailed for 14 years in 2002 when a Dublin court found him guilty of conspiracy to cause the Omagh bombing. However, his conviction was ruled to be unsafe in 2005 and he was cleared of the charge in a 2010 retrial. He died in hospital aged 70 in 2023. In 2016, a case against Seamus Daly, from Jonesborough, County Armagh, collapsed. Omagh bomb: Timeline of families' bid for justice Omagh bomb inquiry first hearing begins Government announces inquiry into Omagh bombing
BBC News
27-01-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Omagh bomb: Victims to be remembered as inquiry opens
The initial stage of the Omagh Bombing Inquiry opens on hearing will commemorate the lives of the 29 people murdered in the County Tyrone bombing, including a woman expecting attack, carried out in 1998 by the Real IRA, was the biggest single atrocity of the pen portraits of the victims will be read out during the hearing, in many instances by their injured or affected by the bombing will give testimony during four weeks of WAVE Trauma Centre is offering support to witnesses and their families "at a stressful and traumatic time". Its chief executive Sandra Peake said: "Reliving that day will be harrowing."For all those impacted on that terrible day, the bombing is anything but a distant memory."It lives with them every day."The inquiry seeks to determine whether the bombing could have been prevented by UK state commemorative hearings begin at Strule Arts Centre in Omagh on relatives have agreed to give testimony directly – in other instances their statements will be delivered by chairman Lord Turnbull has said he wants to understand "the terrible consequences people suffered because of the bomb".Hearings will be held up to four days a week and are expected to finish on 20 February. The first day will remember two victims from Madrid, Fernando Blasco Baselga was in Omagh for a visit to the Ulster American Folk Abad Ramos, 23, was also part of the same language exchange group which had been based in Buncrana in County Donegal.A preliminary hearing was held last July, at which Lord Turnbull pledged to undertake his task "rigorously and fearlessly".The Irish government has promised to co-operate with the inquiry – the bombers launched the attack from across the border. What was the Omagh bomb? The Omagh bomb exploded in the town centre on a busy Saturday afternoon on 15 August streets were packed with shoppers, including families who were buying uniforms and other supplies as children were due to return to school after attack took place four months after the signing of the 1998 Good Friday known as the Belfast Agreement, the international peace deal helped to bring an end to 30 years of violence in Northern Ireland, knowns as the Troubles. The treaty had ushered in a period of hope and optimism but not everyone involved in the conflict supported the outcome of the peace talks. The Real IRA (RIRA) - a dissident republican paramilitary group - had disagreed with the decision of the much larger Provisional IRA to call a ceasefire ahead of the talks. It set up its own faction and continued to plant car bombs in towns across Northern Ireland, some of which exploded causing multiple the Omagh bomb was by far the RIRA's most deadly attack. Nine children, including a baby, were among the than 200 other people were wounded, some of whom survived with life-changing injuries. Who carried out the Omagh bomb? Three days after the 1998 attack, the Real IRA released a statement claiming responsibility for the apologised to "civilian" victims and said its targets had been 27 years on, no-one has been convicted of carrying out the murders by a criminal court.A handful of men have been prosecuted on charges linked to the attack but each of them were either acquitted or had their convictions overturned on no criminal convictions secured, the victims' families then begin a landmark civil case, suing five men they alleged were involved in the bombing. In 2009, the judge in that case ruled four of the men - Michael McKevitt, Liam Campbell, Colm Murphy and Seamus Daly were all liable for the Omagh four men were ordered to pay a total of £1.6m in damages to the relatives, but appeals against the ruling delayed the compensation process.A fifth man, Seamus McKenna, was acquitted in the civil action and later died in a roofing accident in McKevitt, who was alleged to have been the leader of the Real IRA at the time of the bombing, died in 2021 having been diagnosed with had spent 15 years in jail after an Irish court convicted him of directing terrorism, a new offence introduced by the Irish government in response to the Omagh bomb. Colm Murphy, originally from County Armagh, was jailed for 14 years in 2002 when a Dublin court found him guilty of conspiracy to cause the Omagh his conviction was ruled to be unsafe in 2005 and he was cleared of the charge in a 2010 retrial. He died in hospital aged 70 in 2016, a case against Seamus Daly, from Jonesborough, County Armagh, collapsed.
