A 43-year-old man will appear in court in Northern Ireland on Friday charged with the murders of 29 people in the 1998 Omagh bombing, the worst single atrocity of the Troubles.
Detectives investigating the bombing on Thursday charged the man with murdering those who died in the explosion "and a number of other offences", said a Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) statement.
British media, including the BBC, named the man as senior republican figure Seamus Daly, from Culloville, County Monaghan.
No one has ever been convicted in a criminal court over the attack in the County Tyrone town.
Daly was arrested in the city of Newry area on Monday, and charged at Antrim police station late Thursday.
"He faces 29 murder charges relating to the blast on 15 August 1998, two charges in relation to the Omagh explosion and two charges in relation to an attempted explosion in Lisburn in April 1998 -- a total of 33 charges," PSNI said.
He will appear at Dungannon Magistrates Court early Friday.
A civil judge at Belfast High Court last year ruled that Daly and Colm Murphy could be held responsible for the attack by the Real IRA, a paramilitary splinter group of the now-disbanded Irish Republican Army.
The judge said the evidence against the pair, primarily from mobile phone records, was "overwhelming".
- 'Important development' -
The victims, including a woman pregnant with twins, died when the car bomb exploded on a busy Saturday afternoon.
Michael Gallagher, whose son Aidan was killed in the bombing, described the charges as an "important and positive development".
"We have put the police under pressure to pursue the investigation," he added.
A first civil ruling in 2009 found Daly, Murphy and two other men -- including Real IRA founder Michael McKevitt -- liable for the attack and ordered them to pay £1.6 million ($2.7 million, 1.9 million euros) in damages to the victims' families.
Daly and Murphy successfully overturned the original ruling and were ordered to face a civil retrial, which ruled they can still be held liable.
McKevitt, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence in Ireland for directing terrorism, failed to overturn the civil ruling against him along with fellow republican Liam Campbell. Both are attempting to have their case heard at the European Court of Human Rights.
Former IRA commander Martin McGuinness on Thursday shook hands with Queen Elizabeth II as she hosted a Northern Ireland-themed reception at Windsor Castle as part of Michael D. Higgins's state visit, the first by an Irish president since the republic became independent in 1922.
McGuinness, now Northern Ireland's deputy first minister, controversially attended a state banquet hosted by the Queen on Tuesday.
His presence was seen as particularly significant, as he snubbed a banquet in the Queen's honour in Dublin three years ago.
The violence in Northern Ireland was largely ended by the 1998 Good Friday peace accords, which paved the way for a power-sharing government in Belfast, but only after an estimated 3,500 people died.
Political relations between Britain and Ireland have steadily improved since then, building on a shared history, personal connections and strong trade between the two countries.
At a concert held in his honour at London's Albert Hall on Thursday, Higgins said the visit had been "uplifting".
"I want to extend my thanks to a number of people who have made this evening's celebration, and indeed the past few days, extraordinary and memorable days, so positive, so uplifting and so hopeful," he said.
He expressed "deep appreciation" to his hosts, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, thanking them for their "gracious and generous welcome and the warm hospitality".
A 43-year-old man will appear in court in Northern Ireland on Friday charged with the murders of 29 people in the 1998 Omagh bombing, the worst single atrocity of the Troubles.
Detectives investigating the bombing on Thursday charged the man with murdering those who died in the explosion “and a number of other offences”, said a Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) statement.
British media, including the BBC, named the man as senior republican figure Seamus Daly, from Culloville, County Monaghan.
No one has ever been convicted in a criminal court over the attack in the County Tyrone town.
Daly was arrested in the city of Newry area on Monday, and charged at Antrim police station late Thursday.
“He faces 29 murder charges relating to the blast on 15 August 1998, two charges in relation to the Omagh explosion and two charges in relation to an attempted explosion in Lisburn in April 1998 — a total of 33 charges,” PSNI said.
He will appear at Dungannon Magistrates Court early Friday.
A civil judge at Belfast High Court last year ruled that Daly and Colm Murphy could be held responsible for the attack by the Real IRA, a paramilitary splinter group of the now-disbanded Irish Republican Army.
The judge said the evidence against the pair, primarily from mobile phone records, was “overwhelming”.
– ‘Important development’ –
The victims, including a woman pregnant with twins, died when the car bomb exploded on a busy Saturday afternoon.
Michael Gallagher, whose son Aidan was killed in the bombing, described the charges as an “important and positive development”.
“We have put the police under pressure to pursue the investigation,” he added.
A first civil ruling in 2009 found Daly, Murphy and two other men — including Real IRA founder Michael McKevitt — liable for the attack and ordered them to pay £1.6 million ($2.7 million, 1.9 million euros) in damages to the victims’ families.
Daly and Murphy successfully overturned the original ruling and were ordered to face a civil retrial, which ruled they can still be held liable.
McKevitt, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence in Ireland for directing terrorism, failed to overturn the civil ruling against him along with fellow republican Liam Campbell. Both are attempting to have their case heard at the European Court of Human Rights.
Former IRA commander Martin McGuinness on Thursday shook hands with Queen Elizabeth II as she hosted a Northern Ireland-themed reception at Windsor Castle as part of Michael D. Higgins’s state visit, the first by an Irish president since the republic became independent in 1922.
McGuinness, now Northern Ireland’s deputy first minister, controversially attended a state banquet hosted by the Queen on Tuesday.
His presence was seen as particularly significant, as he snubbed a banquet in the Queen’s honour in Dublin three years ago.
The violence in Northern Ireland was largely ended by the 1998 Good Friday peace accords, which paved the way for a power-sharing government in Belfast, but only after an estimated 3,500 people died.
Political relations between Britain and Ireland have steadily improved since then, building on a shared history, personal connections and strong trade between the two countries.
At a concert held in his honour at London’s Albert Hall on Thursday, Higgins said the visit had been “uplifting”.
“I want to extend my thanks to a number of people who have made this evening’s celebration, and indeed the past few days, extraordinary and memorable days, so positive, so uplifting and so hopeful,” he said.
He expressed “deep appreciation” to his hosts, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, thanking them for their “gracious and generous welcome and the warm hospitality”.
