Gardaí allowed cars into NI for terrorist activity, Omagh inquiry hears
Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 8 Oct, 20:55 · Archive
The Omagh Bombing Inquiry has heard that Irish police allowed stolen cars to be taken into Northern Ireland for terrorist activity.
The Omagh Bombing Inquiry has heard that An Garda Síochána (Irish police) allowed stolen cars to be taken into Northern Ireland for terrorist activity. Martin Bridger, an officer for the Police Ombudsman Northern Ireland, gave evidence that a Garda whistleblower told him a senior Garda officer permitted the cars to cross the border. The officer reported that cars were being stolen for use in terrorist activity and that 'the boys are back in town' in relation to increasing dissident republican activity in January 1998.
Bridger described himself as a career detective with a background in anti-corruption policing in London. In 2012 he was commissioned by some families of Omagh victims to compile a report into the bombing with the aim of triggering a cross-border public inquiry. He conducted what he described as a comprehensive interview with a credible Garda officer who had an informant working with violent dissident republicans involved in stealing cars for terrorist use.
Twenty-nine people, including a woman pregnant with twins, died in the Omagh bomb on 15 August 1998, making it the largest single atrocity in the Troubles. The inquiry, which opened last year, was established to determine if the bombing could have been prevented by UK state authorities.
How it is being reported
- Gardaí allowed cars to be taken into NI for terrorism, Omagh inquiry hearsThe Omagh Bomb Inquiry has heard that Gardaí allowed cars to be taken into Northern Ireland for terrorist activity.News Letter · 8 Oct, 20:08
- Gardaí allowed cars to be taken into NI for terrorist activity, Omagh inquiry hearsMartin Bridger who worked as an officer for the Police Ombudsman Northern Ireland gave evidence to the Omagh Bombing Inquiry.BBC Northern Ireland · 8 Oct, 16:57
In this story: An Garda Síochána · Police Ombudsman Northern Ireland · Martin Bridger · Omagh · Northern Ireland
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