Widow 'couldn't accept' deaths of husband and son

The Omagh bombing was a declaration of warfare by the Real IRA connected an unsuspecting civilian colonisation for their ain governmental aims, a antheral who mislaid his lad successful the detonation has told the nationalist inquiry.

Michael Gallagher, whose 21-year-old lad Aiden was killed, said portion the radical described themselves arsenic "freedom fighters", they were acold from it.

He told the inquiry: "They are state takers, the victims person ended up being the state fighters."

After a blessed puerility with his parents, Michael and Patsy, and his 2 sisters, Aiden grew into a mature and motivated young man, a mechanic fascinated with cars and aircraft.

"He had a precise wide radical of friends and I'm precise arrogant to accidental that we unrecorded successful a state wherever there's a batch of part and bigotry connected some sides, but we ne'er allowed that to penetrate our family," Mr Gallagher told the inquiry.

"We chose our friends due to the fact that of the contents of their heart, not due to the fact that of their religion oregon their politics."

The Real IRA weaponry killed 29 people, including a pistillate who was large with twins, connected 15 August 1998 - 4 months aft the signing of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.

The Gallagher household had antecedently suffered successful the Troubles. Michael Gallagher's younger member Hugh was murdered by the IRA successful 1984.

Mr Gallagher said the timing of the bombing was "absolutely cruel".

"People often picture the Omagh weaponry arsenic the worst of the Troubles, it was really the archetypal atrocity of peacetime," helium said.

Aiden had gone successful to Omagh municipality centre to bargain a caller brace of jeans. His begetter said his past words were: "I won't beryllium long."

Michael Gallagher heard the blast and knew it was a bomb.

After respective journeys into town, to the hospital, helium was yet taken to a makeshift morgue wherever helium identified his son's body.

His "greatest concern" driving location arsenic dawn was breaking, was however helium was going to archer his household that Aiden would not beryllium coming home.

"That was highly achy and difficult. In the extremity I didn't truly request to accidental anything."

The hubby of Omagh weaponry unfortunate Ann McCombe described her arsenic a "wonderful and very, precise caring person" during the inquiry.

"I accidental that is wherefore I fell successful emotion and joined her. I deliberation she was the kindest hearted idiosyncratic that I person ever known and she cared for everybody."

Stanley McCombe and his lad Clive were astatine a tube set title successful Scotland erstwhile quality of the detonation broke. Mr McCombe described their nightmare travel home.

"When we arrived location connected the Sunday you could consciousness decease successful the air... It was a precise unusual feeling, everything was truthful still, you did not perceive a canine barking oregon a car and determination was cipher about, everybody had conscionable disappeared."

Clive McCombe said each of their lives changed aft the bomb.

He said: "I miss my parent each day. I effort arsenic champion arsenic I tin to unrecorded beingness successful a mode to marque her proud. My parent would ever say: "If you tin beryllium anything, beryllium kind."

Stanley McCombe besides said successful his connection that the aftermath of Dame Nuala O'Loan's study wherever she recovered the Omagh bombing had been preventable, was "unbearable".

"It became evident to maine and galore of the families that we arsenic victims were secondary."

He said it had made him much "resolute" successful his tendency for a nationalist inquiry.