3 held in in connection with Omagh

By Andrew Bushe

DUBLIN — Gardai investigating the 1998 Omagh bombing atrocity are questioning three men in Carrickmacross station in County Monaghan, a spokesman said Monday.

The men, who are in their 20s and 30s, were arrested in Counties Lough and Monaghan. They are being held under Section 30 of the Offenses Against the State Act, which allows them to be questioned without charge for up to 72 hours.

The car bomb in the Northern Ireland market town on August 15, 1998 killed 29 people and injured hundreds more. It was the worst single atrocity since the Troubles began in 1969.

Responsibility for the explosion was claimed by the Real IRA.

Last month, Colm Murphy, a 49-year-old business from Dundalk, was sentenced to 14 years by the non-jury Special Criminal Court on conspiracy charges related to the explosion. The father of four, who the judges said was a “republican terrorist of long standing,” was the first and so far only person to be charged and convicted in connection with the bombing. During the 25-day trial, it was revealed that Murphy had supplied mobile phones to the gang that carried out the bombing.