The 1998 Omagh bombing perpetrated by the Real IRA was the worst atrocity in the conflict of U.K.-affiliated Northern Ireland, and now a man from the independent Republic of Ireland has been charged with killing 29 of the victims.
Seamus Daly, 43, faces 29 counts of murder in addition to two charges related to an attempted bombing in Lisburn in April 2008,
reports the BBC. He was arrested Monday while helping his pregnant wife to a hospital in Newry, a border town.
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The families of the blast's victims, which include a woman pregnant with twins, urged the arrest of Daly and four other men they say were responsible. Previously, they brought a landmark civil suit against the five. The court ruled that Daly and three others were responsible and ordered them to pay £1.5m (roughly $2,500,000) in damages.
Despite the previous case, no one has ever been convicted in a criminal court for the mass murder. Two men prosecuted in criminal court for the bombings were both acquitted.
At this week's hearing in Dungannon, west of Belfast, Daly did not speak.
Dermot Fee, Daly's lawyer, called the witness, telephone, and forensic evidence presented by Detective Inspector John Caldwell "nothing new and nothing fresh." Caldwell said that Daly still denied the charges while in police custody.
According to The Associated Press, the Real IRA splinter faction formed in 1997 after most IRA members put down their weapons to enable peace talks. In 1998, the year the Good Friday peace accord was reached, the Real IRA struck several Northern Ireland towns with car bombs.
Authorities were able to evacuate crowds to safety in many cases after threats were revealed, however they accidentally led them toward the bomb in Omagh, which killed mostly women and children shopping at a school uniform supply store.
Daly will remain jailed until his next court appearance on May 6.
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