A man whose son died in the Omagh bombing of 1998 has branded the latest murderous attack in the town a “double insult”.
Michael Gallagher lost his 21-year-old son Aidan in the dissident republican Real IRA blast which killed 29 people, including a woman pregnant with twins.
He condemned today’s killing of a young policeman and said the decision to once again target the Co Tyrone town would revive horrific memories.
“This is a double insult,” he said. “Omagh will be a very sad place.
“They have changed an entire family and family circle forever. That is the reality of what has happened here.
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“I feel a lot of anger that another young life has been stolen, and that this has happened again in our town.”
Some of the families bereaved in the 1998 bombing took a successful civil action against four men they blamed for the attack.
In the wake of the June 2009 court verdict, which is now the subject of an appeal, the families pressed for a full public inquiry into the bombing.
Only one man was convicted over the atrocity, but that verdict was overturned on appeal.
Mr Gallagher said the latest loss of life in Omagh only served to underline the need for stronger action to tackle dissident republican violence.
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He said of the latest murder: “I heard the news shortly after it happened. I felt anger, because we have campaigned for people responsible for these kind of attacks to be brought to justice.
“There is just anger that I know these groups have gone on to murder someone else. Anger that they murdered 31 people in Omagh, including two unborn twins. There is anger that the authorities on both sides of the border seem incapable of reeling them in.”