A remarkable human, political and legal story: an insider's account of the landmark attempt to bring the Omagh bombers to justice.
The Omagh bomb was the worst massacre in Northern Ireland's modern history - yet from it came an extraordinary tale of human resilience: as the bombers congratulated themselves on escaping justice, the bereaved families determined on a civil case against them and their organisation. No one had ever done this before: many are likely to do it in the future.
It was a very domestic atrocity. In Omagh, on Saturday, 15 August, 1998, a 500lb bomb placed by the Real IRA, murdered twenty-nine shoppers and two unborn babies - five men, fourteen women and nine children, of whom two were Spanish and one English: the dead included Protestants, Catholics and a Mormon. Though the police believed they knew the identities of the killers, there was insufficient evidence and political determination to bring charges. Taking as their motto 'For evil to triumph, all that is necessary is for good men to do nothing', families of ten of the dead decided to pursue these men through the civil courts, where the burden of proof is lower.
These were ordinary people who included a factory worker, a mechanic and a cleaner; they had no money, no lawyers, and there was no legal precedent for such an action. This is the story of how - with the help of a small group of London sympathisers that included a viscount and two ex-terrorists - these Omagh families surmounted all the obstacles to launch a civil case against RIRA and five named individuals.
Along the way the families became formidable campaigners who won the backing of Presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush as well as of Bob Geldof and Bono. After years of legal wrangling their determination saw the case come to court in spring 2008.
Aftermath is not just an astonishing story in itself, it is also a universal story of David challenging Goliath, as well as an inspiration to ordinary people anywhere devastated by terrorism. RIRA today: ETA tomorrow: the Mafia, perhaps, the day after.
Longlisted for the Orwell Prize 2010