£800,000 boost for Omagh victims' families

Ministers today approved a payment of £800,000 to help the families of Omagh bomb victims bring a court case against those accused of the atrocity.

In a landmark move Ulster secretary Paul Murphy stepped in to provide the cash for relatives of those killed in the bombing.

Relatives were trying to stump up the £1.5 million to meet the legal costs of a civil action - but had fallen £800,000 short.

The announcement came 24 hours after Real IRA terror boss Michael McKevitt began a 20-year sentence in the Irish Republic following his conviction for directing terrorism.

Twenty-nine people died in Omagh in 1998 and hundreds were also injured in the Real IRA car bomb which devastated Omagh town centre.

Today's move follows months of talks. Such a payment is unusual, but ministers see the Omagh bomb victims as a "special case".

In January 2002, Colm Murphy became the only person to be convicted of plotting the Omagh bomb.

The Special Criminal Court in Dublin sentenced him to 14 years in jail. Michael Gallagher, whose son was killed in the atrocity, said: "It's fantastic news."