Aftermath: The Omagh Bombing and the Families' Pursuit of Justice

by Ruth Dudley Edwards

Overview

On Saturday 15th August, 1998, a massive bomb placed by the so-called Real IRA ripped through the town of Omagh, killing twenty-nine people, including eleven children, and injuring over two hundred. It was the worst massacre in Northern Ireland's modern history- yet from it came a most extraordinary tale of human resilience, as the families of ten of the dead channelled their grief into action.

Taking for their motto, 'For evil to triumph, all that is necessary is for good men to do nothing', they decided to pursue the men whom the police believed responsible for the atrocity through the civil courts, where the burden of proof is lower. This is the remarkable account of how these families- who had no knowledge of the law and no money- became internationally recognised, formiddable campaigners and surmounted countless daunting obstacles to win a famous victory.

Longlisted for the Orwell Prize 2010

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781446485781
Publisher:	Random House
Publication date:	09/30/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	400
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Ruth Dudley Edwards is an historian, journalist and crime writer. Her non-fiction includes Victor Gollancz: a Biography (winner of the James Tate Black Memorial Prize), The Pursuit of Reason: The Economist, 1843-1993, and, most recently, Newspapermen; her nine crime novels are satires on the British Establishment.

Table of Contents

Part I

Prologue 1

1 Victims 9

2 The Bomb 21

3 After the Bomb 43

4 Later 53

5 The Families 59

6 The Burial of the Dead 69

7 Investigating It 85

Part II

8 Surviving It 101

9 The London Connection 123

10 The Inquest 147

11 Going to Law 161

12 Taking the Fight to the Enemy 181

13 Funding It 193

14 Going to Court 227

15 The Case 285

Epilogue 321

Acknowledgements 329

Notes 331

Chronology: Politics and Terror 333

Chronology: Legal Proceedings 351

Index 371

Editorial Reviews

"This vital, powerful book tells a story of loss, resilience and terrorism... Distinguished historian and journalist Ruth Dudley Edwards was centrally involved in the bringing of this Omagh civil case. In her impressive and vivid book, Aftermath, she becomes the families' crusading chronicler... this book...recounts a remarkable story of victims' resilience and vindication, and deserves to be very widely read"

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