omagh bombing views?

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kateelizabethmarks

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How do you think the omagh bombing has effected the views of todays loyalists and unionists? i personaly think that loyalists hold unionists resposable as it was suposudly a republican organsitaion who did the bomb (IRA)
 
well it was a republican attack, so naturally the unionists would hold them responsible.

The real issue of the Omagh Bomb was that it was the final straw for many, Catholics and Protestants alike, and paved the way for the beginning of real peace talks. Which thankfully have kept such atrocities from happening again.
 
Before the last echo of the bombing, the RUC announced their suspicion that the 'Real' IRA were behind the attack. They indeed admitted responsibility a few days after the bomb, but denied that they had intended to take life. However, the police believe that this was not true. How could Unionists be responsible for the death of their people? When asked about this belief, Ronnie Flanaghan said "I can come to no other conclusion in that this was absolutely deliberate, we've had success in the past either through intercepting these vehicles before they arrive at their intended destination, or reaching them very soon after they have arrived so that we've been able to disrupt them, and I have no doubt that these people decided to give deliberately vague and misleading warnings to prevent us disrupting the explosive devices. I can come to no conclusion other than that these people intended the bloody murder that resulted from their actions". As Barbara infers, the bombing awoken the more sensible of both sides to talk.
 
In part Barbara is right and while the Omagh bombing was, without doubt, a major turning point in 'the troubles' in N.Ireland, the REAL turning point was 9/11.

It is no coincidence that N. Ireland's politicians were forced to the negotiating table by the events following 9/11 because, for the first time ever, Catholic Americans who had long supported the Republican movement by way of financial donations to 'the cause' saw for themselves what the real effects of supporting terrorism are. Consequently, they stopped handing over the money. In turn, this pushed Republicans to face the fact that they could not go on with thier campaigns without money and so, negotiations were essential if they were not to be left totally behind in the peace process.

So, if you are looking for a defining moment in modern Irish history, it is 9/11, not Omagh.
 
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