was acquitted of the Omagh bombing on December 20th. He was also acquitted of 57 other charges. For him that should have been the end of the matter. But next day the Irish News front page headline read "Still No Justice". The rest of the page carried boxes with pictures of all 29 people killed in the bombing with an extra box in the middle saying "Omagh Accused Acquitted". Most readers of newspapers are left with impressions rather than a headful of detailed facts. Newspapers know this. And the impression given by the Irish News was that Hoey got off or got away with it.
The IN editorial says: "After almost ten years the families are no strangers to pain and disappointment but yesterday represented a further low. On the basis of the evidence Sean Hoey has been acquitted. But the authorities are guilty of an abject failure to provide justice for the victims and the ramifications of this damaging verdict will be felt for some time."
What sort of impression does this leave?
Lawrence Rushe, whose wife was killed, is quoted in the editorial as saying that the police investigation was "a disaster". What Mr. Rushe also said was: "I’m stressed but not over-disappointed. I wouldn’t have liked the wrong man to be charged." But you’d have to plough through pages of IN reports to find that.
At the time of the bombing, and for a good while afterwards, there was a widespread belief that the RUC and/or MI5 were involved through having infiltrated the RIRA. No one has claimed that it was the RIRA intention to hurt anyone that day. The best the police could come up with was that the warnings which were given were confusing. If there is to be any further investigation the RUC/PSNI are certainly not competent to carry it out. They have even lost the ability to fit someone up.
The judge at the trial accused Detective Chief Inspector Philip Marshall and Detective Constable Fiona Cooper of lying. No one has yet been charged with perjury. These two police have merely been called before the new ombudsman. No one at all seems to be inquiring into the man who led the investigation, Chief Superintendent Norman Baxter, according to himself. And the overall boss at the time, Ronnie Flanagan, has been promoted.

has decided to resume its coverage of Gaelic games following the attendance of Culture Minister, Edwin Poots, at a match between Down and Donegal in Newry. It had stopped coverage four years ago without explanation. Other DUP politicians have also been attending GAA matches. But the practice is to turn up five or ten minutes late to avoid having to stand for the National Anthem!