The victims of the Omagh bombing are set to be the central focus as the latest series of hearings which form part of the public inquiry get underway next week.
A three-week run of Commemorative Hearings are set to be heard at the Strule Arts Centre in the Co Tyrone town, lasting from January 28 until February 20.
Thirty-one people were killed when a Real IRA blast ripped through Omagh in August 1998.
The Real IRA, formed by disillusioned members of the south Armagh brigade following the ceasefires, was responsible for the bomb.
A legal battle for a judicial review into whether the atrocity could have been prevented led to the establishment of the statutory inquiry, which commenced work in February 2024.
Next week’s Commemorative Hearings will be a key part of the inquiry. They will allow its chairperson Rt Hon Lord John Turnbull to hear directly from those most affected by the bombing.
The hearings will take place at Strule Arts Centre in Omagh
The hearings will commemorate publicly those who were killed following the bombing and allow the public to hear the impact the blast had on individuals and communities.
Contributions to the hearing are on a voluntary basis; where family members have decided not to take part, the inquiry will produce its own commemoration based on information publicly available, with permission from the families.
The hearings will be open to the public, with a number of bereaved families and friends expected to be among those attending, along with others injured in the bombing.
The opening commemoration hearing will focus on Fernando Blasco Baselga (13) and Rocio Abad Ramos (23).
Both were part of an exchange trip between Spanish and Irish schoolchildren and had been rounding off a trip to the nearby Ulster American Folk Park by visiting the shops in the town.
Fernando was killed instantly when he was struck with debris from the blast, while Rocio was killed when the bomb exploded next to her, after she had bravely rushed some of the children to safety.
Commemorations for Rocio Abad Ramos (left) and Fernando Blasco Baselga will be the first to be heard at the Omagh Bombing Inquiry
The following morning, the inquiry will also hear commemorations for 16-year-old schoolboy Alan Radford and toddler Breda Devine, while the afternoon session will feature the stories of Mary Grimes (66), her daughter Avril (30) and granddaughter Maura Monaghan (one).
All three had been shopping in SD Kells, which bore the brunt of the blast.
Avril’s two unborn twins will also be commemorated along with their sister, mother and grandmother.
The inquiry will also hear the stories of 20-year-old student Debra-Anne Cartwright, Geraldine Breslin (43) and 18-year-old Gareth Conway, who was in town on that day to buy a new pair of jeans.
It comes after a judge rejected a bid from the PSNI to have civil proceedings relating to the force’s alleged failure to effectively investigate the bombing delayed until after the conclusion of the inquiry.
In his ruling at the High Court, Master Bell said any staying of proceedings would be unlawful if it resulted in a breach of the “reasonable time” guarantee contained in Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights — the right to a fair trial.
“The factor which bears the heaviest weight in this application is, however, the issue of time and delay,” he added.