The "Real IRA" cannot evade responsibility for the human carnage caused by the 1998 bombing atrocity in Omagh, the coroner hearing the inquests asserted yesterday.
"The bomb warnings they gave were inadequate and misleading and the self-serving statement they issued subsequently has been shown to be untrue," said Mr John Leckey, in his closing statement.
He noted that the organisation had claimed responsibility for the car-bomb but had sought to pass responsibility to the police for the casualties, and he commented: "If you park a car containing up to 200kg of explosive in a busy shopping street, set a timer and walk away, you do not walk away from responsibility for any resultant carnage."
Before returning his verdicts on the 29 people killed, including a mother expecting twins, Mr Leckey said he shared the hope expressed so forcefully by many of the families, that those responsible for the bomb would be brought before a court of law and punished.
The conclusion of the inquests might close a chapter in the story of the dreadful events that happened in Omagh on August 15th, 1998, but a criminal trial and convictions would be necessary to close the book.
Expressing sympathy to all the bereaved families, the coroner noted that the unborn Monaghan twins who were killed had been on the verge of birth and he said he was sure that they would be grieved for as if they had been born.
He commented on the international dimension of the atrocity, saying that in reality the towns of Omagh and Buncrana had been bereaved and the loss had extended much further afield, to Spain and England.
He said the four weeks of the inquest hearings had been a difficult time for everyone. He personally had found it an emotional experience "the like of which I have never encountered previously and which I will never forget".
The investigation of the facts had often been unpleasant and distressing. He did not believe it could have been otherwise. "My strong view is that it would have been quite wrong for me to have engaged in an exercise whose purpose was to sanitise or dilute the horror perpetrated on behalf of the `Real IRA'.
"I believe that would not have served the interests of justice and it would have been unfair to the memory of those who died so tragically.
"Also, it would have marginalised the important role played by those involved in the immediate aftermath of the explosion in rescuing the injured and the recovery and identification of bodies.
"Let us not forget that the scene of the bomb explosion was a major crime scene and the police officers present would have been conscious of the important implications of that for the subsequent criminal investigation."
The coroner said that all who gave evidence were clearly affected by what they had witnessed. Some witnesses were so deeply traumatised they were unable, on medical grounds, to attend and give evidence in court.
He noted that police officers had been in the front line in dealing with the dead and injured. "The age of Robocop has not yet dawned: it is still a film," he remarked. "The police officers who confronted the horror were real men and women, not robots without feelings and emotions."