The killing of 28 people in Omagh by republican dissidents in the bloodiest single paramilitary attack in the Northern Troubles has led to British and Irish Government statements of intent to crush the organisation responsible.
The Taoiseach and the British Prime Minister pledged last night to do "everything possible" to deal with the perpetrators. The two men discussed the security situation at Stormont and also held a series of bilateral meetings with some of the North's political leaders.
Mr Ahern told reporters at Stormont that "these evil, mindless people . . . will be defeated, and defeat them we will." Mr Blair pledged the Governments would "do everything that is possible within their power to hunt down those who have been responsible for this outrage."
The atrocity also drew the first unequivocal condemnation of a republican paramilitary action from the Sinn Fein president, Mr Gerry Adams. The car used to carry the 500 lb bomb was stolen a week earlier in Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan. It is thought that while the car was stolen in Monaghan, the bomb could have been prepared north of the Border and the bombers could have been guided to their target by supporters in the Omagh area.
Loyalist paramilitary leaders were reported to be meeting in secret yesterday to discuss their response as loyalist and unionist politicians urged them not to retaliate.
The deaths and horrific casualties occurred when the car-bomb exploded in the busiest shopping area of Omagh, Co Tyrone at 3.10 p.m. on Saturday afternoon as a carnival was under way in the town. A caller giving a code word used by the organisation calling itself the "Real IRA" telephoned a misleading warning 40 minutes earlier. This warning said the bomb was at the courthouse in the town when, in fact, it was several hundred yards away.
Of the 28 dead, 26 had been identified last night. They were five men, four boys, 14 women and three girls. Three generations of one family, a 65-year-old grandmother, her 30-year-old daughter who was in an advanced state of pregnancy and her 18-month-old baby, were killed.
Three of the dead boys aged from eight to 12 years were from Buncrana in Donegal and the fourth was aged 12 from Madrid in Spain. A female teacher from Spain is also among the dead. All these victims were on a day trip from Buncrana. A further 11 Spaniards on the same trip were still among the 117 injured people in hospital. Of the injured, 12 were still in a critical condition. Many children are among the injured and many of those in hospital have lost limbs.
The President, Mrs McAleese, who visited Omagh yesterday said the bombing had been carried out by "a posse of serial killers" and the attack was "off the Richter scale of decency".
The Taoiseach directly accused members of the 32 County Sovereignty Movement and the organisation calling itself the "Real IRA" of responsibility for the attack. He made no distinction between the two and said: "Whatever resources are necessary to crush this organisation will be given."
However, the 32 County Sovereignty Movement said last night that it was "a political movement, not a military group . . . We reject any suggestion that our movement was responsible in any way". The statement claimed the committee was "shocked and devastated by the bombing" and shared the grief and sorrow of the Irish people.
Amid an unprecedented wave of revulsion the Taoiseach refused to rule out the prospect of the introduction of internment in the South. And a spokesman for the British Prime Minister declined to be drawn on whether internment, provision for which was recently removed from the British statute books, could be brought back in the North.
The Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, who flew into Dublin last night after cutting short his holiday, described the bombing as "a heinous and appalling crime".
He said there would now be a "root and branch" review of criminal legislation. "We have the toughest criminal legislation in the world but where it has to be tightened, it will be tightened," the Minister said.
This morning Mr O'Donoghue will meet the Northern Secretary, Dr Mo Mowlam, to discuss any measures they can take against republican dissidents.
The Garda Commissioner, Mr Pat Byrne, will also discuss the security response to the bombing today with the RUC Chief Constable, Mr Ronnie Flanagan. Their assessment of what measures are needed will be forwarded to Mr Ahern and Mr Blair.
The Assembly's First Minister, Mr David Trimble, said after a meeting last night with Mr Blair that he believed there was a will across all sections of society in the North, "including some who would identify themselves as republicans", to bring an end to attacks such as that in Omagh. He said the ball was now in the court of the two Prime Ministers, adding that any measures taken would have to be decisive.
Mr Blair briefed the US President, Mr Clinton, on the situation in a 10-minute telephone call early today, a Downing Street spokesman said. President Clinton said he would continue with his planned visit to the North on September 3rd.