The prosecution case against Mr Colm Murphy, the only man charged in connection with the Omagh bomb, depends on admissions allegedly made by the accused, the Special Criminal Court heard yesterday.
In his closing speech for the prosecution, Mr Tom O'Connell SC, said two overt acts proved the existence of a conspiracy. The first was the stealing of a red Vauxhall car in Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan, in the early hours of the morning of August 13th, 1998.
"The second was the Market Square in Omagh at 3.05 p.m. on August 15th when the same motor car, now containing a terrorist bomb, exploded killing 29 people," he said.
"A warning call was transmitted and received at 2.34 p.m. to UTV using the code word Martha Pope," he added. A second call was received shortly after by the Samaritans in Coleraine. "Mr Murphy's phone was active in Omagh at 1.57 p.m. and Mr Terence Morgan's phone, which had been lent to Mr Murphy, was active in Omagh at 2.09 p.m. on the same day.
"The prosecution contends that Mr Murphy entered into a conspiracy with another" by lending his phone to a person he knew wanted the phone for a bombing run to Northern Ireland.
In his closing submission, Mr Michael O'Higgins SC, said the issue of the credibility of the garda∅ who obtained Mr Murphy's confessions went far beyond that of Det Garda Liam Donnelly and John Fahy, who the court ruled are "discredited witnesses" and has rejected their evidence. He said the "contaminated fallout" means that the entire set of interview evidence becomes suspect. The case continues on Monday.