23.1.05
ThePost.ie
Omagh accused confident of winning retrial
23 January 2005 By Barry O'Kelly
Colm Murphy, the man whose conviction for the Omagh bombing was quashed last Friday, said he was “fully confident" of winning a retrial.
In an interview with The Sunday Business Post, the Dundalk man said: “I have never been in Omagh in my life and I had nothing to do with the bombing. I am 100 per cent innocent. I'm confident that my name will be fully cleared. There will also be new evidence.”
He dismissed claims by Garda sources that it was a technical victory in the Court of Criminal Appeal. The 52-year-old former builder said: “Definitely not. The only evidence was the unsigned statements. How come I didn't sign the statements? Why would you make a statement and then refuse to sign it? I never made any of those statements.”
The appeal judges noted that the original judges in the Special Criminal Court found that two of the four gardai who interviewed Murphy had “repeatedly lied'‘ under oath.
Murphy, currently in Portlaoise Prison, said he expected to be a free man this week when he meets the €50,000 bail requirement. “It will happen around Wednesday because it will take some time to raise the money. I'm on legal aid,” he said.
“I have a long way to go to rebuild my life again. I'm in jail three years. I've been divorced.
The divorce ultimately happened because of my incarceration. I've lost everything that would be associated with family life.”
In today's interview, Murphy talks for the first time about the mobile phone evidence and the alleged confessions.
Omagh accused confident of winning retrial
23 January 2005 By Barry O'Kelly
Colm Murphy, the man whose conviction for the Omagh bombing was quashed last Friday, said he was “fully confident" of winning a retrial.
In an interview with The Sunday Business Post, the Dundalk man said: “I have never been in Omagh in my life and I had nothing to do with the bombing. I am 100 per cent innocent. I'm confident that my name will be fully cleared. There will also be new evidence.”
He dismissed claims by Garda sources that it was a technical victory in the Court of Criminal Appeal. The 52-year-old former builder said: “Definitely not. The only evidence was the unsigned statements. How come I didn't sign the statements? Why would you make a statement and then refuse to sign it? I never made any of those statements.”
The appeal judges noted that the original judges in the Special Criminal Court found that two of the four gardai who interviewed Murphy had “repeatedly lied'‘ under oath.
Murphy, currently in Portlaoise Prison, said he expected to be a free man this week when he meets the €50,000 bail requirement. “It will happen around Wednesday because it will take some time to raise the money. I'm on legal aid,” he said.
“I have a long way to go to rebuild my life again. I'm in jail three years. I've been divorced.
The divorce ultimately happened because of my incarceration. I've lost everything that would be associated with family life.”
In today's interview, Murphy talks for the first time about the mobile phone evidence and the alleged confessions.
