The explosion killed 29 people in 1998, including a woman pregnant with twins, and injured over 200. It was the deadliest single incident of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
The independent public inquiry, chaired by Lord Turnbull, was set up in 2024 to examine whether the 1998 Omagh bombing could reasonably have been prevented and has so far held preliminary sessions, opening statements and powerful personal evidence from bereaved families and survivors.
The latest hearing, to be held in Belfast and broadcast to Omagh, will deal with practical matters such as timetables, disclosure of sensitive material from Irish and United Kingdom authorities, and arrangements for witnesses, rather than taking new evidence about the bombing itself.
The core “Chapter 3” hearings, which will look directly at how the bomb was planned and carried out and who bears responsibility, had been due to begin in March but are now scheduled to start on 21 September after delays linked in part to the scale and pace of cross‑Border disclosure.
In May this year, the inquiry faced criticism when retired police officers who responded to 1998 Omagh Bomb announced they were temporarily withdrawing their participation in an inquiry into the atrocity. They stated their involvement will only resume when improvements are made to the trauma support services within the inquiry.