Seamus Daly (

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

: Séamus Ó Dálaigh) is an

Irish republican Irish republicanism ( ga, poblachtánachas Éireannach) is the political movement for the unity and independence of Ireland under a republic. Irish republicans view British rule in any part of Ireland as inherently illegitimate. The develop ...

from

Kilmurray Kilmurry McMahon (''Irish language, Irish: Cill Mhuire Mhic Mhathuna''), also called Kilmurry-Clonderalaw, is a Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish in County Clare in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is also a Catholic parish in the Diocese ...

Castleblayney Castleblayney (; ) is a town in County Monaghan, Ireland. The town had a population of 3,607 as of the 2016 census. Castleblayney is near the border with County Armagh in Northern Ireland, and lies on the N2 road from Dublin to Derry and Let ...

County Monaghan County Monaghan ( ; ga, Contae Mhuineacháin) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Ulster and is part of Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Monaghan. Monaghan County Cou ...

. He was charged with being a member of the

Real Irish Republican Army The Real Irish Republican Army, or Real IRA (RIRA), is a dissident Irish republican paramilitary group that aims to bring about a United Ireland. It formed in 1997 following a split in the Provisional IRA by dissident members, who rejected the ...

(RIRA) in Dublin's

Special Criminal Court The Special Criminal Court (SCC; ga, Cúirt Choiriúil Speisialta) is a juryless criminal court in Ireland which tries terrorism and serious organised crime cases. Legal basis Article 38 of the Constitution of Ireland empowers the Dáil to ...

in 2004, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three and half years in prison. In 2009, he appeared in

Carrickmacross Carrickmacross () is a town in County Monaghan, Ireland. The town and environs had a population of 5,032 according to the 2016 census, making it the second-largest town in the county. Carrickmacross is a market town which developed around a ca ...

District Court for failing to produce insurance and driving without a licence at Tullyvaragh, Carrickmacross and also failing to produce insurance and a driving licence when stopped in Carrickmacross Court car park. He received a 12-month driving ban and a €3,250 fine.

Background

He is a builder from Cullaville,

County Armagh County Armagh (, named after its county town, Armagh) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the southern shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and ha ...

Omagh bombing

In 2009, Daly, along with three other Real IRA members, were ruled to be civilly liable for the

Omagh bombing The Omagh bombing was a car bombing on 15 August 1998 in the town of Omagh in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It was carried out by the Real Irish Republican Army (Real IRA), a Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) splinter group who oppose ...

and ordered by a Belfast court to pay £1.5 million to the victims of the attack. All four men refused. On 10 April 2014, arising out of the police investigation into the Omagh bombing, Daly was charged with the murder of 29 people in Omagh in 1998, two charges linked to the explosion and two counts linked to an attempted explosion in

Lisburn Lisburn (; ) is a city in Northern Ireland. It is southwest of Belfast city centre, on the River Lagan, which forms the boundary between County Antrim and County Down. First laid out in the 17th century by English and Welsh settlers, with ...

in April 1998. He appeared in court on 11 April and was remanded in custody due to the possibility he may flee the jurisdiction. On 6 May, Daly's case was adjourned for four weeks at the prosecutor's request. In February 2015 Northern Ireland's Director of Public Prosecutions ordered that Daly face charges "both for the Omagh bomb and Lisburn bomb and the charges associated with those two incidents." After their star witness contradicted himself in a pre-trial hearing, prosecutors in the North dropped all charges against Daly. He was released from Maghaberry high-security prison in County Antrim on 1 March 2016.

Campaign for his release

Since his arrest in 2014, Daly's family and friends maintained his innocence. A committee was established in 2014 to work on highlighting the case and they released a number of statements. A website and social media campaign was established in July 2015 to highlight his ongoing imprisonment, which campaigners described as "the age old tactic of internment by remand."

References

Irish republicans Irish republicans imprisoned by non-jury courts Living people People from County Monaghan Real Irish Republican Army members Year of birth missing (living people) {{Ireland-bio-stub