A Dundalk man appeared before Enniskillen Magistrate's Court amid heavy security yesterday charged with supplying the car used in the "Real IRA" bombing of Omagh more than six years ago.
Anthony Joseph Donegan, a 34-year-old labourer, denied that, at a date unknown between August 11th and 16th 1998, he made available to another person a maroon Vauxhall Cavalier car, knowing that it might be used for terrorism.
On August 15th 1998, a 500lb "Real IRA" car-bomb exploded in Omagh town centre, killing 29 people and unborn twin girls.
Mr Donegan, of Afton Drive, Dundalk, was brought to the courthouse under heavy guard. He avoided the cameras by hiding under a sweater and crouching on the floor of a Garda car as it was driven through a side gate.
In the dock, Mr Donegan stood quietly as the charge was read to him. He spoke only to confirm that he understood the charge.
Mr Donegan, who was detained in Newry, Co Down, was initially charged on Monday night at Omagh police station, where he pleaded "not guilty". However, a PSNI detective-sergeant said he believed that he could connect him to the charge.
The magistrate, Mr Liam McNally, remanded Mr Donegan in custody until March 8th to appear via video link at Omagh Courthouse.
Mr Laurence Rush, whose wife Libby died in the Omagh bombing, was among those who sat in the public gallery of the court.
Relatives of those murdered in the bombing are taking a separate £16 million civil action against five men they suspect of plotting the atrocity.
Colm Murphy, the only man sentenced so far in relation to the bombing, had his conviction for conspiracy to cause an explosion overturned on appeal in Dublin last month. A retrial has been ordered and he is now on bail.
The charge against Mr Donegan is only the second to be brought by police in Northern Ireland investigating the atrocity.
Seán Hoey is on remand awaiting trial on charges related to the "Real IRA" bombing of Omagh, including possession of a timer power unit between March 1997 and the day after the bombing.
