World | Northern Ireland Families Blast N. Ireland Bomb Acquittal Demand inquiry after lone suspect cleared on 56 counts By Jason Farago Posted Dec 21, 2007 5:30 AM CST Copied Michael Gallagher, right, attends Lagonside Courts, Belfast, Northern Ireland, Thursday, Dec. 20, 2007 with other family members who lost loved ones in the 1998 Omagh bomb. (Associated Press) Furious families of victims have slammed provincial police and called for an inquiry a day after the acquittal of a man charged with the worst terror attack in Northern Ireland history. Sean Hoey was cleared of 56 counts of murder and terrorist charges stemming from the 1998 Omagh bombing. The trial judge blasted the police for "reprehensible" conduct and a "slapdash approach" that produced unreliable DNA evidence, writes the Telegraph. A 500-pound car bomb detonated on a busy Omagh street in the carnage, killing 29 and injuring 220. So far only one man, Hoey's uncle, has been convicted for the attack, and his conviction was overturned on appeal. "This case has been a disgrace by any standards," said a father who lost his son in the attack. Read These Next Trump aide gives punny response to Springsteen. President Trump struck defiant tone after tariffs loss at court. Hundreds offer to adopt dog abandoned at airport. Conan O'Brien finally speaks on deaths of Rob and Michele Reiner. Report an error