The only man to be charged in connection with the Omagh bombing confessed to lending mobile telephones to a senior republican dissident, a court heard today.
Colm Murphy, 49, admitted during police questioning that he gave the phones to a Real IRA activist after initially denying the allegation, Dublin's Special Criminal Court heard.
The court was told that Mr Murphy gave two phones belonging to himself and his foreman to republicans, knowing they would be used for gun-running and explosives operations.
The alleged confession led to the father of four from Dundalk, Co Louth, being charged with conspiracy to cause an explosion on the weekend of the Omagh atrocity. He denies the charge. But Mr Murphy's defence team said the notes, drawn up by detectives during the interviews, had been doctored as different types of paper, ink and handwriting appeared among the 54 pages.
On the 12th day of the trial, Peter Charleton SC, prosecuting, said Mr Murphy told the Gardaí he gave the phones to "some fellows" in August 1998.
"I knew it would be used for moving bombs. I knew these fellows bombed Northern Ireland targets," he is alleged to have said.
Despite Mr Murphy's alleged links to the Continuity IRA, he is said to have lent his aid to the Real IRA, a different dissident splinter group.
"I am a republican. They knew if they asked me for help, I would give it," it is alleged the former building contractor said in questioning.
The phones have been tracked in contact from the border town of Castleblayney, Co Monaghan, to Omagh on the day of the atrocity, August 15, 1998, the court has previously heard.
But Michael O'Higgins SC for the defence said the entire case hinged on several lines of the interrogation script in which Mr Murphy made the alleged confession.
He suggested to one interviewing officer, detective garda James B Hanley, that the notes had been altered after the interviews had taken place.
He said there were two different types of ink, paper and handwriting among the scripts.
"If you take out those eight to 10 lines we would not be here having this trial," Mr O'Higgins said.
"The statements as composed here in this case are masters of the vague."
Referring to the lines in which the admission was supposed to have been made, he added: "Of the 54 pages of interviews do they not jump off the page in letters six feet high?"
Mr O'Higgins said officers were under "huge pressure" to secure an arrest and conviction after the bombing which killed 29 people and injured more than 200 more.
He told how both Bertie Ahern and Tony Blair, had vowed that the culprits would be brought to justice.
"This was an historic offence in the history of the state and there was huge pressure," he said.
He added that Mr Murphy said he had not been to Co Tyrone for 30 years and had a watertight alibi for the day of the bombing. Mr Murphy also denied playing any "operational role" in the market town bombing.
"I was never in Omagh in my life. I had no part in the Omagh bombing," he told detective Hanley in questioning.
Mr Murphy denies one charge of conspiring to cause explosions in the state or elsewhere, likely to cause loss of life or serious injury to property between August 13 and 16, 1998.
He has been remanded on continuing bail of IR£50,000 with two separate sureties totalling a further IR£50,000.
The hearing was adjourned until tomorrow.
PA