Dunlop to head Omagh memorial team

A churchman involved in mediation over parading disputes will head independent efforts to resolve the row over the Omagh bomb…

A churchman involved in mediation over parading disputes will head independent efforts to resolve the row over the Omagh bomb memorial.

Former Presbyterian moderator the Rev John Dunlop will head a three-strong team, including representatives from the Catholic and Quaker churches, to search for appropriate wording on a shrine to the victims of the Real IRA attack in 1998.

The other members of the team are Fr Brian Lennon, founder of Community Dialogue, and Olive Hobson, a peace-builder from the Quaker House in Belfast.

Mr Dunlop was instrumental in the parades review group that led to the Parades Commission, which determines the route of controversial marches. The Belfast minister has also led efforts to improve community relations in north Belfast.

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They will submit a final report with recommendations by the end of February.

Omagh District Council commissioned the monument in time for next year's 10th anniversary of the explosion.

Victims' families claim the Sinn Féin-dominated council objected to having the words "dissident republican car bomb" on the memorial plaque.

Twenty-nine people, including a woman pregnant with twins, were killed in the car bomb blast in Omagh's main shopping street.