Legal argument today delayed the start of a landmark lawsuit against alleged terrorists accused of carrying out the Omagh bombing.
Barristers for the men said to be responsible for the attack told a judge in Dublin that the names of their clients could be tarnished if they were not permitted to question evidence as it is given.
More than 50 Gardai have been summoned to testify at the civil case, which is the first time evidence from a Northern Ireland case will have been heard in the Republic.
District Judge Conal Gibbons will rule this afternoon if senior counsel will be allowed to object to evidence they deem inadmissible.
The bombing, the worst atrocity during the Troubles, killed 29 people, including a woman pregnant with twins.
Hundreds more were injured when the Real IRA bombed the Co Tyrone town on a busy Saturday afternoon in August 1998.
The action, taken by the families affected, moved to Dublin under 2001EU legislation.
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