The Omagh families have vowed to fight on to collect the damages awarded to them from the four men responsible for killing their loved ones.

Michael Gallagher, whose son Aiden (21) was murdered, said this week’s landmark victory in the High Court would be “hollow” if they did not pursue the £1.6m awarded to them by Justice Declan Morgan.

“It is not to make us wealthy but it is to hold to account those people and make sure they pay the penalty. It would only be a hollow victory if we did not, and no pain for the people responsible,” he said.

The families’ legal representative, human rights lawyer Jason McCue, said there may be “elements that make the pursuit of damages more difficult” but he added that “it is not an impossible case.”

After winning a landmark civil case against the four men responsible for the Real IRA bombing, the relatives of those killed and injured have also now vowed to continue their battle for a full cross-border inquiry into the atrocity.

“The curtain can never be pulled in Omagh until both governments co-operate and tell the truth,” said Mr Gallagher.

He added: “I think there is a lot to learn from the Omagh bomb and that is what a public inquiry can do. It is not always about finding fault with people.

“There are many things that were done right in Omagh and those things should be passed on and the things not done well should be improved on.

“There are benefits to public inquiries. We know it is not an easy fight because there is a lot of resistance to public inquiries. That resistance is largely based on the cost. But it does not need to cost a lot if it is structured properly.”

Twenty-nine people, including a woman pregnant with twins, were killed when the Real IRA bomb exploded.

No one has been convicted of murder in criminal courts, in Northern Ireland or the Republic.

The investigation into the bombing has been the subject of controversy since 2001, when it was heavily criticised by the then Northern Ireland police ombudsman Nuala O’Loan. This was renewed when the only person charged in Northern Ireland, Sean Hoey, was acquitted in December 2007.

In the Republic, the conviction against Colm Murphy was found to be unsafe by the Court of Criminal Appeal.

It was this lack of successful prosecutions that spurred some relatives to pursue the route of a civil case.

Twelve relatives successfully sued Michael McKevitt, Liam Campbell, Colm Murphy and Seamus Daly in an eight-year landmark civil case.

Mr Justice Morgan found the defendants, including the Real IRA, liable for damages.

“What the Real IRA did was outside the law and we have proven that, if the criminal justice system is not capable of delivering some justice, at least civil law is, and that’s a very strong message we send around the world,” said Mr Gallagher.

“I think we will do everything we can to hold the verdict we got. If any of those people want to appeal the verdict that is within the law, but we are not concerned,” he added.