It took nearly 11 years, but this week some of the terrorist gang responsible for the Omagh bombing, Northern Ireland’s most murderous outrage, were named and shamed in court.

This was not the result that the British and Irish governments had promised when they vowed in the wake of the August 15, 1998, bombing that no stone would be left unturned to find the killers of 29 people, including unborn twins, who died that day.

Since then no-one has been brought to justice for the killings and serious questions have been asked about the professionalism of the investigation into the bombing on both sides of the border.

It was left to the relatives of some of those killed to bring the people responsible for the bombing before the courts.

Their ground-breaking civil action was a momentous achievement. For the first time anywhere in the world, a terrorist organisation was sued by the relatives of people it had killed. The judge found that the Real IRA had been responsible for the Omagh

bombing and that four named individuals played a part in that atrocity.

The judge awarded the families compensation of £1.6m against the four men, and, although the families have vowed to get what money they can from the terrorists, it is very unlikely that they will have any realisable assets.

Of course, what it means is that the four men can never obtain any assets that could be seized from them. They must forever look over their shoulder to see who is watching them and weighing up their worldly goods. This is not the same as locking the bombers up for life, but it is some justice.

What it also gives is a form of closure for the relatives.

Practically from the day they were bereaved, the relatives have fought against insuperable odds to bring the guilty men to court.

They have suffered set-back after set-back and hopes of justice through the criminal courts kept receding. Indeed, the only person brought before the courts on a charge relating directly to the Omagh bombing was acquitted.

In the end they had to bring the men they believed played a part in the bombing to court themselves through a civil action. It was a heroic action and one that could lead to other victims of terrorism suing the terrorists.

One had only to look at the joy on the faces of the relative’s after the judge’s verdict to see what it meant to them.

They had run a terrorist gang to ground and proved that their unquenchable desire for justice was even more effective than the entire security apparatus of the British and Irish governments.

They proved that there was no hiding place for the terror gang and, with the threat of compensation hanging over them, the crimes of the terrorists will continue to haunt them for the rest of their lives.

The lives of many of the Omagh relatives remain frozen at the day when the bomb exploded, killing their loved ones. They have suffered injustice and, in some cases, ill-health.

Perhaps now, thanks to their own sterling efforts, they can restart their lives.