A female terrorist was allegedly a key member of the IRA unit that planted the Poppy Day bombs in Enniskillen 38 years ago.
Police identified the woman as the prime suspect in the 1987 Memorial Day rampage that claimed the lives of 12 people and injured more than 60 others.
No one has been convicted over the bombing, which is considered one of the bloodiest and most shocking attacks of the Troubles.
The Royal Ulster Constabulary, the predecessor of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, identified the woman as the leader of an IRA unit in County Fermanagh.
But she moved abroad after the bombing and it is unclear whether she was ever questioned by authorities in Northern Ireland or the Republic over the attack.
Details of the development are revealed in a new podcast titled Poppy Day Bomb, produced by The Times and The Sunday Times.
On 8 November 1987, IRA terrorists placed a huge device near the Enniskillen Cenotaph as locals gathered to remember the war dead.
The bomb exploded at 10:43 a.m., killing 11 people and injuring 63 others. The 12th victim, Ronnie Hill, died in 2000 after being in a coma for 13 years.
The IRA later tried to blame the British Army for detonating the device during a security sweep, but it was later revealed that the bomb had a timer.
The woman’s identity was confirmed
The day before the explosion, an off-duty police officer at the scene claimed to have seen a woman wearing a green dress and carrying a brown bag outside the community center where the bomb was planted.
Details of the alleged sightings were outlined in a 2015 application to Northern Ireland’s Attorney General by a group of Enniskillen victims and family members demanding a new investigation.
The officer provided a statement outlining the incident, but it was never followed up, documents say.
Meanwhile, police in the Republic of Ireland are said to have identified a female suspect who captained the South Fermanagh IRA brigade.
She is also believed to be close to key IRA figures based in County Monaghan, the county on the border with Northern Ireland where police believe one of the units involved in the Enniskillen incident operated.
The woman is said to have since moved overseas but is now back in Northern Ireland, the podcast reports.
IRA Admissions
More than a dozen people have been arrested and questioned in connection with the Enniskillen attack, but no one has yet been charged.
The IRA admitted responsibility the day after the attack, saying: “We deeply regret what happened.”
Families of the dead and injured continue to campaign for justice and to uncover the truth about those behind the atrocities.
The government has rejected calls for a public inquiry, but a committee investigating the Troubled legacy is expected to conduct a review as part of its ongoing work.
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