The long-awaited public inquiry into the Omagh Bombing is getting underway today.

The inquiry is being held in Omagh Town Centre, close to where the real IRA car bomb ripped through the street.

It was the single worst atrocity of the Troubles - killing 29 people including a woman who was pregnant with twins.

Hundreds of others were also injured during the attack in August 1998.

The inquiry will examine if the Omagh Bombing could have been prevented by UK state authorities.

Omagh bomb campaigner Michael Gallagher on Campsie Street, Omagh. 02/02/2023 Image: Alamy

A man whose son was killed in the bombing said the public inquiry will hopefully be "the beginning of the end" after years of campaigning.

Michael Gallagher, whose son Aidan was killed, said the journey to get here has been long and difficult.

“I think the wounds have never really closed, we live with it every day - we've got an empty chair around our table,” he said.

“What you do in those type of situations is, you know, you don't move on, but you learn to manage your life in a way that you can live and that's what we have had to do.”

Market Street Memorial to the Omagh bombing. Image: Alamy

Mr Gallagher said he thinks it’s “hugely important” that the impact on the victims is being heard in this public inquiry.

“I think it's hugely important that the inquiry has decided to start with, you know, making sure that the victims are heard - that's hugely important,” he said.

“It will be a very difficult, difficult experience, but hugely important.

“I’m going to be [at the public enquiry] every single minute of every day that I can.

“I think it's hugely important that we observe and take note of what's happened.”

This week will focus on victim commemorations with the inquiry set to last several weeks.

The scene of a car bombing in the centre of Omagh, Co Tyrone. 15/08/ 1998 (AP Photo / Paul McErlane)