Official inquiries into a range of issues, particularly those linked to the Troubles, have not always achieved their objectives, and have a tendency to proceed very slowly before reaching often vague outcomes.
However, they remain a vital way of offering hope and clarity to grieving families, particularly when the courts have failed to deliver justice, and there will be a widespread acceptance that the Omagh bombing public investigation, which opened yesterday, is an initiative of the utmost importance.
It began with a powerful act of symbolism, as the names of the 29 people, including a mother who was pregnant with twins, who were murdered in the outrage perpetrated by the Real IRA on August 15, 1998, were read out by a lawyer,
The hearing at the Strule Arts Centre in the Co Tyrone town, close to the scene of the carnage, was attended by those who survived the massive no-warning explosion and by relatives of those who did not.
Many of them have been campaigning for a formal inquiry for decades, and have endured enormous frustrations and disappointments along the way, so yesterday was always going to be a day of major significance.
In his first contribution, the chairman, Lord Turnbull, promised that the inquiry would undertake its task rigorously and fearlessly, and said the trauma caused by the bombing “has been enduring and continues to have a most powerful impact”.
Those were fine words but he is acutely aware that the victims of Omagh, as well as our wider society, will be expecting clear and decisive findings on the central question of whether or not the worst single atrocity of the last 60 years could have been prevented.
The background to the catastrophe was hugely disturbing as it came just months after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, which was due to signal a final end to a conflict which at that stage had already claimed almost 3,500 lives.
Most paramilitary groups recognised that their time had passed but a small number of both republicans and loyalists initially ignored the democratic verdict of the electorate and attempted to continue the violence.
It has already been well documented that the Real IRA, using the methods, equipment and former personnel of the Provisional IRA, planted the bomb, and that deplorable intelligence failures were involved on the part of the police on both sides of the border.
While the early stages of the proceedings will address procedural matters, with the hearing of evidence and the calling of witnesses not scheduled until the new year, it is essential that, regardless of how long it takes, the full shocking sequence of events is ultimately and decisively established at long last.
