I FEEL MY LIFE IS AT AN END
I'm totally numb, I feel my life is at an end'
By Rosie Cowan
"ANN was my wife,and she was my best friend as well. No one could have asked for a happier marriage."
A big, strong-looking man, Stanley McCombe has had the hardest blow of his life in the past few hours. His eyes red with weeping and lack of sleep, he can still barely take in the news that a few seconds on Saturday afternoon have left him a widower.
His sister, traffic warden Rosemary Ingram, was also injured in the blast, although she is now "comfortable" in hospital.
The McCombes celebrated their silver wedding in June with a quiet day out in Dublin. Two months later, and they will never mark another anniversary together again.
Two sons, 18-year-old Colan and 22-year-old Clive, are motherless, and Stanley will never get over this dreadful day.
"I'm so totally numb. I feel my life is at an end," he says, voice barely a whisper. "These bombers are the scum of the earth and for Mo Mowlam to consider releasing prisoners makes me heave.
"Ann was such a loving, caring person.She nursed her own parents for years, sometimes visiting them twice a night. They both died within the past year.
"She hadn't a bad word to say about anyone. Her main interests were singing in the church choir, walking in the country, and, of course, her home and family.
"If she'd been alive today, her thoughts would have been for the victims and injured. She would have been running round, calling on people and asking if there was anything she could do to help."
Stanley, along with a lot of Omagh people, was taking part in the World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow when news filtered through about the bomb.
"I heard it was at the courthouse, so it never occurred to me Ann would be near it," he explains.
In fact, Watterson's, the drapery store where 48-year-old Ann worked, was devastated by the bomb.
But later on Saturday evening, Stanley's brother rang again to say Ann was still missing. And, as like so many other families, began a nightmare of frantic worry, searching, communications hampered by the phone lines being down.
Eventually, the news they had been dreading came through - Ann was among the dead, and Stanley and his two sons are left to rebuild their shattered lives.
"I was born and reared outside the town, but I've spent my whole married life here," says Stanley, who works for pizza delivery firm, Schimmel.
"I can't leave Omagh now. What Ann has worked for, to build up our family and home, I'll never desert. I've got the two boys who mean the world to me, even more so now."
By Rosie Cowan
"ANN was my wife,and she was my best friend as well. No one could have asked for a happier marriage."
A big, strong-looking man, Stanley McCombe has had the hardest blow of his life in the past few hours. His eyes red with weeping and lack of sleep, he can still barely take in the news that a few seconds on Saturday afternoon have left him a widower.
His sister, traffic warden Rosemary Ingram, was also injured in the blast, although she is now "comfortable" in hospital.
The McCombes celebrated their silver wedding in June with a quiet day out in Dublin. Two months later, and they will never mark another anniversary together again.
Two sons, 18-year-old Colan and 22-year-old Clive, are motherless, and Stanley will never get over this dreadful day.
"I'm so totally numb. I feel my life is at an end," he says, voice barely a whisper. "These bombers are the scum of the earth and for Mo Mowlam to consider releasing prisoners makes me heave.
"Ann was such a loving, caring person.She nursed her own parents for years, sometimes visiting them twice a night. They both died within the past year.
"She hadn't a bad word to say about anyone. Her main interests were singing in the church choir, walking in the country, and, of course, her home and family.
"If she'd been alive today, her thoughts would have been for the victims and injured. She would have been running round, calling on people and asking if there was anything she could do to help."
Stanley, along with a lot of Omagh people, was taking part in the World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow when news filtered through about the bomb.
"I heard it was at the courthouse, so it never occurred to me Ann would be near it," he explains.
In fact, Watterson's, the drapery store where 48-year-old Ann worked, was devastated by the bomb.
But later on Saturday evening, Stanley's brother rang again to say Ann was still missing. And, as like so many other families, began a nightmare of frantic worry, searching, communications hampered by the phone lines being down.
Eventually, the news they had been dreading came through - Ann was among the dead, and Stanley and his two sons are left to rebuild their shattered lives.
"I was born and reared outside the town, but I've spent my whole married life here," says Stanley, who works for pizza delivery firm, Schimmel.
"I can't leave Omagh now. What Ann has worked for, to build up our family and home, I'll never desert. I've got the two boys who mean the world to me, even more so now."
Further Information
Publisher: BELFAST TELEGRAPH
Ref: BT/0028
Published Date: 17-Aug-98
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