THOUSANDS GATHER TO WEEP AND PRAY
Thousands gather to weep and pray
Children clutch candles and cry
By Claire McGahan
YOUNG and old sharing a dreadful burden, they gathered close to the scene of Ulster's worst atrocity in 30 years of bloodshed.
Around 5,000 people gathered in Drumragh car park, just yards from the blast site, for the 20-minute memorial service last night.
Little girls and boys clutched candles in memory of those killed in a massacre so horrific and evil no-one, never mind children, should have to try and understand it.
They huddled together and cried for a town and its people who will never be the same after being touched by the depravity of the bombers.
Together they wept and prayed for the dead and grievously wounded of Omagh.
Candles flickered in the gentle breeze and the scent of flowers hanging in the night air belied the horror of Saturday just a short distance away.
Strule Bridge, the walkway leading from the town's devastated centre to the site of the vigil last night, became the Bridge of Sighs as young and old, numb with grief and disbelief, gathered to remember the people they knew so well and will never see again.
They sang Abide With Me and held a minute's silence as a mark of respect for the 28 dead and more than 200 injured in the explosion.
The service came to an end with the laying of two bunches of flowers, from both sides of the community in Omagh, on Strule Bridge, along with the hundreds of other bouquets.
Rita Aroua, a 40-year-old nurse from Omagh who was called to work at the weekend, was at the vigil.
She attacked the statement issued by the Real IRA, which has admitted responsibility for the bomb.
The mother of two said: "This apology is an absolute insult. People will be disgusted. I was at the hospital and it was absolute carnage. Nothing can prepare you for that.
"There were just so many people coming in and each was worse than the one before."
Kieran Gallagher, chairman of the cross-community Focus group which organised the vigil, condemned the attack and those who carried it out.
He said the vigil was a way for the people of Omagh to come together and share their sense of loss.
Children clutch candles and cry
By Claire McGahan
YOUNG and old sharing a dreadful burden, they gathered close to the scene of Ulster's worst atrocity in 30 years of bloodshed.
Around 5,000 people gathered in Drumragh car park, just yards from the blast site, for the 20-minute memorial service last night.
Little girls and boys clutched candles in memory of those killed in a massacre so horrific and evil no-one, never mind children, should have to try and understand it.
They huddled together and cried for a town and its people who will never be the same after being touched by the depravity of the bombers.
Together they wept and prayed for the dead and grievously wounded of Omagh.
Candles flickered in the gentle breeze and the scent of flowers hanging in the night air belied the horror of Saturday just a short distance away.
Strule Bridge, the walkway leading from the town's devastated centre to the site of the vigil last night, became the Bridge of Sighs as young and old, numb with grief and disbelief, gathered to remember the people they knew so well and will never see again.
They sang Abide With Me and held a minute's silence as a mark of respect for the 28 dead and more than 200 injured in the explosion.
The service came to an end with the laying of two bunches of flowers, from both sides of the community in Omagh, on Strule Bridge, along with the hundreds of other bouquets.
Rita Aroua, a 40-year-old nurse from Omagh who was called to work at the weekend, was at the vigil.
She attacked the statement issued by the Real IRA, which has admitted responsibility for the bomb.
The mother of two said: "This apology is an absolute insult. People will be disgusted. I was at the hospital and it was absolute carnage. Nothing can prepare you for that.
"There were just so many people coming in and each was worse than the one before."
Kieran Gallagher, chairman of the cross-community Focus group which organised the vigil, condemned the attack and those who carried it out.
He said the vigil was a way for the people of Omagh to come together and share their sense of loss.
Further Information
Publisher: BELFAST TELEGRAPH
Ref: BT/0073
Published Date: 19-Aug-98
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