CHARLES VISITS OMAGH
CHARLES VISITS OMAGH
Prince meets up with victims of Real IRA bomb
By Gary Grattan
PRINCE Charles was due to make an emotional return to Omagh today to meet victims of the bombing.
The Prince of Wales brought comfort to the grieving town when he visited the Tyrone County Hospital four days after the blast last August which killed 29 people.
Today he was scheduled to meet relatives of those killed and some of the young people injured in the explosion.
He was also due to meet members of the committee involved in co-ordinating the Omagh Memorial Fund.
On his last visit to Omagh the Prince delivered an impassioned plea for peace in Ireland.
He explained how the massacre - claimed by the Real IRA - had evoked his feelings of revulsion over the IRA murder of his great uncle and mentor, Lord Mountbatten in 1979.
"I remember only too well the feelings of anger when my great uncle Lord Mountbatten and other relatives were blown to small pieces.
"Let us pray this time that it will be the end of all the horrors that poor Ireland has had to suffer," he said.
On that occasion the Prince of Wales spent six hours in Omagh - two of them at the bedside of 15 survivors undergoing treatment for multiple shrapnel wounds.
Medical staff said the visit was "a real morale booster for the patients and staff alike".
Today he was due to meet some of those same people to see how they are coping with their injuries.
Prince Charles has retained his close interest in the town in the months since the outrage.
In October he raised IR�53,OOO for the Omagh hospital when a signed lithograph of one of his paintings was auctioned in Dublin.
During a round of engagements today the Prince was also due to visit the Belfast Waste Water Treatment Works at Duncrue Street and an organic farm near Straid in Co Antrim.
Later he was expected to travel by helicopter to Broughshane to unveil a plaque on a garden in the centre of the village which bears his name.
While in Broughshane he was also expected to meet local children involved in cross-community projects.
Prince meets up with victims of Real IRA bomb
By Gary Grattan
PRINCE Charles was due to make an emotional return to Omagh today to meet victims of the bombing.
The Prince of Wales brought comfort to the grieving town when he visited the Tyrone County Hospital four days after the blast last August which killed 29 people.
Today he was scheduled to meet relatives of those killed and some of the young people injured in the explosion.
He was also due to meet members of the committee involved in co-ordinating the Omagh Memorial Fund.
On his last visit to Omagh the Prince delivered an impassioned plea for peace in Ireland.
He explained how the massacre - claimed by the Real IRA - had evoked his feelings of revulsion over the IRA murder of his great uncle and mentor, Lord Mountbatten in 1979.
"I remember only too well the feelings of anger when my great uncle Lord Mountbatten and other relatives were blown to small pieces.
"Let us pray this time that it will be the end of all the horrors that poor Ireland has had to suffer," he said.
On that occasion the Prince of Wales spent six hours in Omagh - two of them at the bedside of 15 survivors undergoing treatment for multiple shrapnel wounds.
Medical staff said the visit was "a real morale booster for the patients and staff alike".
Today he was due to meet some of those same people to see how they are coping with their injuries.
Prince Charles has retained his close interest in the town in the months since the outrage.
In October he raised IR�53,OOO for the Omagh hospital when a signed lithograph of one of his paintings was auctioned in Dublin.
During a round of engagements today the Prince was also due to visit the Belfast Waste Water Treatment Works at Duncrue Street and an organic farm near Straid in Co Antrim.
Later he was expected to travel by helicopter to Broughshane to unveil a plaque on a garden in the centre of the village which bears his name.
While in Broughshane he was also expected to meet local children involved in cross-community projects.
Further Information
Publisher: BELFAST TELEGRAPH
Ref: BT/0574
Published Date: 05-May-99
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