EMOTIONAL DAY FOR PEOPLE OF OMAGH
Emotional day for the people of Omagh
By Rosie Cowan
IT was the day President Clinton reached out to the grief-stricken of Omagh - and they reached back with sorrow but hope too, in their hearts.
From the Leisure Centre, where he met the bereaved and the wounded, to the bomb site, where he unveiled a memorial plaque with tears in his eyes, to Watterson's shop, where Hillary Clinton and Cherie Blair laid wreaths - it was a long, emotional journey.
The warm, welcoming crowds against the bleak backdrop of the blast-shattered town marked a sombre contrast which could not have failed to touch the President.
He was here to sympathise with the still-raw pain of 28 dead and 220 injured, 20 days ago, but also to share faith in a better future for a town which will never forget its tragic past.
The President arrived in Omagh by helicopter shortly before 4pm yesterday, and his cavalcade first made its way to the Leisure Centre, where around 700 people - those who had lost loved ones, the injured and their families - were waiting.
They came in wheelchairs, on crutches, in bandages, some just out of hospital for the day, the physically and mentally scarred. For many, this same Centre was where they spent the endless night of the bomb, waiting to see if husbands, wives, sons, daughters, were living or dead.
For all. the sight of so many wounded and grieving gathered together in one place brought home the terrible enormity of the consequences of the atrocity.
Accompanied by his wife, Hillary, Tony and Cherie Blair, President Clinton spent over an hour and a half meeting privately with the victims.
The two couples spoke to as many people as possible and those they talked to said the VIPs took their time and were visibly moved by what they saw and heard.
The Presidential party were then driven the short distance to the town centre, along sunny streets lined with cheering people, some waving American flags.
At either end of Market Street, some 12,000 people had crowded into the small town centre, many waiting patiently for six hours or more in the hope of shaking the hand of the most powerful man in the world.
The Clintons and Blairs arrived at the bomb site at 5.45pm, where they were met by Omagh District Council chief executive, John McKinney.
A small plaque, draped in black, stood on a plinth on the very spot where the car exploded.
Behind it, the rubble of Kells' store, the broken sale signs and shop rails. To either side, the battered boarded fronts of Nicholl and Shiels, Hyper clothes shop and The Salad Bowl.
Across the narrow street, the ruined Pine Emporium and wreckage of the Kosy Corner pub. Everywhere, the memory of how 28 people met their deaths.
President Clinton stared for a few moments, taking in the dreadful scene, alone with his thoughts. Then he unveiled the plaque and turned back to face the handful of press opposite, with tears in his eyes.
The plaque, which will go to the district council offices for safekeeping before its final location is decided, reads - "In remembrance of the men, women and children who died in the terrorist bombing, August 15, 1998. May their memory serve to foster peace and reconciliation". The Clintons' names and the date are at the bottom.
Mrs Clinton moved forward to place the spray of white carnations she had been carrying at the foot of the plinth. Mr Clinton stopped again, as Tony Blair moved closer to talk to him.
"Fertiliser!" the President was heard to exclaim, shaking his head -a reference to a vital ingredient in the devastating 500lb explosive.
The four walked on up Market Street toward the courthouse, along which so many had fled in the opposite direction to their deaths.
A few hundred yards along, they chatted with members of the emergency services who worked so selflessly in the aftermath of the bomb, as well as local schoolchildren and dignitaries, who had been specially invited to meet the President.
Secretary of State. Mo Mowlam, and talks chairman, Senator George Mitchell, were also out and about in Market Street, receiving a rapturous welcome from the public.
Mrs Clinton was the first in her party to reach the front of Watterson's drapery store, which lost three of its staff. She paused to read the messages on floral tributes and the RUC information appeal poster on the door.
Soon, shouts of "Hillary, Hillary", whistles and cheers drew her toward the crowd, which stretched all the way from Watterson's to the courthouse, and she came over, smiling broadly to greet the well-wishers.
Shortly afterwards, the President and the Blairs arrived, and the women took two wreaths from their bearers to lay them at the door of Watterson's.
All four then bent down to read the other floral tributes. Then. shouts of "We want Bill, we want Bill" began, and the VIPs went toward the people.
They were soon engulfed in a sea of hands and hugs, all four of them reaching deep into the crowd to embrace people with both arms.
By 6.30pm, the Presidential limousine was in position outside Watterson's, ready to whisk him away from the small market town that had greeted him so genially, and moved him so deeply.
By Rosie Cowan
IT was the day President Clinton reached out to the grief-stricken of Omagh - and they reached back with sorrow but hope too, in their hearts.
From the Leisure Centre, where he met the bereaved and the wounded, to the bomb site, where he unveiled a memorial plaque with tears in his eyes, to Watterson's shop, where Hillary Clinton and Cherie Blair laid wreaths - it was a long, emotional journey.
The warm, welcoming crowds against the bleak backdrop of the blast-shattered town marked a sombre contrast which could not have failed to touch the President.
He was here to sympathise with the still-raw pain of 28 dead and 220 injured, 20 days ago, but also to share faith in a better future for a town which will never forget its tragic past.
The President arrived in Omagh by helicopter shortly before 4pm yesterday, and his cavalcade first made its way to the Leisure Centre, where around 700 people - those who had lost loved ones, the injured and their families - were waiting.
They came in wheelchairs, on crutches, in bandages, some just out of hospital for the day, the physically and mentally scarred. For many, this same Centre was where they spent the endless night of the bomb, waiting to see if husbands, wives, sons, daughters, were living or dead.
For all. the sight of so many wounded and grieving gathered together in one place brought home the terrible enormity of the consequences of the atrocity.
Accompanied by his wife, Hillary, Tony and Cherie Blair, President Clinton spent over an hour and a half meeting privately with the victims.
The two couples spoke to as many people as possible and those they talked to said the VIPs took their time and were visibly moved by what they saw and heard.
The Presidential party were then driven the short distance to the town centre, along sunny streets lined with cheering people, some waving American flags.
At either end of Market Street, some 12,000 people had crowded into the small town centre, many waiting patiently for six hours or more in the hope of shaking the hand of the most powerful man in the world.
The Clintons and Blairs arrived at the bomb site at 5.45pm, where they were met by Omagh District Council chief executive, John McKinney.
A small plaque, draped in black, stood on a plinth on the very spot where the car exploded.
Behind it, the rubble of Kells' store, the broken sale signs and shop rails. To either side, the battered boarded fronts of Nicholl and Shiels, Hyper clothes shop and The Salad Bowl.
Across the narrow street, the ruined Pine Emporium and wreckage of the Kosy Corner pub. Everywhere, the memory of how 28 people met their deaths.
President Clinton stared for a few moments, taking in the dreadful scene, alone with his thoughts. Then he unveiled the plaque and turned back to face the handful of press opposite, with tears in his eyes.
The plaque, which will go to the district council offices for safekeeping before its final location is decided, reads - "In remembrance of the men, women and children who died in the terrorist bombing, August 15, 1998. May their memory serve to foster peace and reconciliation". The Clintons' names and the date are at the bottom.
Mrs Clinton moved forward to place the spray of white carnations she had been carrying at the foot of the plinth. Mr Clinton stopped again, as Tony Blair moved closer to talk to him.
"Fertiliser!" the President was heard to exclaim, shaking his head -a reference to a vital ingredient in the devastating 500lb explosive.
The four walked on up Market Street toward the courthouse, along which so many had fled in the opposite direction to their deaths.
A few hundred yards along, they chatted with members of the emergency services who worked so selflessly in the aftermath of the bomb, as well as local schoolchildren and dignitaries, who had been specially invited to meet the President.
Secretary of State. Mo Mowlam, and talks chairman, Senator George Mitchell, were also out and about in Market Street, receiving a rapturous welcome from the public.
Mrs Clinton was the first in her party to reach the front of Watterson's drapery store, which lost three of its staff. She paused to read the messages on floral tributes and the RUC information appeal poster on the door.
Soon, shouts of "Hillary, Hillary", whistles and cheers drew her toward the crowd, which stretched all the way from Watterson's to the courthouse, and she came over, smiling broadly to greet the well-wishers.
Shortly afterwards, the President and the Blairs arrived, and the women took two wreaths from their bearers to lay them at the door of Watterson's.
All four then bent down to read the other floral tributes. Then. shouts of "We want Bill, we want Bill" began, and the VIPs went toward the people.
They were soon engulfed in a sea of hands and hugs, all four of them reaching deep into the crowd to embrace people with both arms.
By 6.30pm, the Presidential limousine was in position outside Watterson's, ready to whisk him away from the small market town that had greeted him so genially, and moved him so deeply.
Further Information
Publisher: BELFAST TELEGRAPH
Ref: BT/0643
Published Date: 04-Sep-98
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