CHRISTMAS WISHES
Christmas wishes...
GAIL WALKER talks to Omagh victims' spokesman Michael Gallagher, 'Tyrone Tom' bike ace Philip McCallen and Bishop Donal McKeown about what this Christmas means to them
What I want more than anything is a breakthrough in the inquiry into who was responsible for bombing Omagh
MICHAEL Gallagher lost his only son Adrian, 21, in the Omagh bomb in August 1998. He and wife Patsy have two daughters, Sharon, 27, and Cathy, 23. "THIS will be our fourth Christmas without Adrian and after Midnight Mass I, my wife Patsy and a few other close family members will go to his grave, a little routine we've had since his death. "We'll place a small Christmas tree and some candles on it, and just stand there for a little while, each with our own thoughts. I always feel close to Adrian there.
"There's no point in saying anything else - for us, as for so many people, Christmas is a very painful time. We miss Adrian so very much. He would have been 24. It's a time of the year we just struggle through. "This is the first year since the bomb that we've put a Christmas tree and some decorations up in the house.
"Our daughter Sharon has three children, Darragh (6), Quinton (2) and Casey, who is only one-year-old, and we're making an effort for the youngsters. "Adrian loved Christmas, really loved it, and all our thoughts will be with him, particularly on Christmas morning, which is when our family have always opened their presents. Adrian would have been so excited then. It will be painful not to hear his familiar voice, full of laughter. "As a young boy, he loved receiving all the presents that boys love. He loved trucks. He loved his train set.
"Adrian always bought everyone a present and he would have relished helping his nephews and niece open their gifts.
"Only Darragh had been born before Adrian died and though he was only two at the time of the bomb, surprisingly he still remembers his uncle Adrian. For a long time after Adrian was killed, Darragh used to cry for him.
"Of course, Christmas has an important religious significance for us, too. My faith was not shaken by Adrian's death, but I did find going to church difficult for a while after June 3, 1984, which was when my younger brother, Hugh, who was in the UDR, was murdered. He was only 26.
"I thought some of the people at church might not have shared Hugh's point of view, but in the end I handled it by telling myself that God would make up his mind what was right and wrong, and not anyone else.
"But certainly my family have experienced the Troubles in the worst way imaginable, and nowadays if anyone tells me that lightning does not strike twice, I tell them 'actually, it does. I know, because it happened to me.'
"Some people I won't think about at all at Christmas are the Omagh bombers. I'm very selfish like that. I only want to think about Adrian. I won't let them take up even a tiny part of my mind, I'm saving all my thoughts for those whom I cared about.
"Sadly we are facing this Christmas with as much uncertainty as the first one after the bomb. Indeed there seem to be more unanswered questions now than there were in 1998. You wonder when will things begin to settle down?
"The past four years have been a time of public grief, and there are strains attached to that. This year there was the inquest, then more recently the Ombudsman's report.
"Wherever you go people know who you are. I'm always known as 'Michael Gallagher, the father of Adrian Gallagher, who died in the Omagh bomb'. Of course, I'm so proud to have been Adrian's dad but sometimes, with all the ongoing developments, there's little tune for me. It would be easy to lose my own identity.
"I just hope the New Year can change everything for the better and that we can get on with as normal a life as possible.
"What I want more than anything is a breakthrough in the inquiry into who bombed Omagh."
GAIL WALKER talks to Omagh victims' spokesman Michael Gallagher, 'Tyrone Tom' bike ace Philip McCallen and Bishop Donal McKeown about what this Christmas means to them
What I want more than anything is a breakthrough in the inquiry into who was responsible for bombing Omagh
MICHAEL Gallagher lost his only son Adrian, 21, in the Omagh bomb in August 1998. He and wife Patsy have two daughters, Sharon, 27, and Cathy, 23. "THIS will be our fourth Christmas without Adrian and after Midnight Mass I, my wife Patsy and a few other close family members will go to his grave, a little routine we've had since his death. "We'll place a small Christmas tree and some candles on it, and just stand there for a little while, each with our own thoughts. I always feel close to Adrian there.
"There's no point in saying anything else - for us, as for so many people, Christmas is a very painful time. We miss Adrian so very much. He would have been 24. It's a time of the year we just struggle through. "This is the first year since the bomb that we've put a Christmas tree and some decorations up in the house.
"Our daughter Sharon has three children, Darragh (6), Quinton (2) and Casey, who is only one-year-old, and we're making an effort for the youngsters. "Adrian loved Christmas, really loved it, and all our thoughts will be with him, particularly on Christmas morning, which is when our family have always opened their presents. Adrian would have been so excited then. It will be painful not to hear his familiar voice, full of laughter. "As a young boy, he loved receiving all the presents that boys love. He loved trucks. He loved his train set.
"Adrian always bought everyone a present and he would have relished helping his nephews and niece open their gifts.
"Only Darragh had been born before Adrian died and though he was only two at the time of the bomb, surprisingly he still remembers his uncle Adrian. For a long time after Adrian was killed, Darragh used to cry for him.
"Of course, Christmas has an important religious significance for us, too. My faith was not shaken by Adrian's death, but I did find going to church difficult for a while after June 3, 1984, which was when my younger brother, Hugh, who was in the UDR, was murdered. He was only 26.
"I thought some of the people at church might not have shared Hugh's point of view, but in the end I handled it by telling myself that God would make up his mind what was right and wrong, and not anyone else.
"But certainly my family have experienced the Troubles in the worst way imaginable, and nowadays if anyone tells me that lightning does not strike twice, I tell them 'actually, it does. I know, because it happened to me.'
"Some people I won't think about at all at Christmas are the Omagh bombers. I'm very selfish like that. I only want to think about Adrian. I won't let them take up even a tiny part of my mind, I'm saving all my thoughts for those whom I cared about.
"Sadly we are facing this Christmas with as much uncertainty as the first one after the bomb. Indeed there seem to be more unanswered questions now than there were in 1998. You wonder when will things begin to settle down?
"The past four years have been a time of public grief, and there are strains attached to that. This year there was the inquest, then more recently the Ombudsman's report.
"Wherever you go people know who you are. I'm always known as 'Michael Gallagher, the father of Adrian Gallagher, who died in the Omagh bomb'. Of course, I'm so proud to have been Adrian's dad but sometimes, with all the ongoing developments, there's little tune for me. It would be easy to lose my own identity.
"I just hope the New Year can change everything for the better and that we can get on with as normal a life as possible.
"What I want more than anything is a breakthrough in the inquiry into who bombed Omagh."
Further Information
Publisher: BELFAST TELEGRAPH
Ref: BT/0812
Published Date: 24-Dec-01
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