I'LL NEVER SEE MY LITTLE MAN ALIVE AGAIN
I'll never see my little man alive again - says grief stricken father
The last time trouble paid an unwelcome visit to Buncrana was over seven years ago when Sinn Fein Councillor Eddie Fullerton was gunned down. Apart from that bloody incident. Buncrana has known peace down through the years as both Catholics and Protestants went about their daily business.
That peace was shattered last Saturday afternoon when a mindless act of violence took away three of the town's sons.
On Monday afternoon last, a grey skyline covered the town as rain spa: down on Knockalla Drive.
Dressed in a green t-shirt and grey trousers, Mickey Doherty stared vacantly down the cul de sac towards the town using his garden wall for
support. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he recalled times spent with young Oran whom he had idolised.
"He was a mad Celtic fan. Henrik Larsson was his hero. He loved his hairstyle. I just don't know what I am going to do without my little man.
"I am just waiting for him to walk up the road and come home but 1 know he won't. I just want to die," he said.
Mickey reached out for a cup of tea but his shaking hand could not hold the cup and he handed it back to a neighbour.
"They are just evil and 1 can never forgive them for taking away my wee man. He didn't deserve this."
LAST TIME
'Standing in the doorway of the family home, Oran's older sister Lisa recalled the last time she set eyes on her younger brother.
"I was asleep and he woke me for money so he could buy sweets to suck on the bus on the way to Omagh. It was the last time 1 saw him. I don't know what we are going to do," she said.
A mere twenty yards away, another local family or the estate was also trying to come to terms with the loss of their son.
Twelve year old Shaun McLaughlin, a keen Manchester United fan, had also failed to return from that fateful trip to Omagh.
In the living room of the family home, his devoted mother and father Patricia and John held each other tightly as neighbours called to express their sympathy.
John, who earns a living as a taxi-driver spoke softly, almost emotionally drained from the events of the previous day.
"We are just so tired. I cannot think of any words to describe how we feel. We have been robbed of a beautiful son and he is not coming back.
"Ask anybody about our son and they will tell you what a happy-go-lucky young fella he was. always smiling. He was never in bad form. I just don't know how we are going to cope," he said.
Neighbours lined the hallway, popping in and out of the small living room which had pictures of the couple's children hanging proudly on the wall. "I wouldn't call these people, who carried out this act dogs because that would be unfair to poor dogs. They are just animals. They killed my son for a piece of land and that's all. Is that all my son and all these other people are worth?
"I don't care about being Irish or English or who should own what. My son has been taken from me and nothing can change that."
Over the next few days, neighbours, young and old will recall an incident or a moment when Shaun touched their lives in some way.
Neighbour Barney Griffin, who drove the couple to Omagh to identify their son, said in all his years in the fire service, he had never witnessed such a tragic scene.
"I cannot describe how I felt when I saw young Shaun lying there in such a state. I cannot find words to describe how I feel towards the people who have carried out this act.
"I want the world to see how these people are suffering now. No cause could justify what these people are going through. I am them to come here and see what their evil act has done to this poor family," he said.
The last time trouble paid an unwelcome visit to Buncrana was over seven years ago when Sinn Fein Councillor Eddie Fullerton was gunned down. Apart from that bloody incident. Buncrana has known peace down through the years as both Catholics and Protestants went about their daily business.
That peace was shattered last Saturday afternoon when a mindless act of violence took away three of the town's sons.
On Monday afternoon last, a grey skyline covered the town as rain spa: down on Knockalla Drive.
Dressed in a green t-shirt and grey trousers, Mickey Doherty stared vacantly down the cul de sac towards the town using his garden wall for
support. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he recalled times spent with young Oran whom he had idolised.
"He was a mad Celtic fan. Henrik Larsson was his hero. He loved his hairstyle. I just don't know what I am going to do without my little man.
"I am just waiting for him to walk up the road and come home but 1 know he won't. I just want to die," he said.
Mickey reached out for a cup of tea but his shaking hand could not hold the cup and he handed it back to a neighbour.
"They are just evil and 1 can never forgive them for taking away my wee man. He didn't deserve this."
LAST TIME
'Standing in the doorway of the family home, Oran's older sister Lisa recalled the last time she set eyes on her younger brother.
"I was asleep and he woke me for money so he could buy sweets to suck on the bus on the way to Omagh. It was the last time 1 saw him. I don't know what we are going to do," she said.
A mere twenty yards away, another local family or the estate was also trying to come to terms with the loss of their son.
Twelve year old Shaun McLaughlin, a keen Manchester United fan, had also failed to return from that fateful trip to Omagh.
In the living room of the family home, his devoted mother and father Patricia and John held each other tightly as neighbours called to express their sympathy.
John, who earns a living as a taxi-driver spoke softly, almost emotionally drained from the events of the previous day.
"We are just so tired. I cannot think of any words to describe how we feel. We have been robbed of a beautiful son and he is not coming back.
"Ask anybody about our son and they will tell you what a happy-go-lucky young fella he was. always smiling. He was never in bad form. I just don't know how we are going to cope," he said.
Neighbours lined the hallway, popping in and out of the small living room which had pictures of the couple's children hanging proudly on the wall. "I wouldn't call these people, who carried out this act dogs because that would be unfair to poor dogs. They are just animals. They killed my son for a piece of land and that's all. Is that all my son and all these other people are worth?
"I don't care about being Irish or English or who should own what. My son has been taken from me and nothing can change that."
Over the next few days, neighbours, young and old will recall an incident or a moment when Shaun touched their lives in some way.
Neighbour Barney Griffin, who drove the couple to Omagh to identify their son, said in all his years in the fire service, he had never witnessed such a tragic scene.
"I cannot describe how I felt when I saw young Shaun lying there in such a state. I cannot find words to describe how I feel towards the people who have carried out this act.
"I want the world to see how these people are suffering now. No cause could justify what these people are going through. I am them to come here and see what their evil act has done to this poor family," he said.
Further Information
Publisher: DONEGAL DEMOCRAT
Ref: DOD/004
Published Date: 20-Aug-98
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