SCENES OF CALLOUS SLAUGHTER FILL FRONT PAGES
Scenes of callous slaughter fill the front pages
By Niall Blaney
SCENES of slaughter and destruction featured on the front pages of most of the Sunday papers yesterday.
Some had gone to print before reports of the Omagh bombing reached newsrooms across Ireland and Britain.
Others managed to get details of the bloody atrocity into their later editions.
The Independent on Sunday quoted eye-witnesses who described seeing dead bodies lying in the street.
The attack, said the paper, brought echoes of the Poppy Day massacre In Enniskillen in 1987.
In its editorial the paper said: "In a few terrible seconds the fragile peace of Northern Ireland erupted yesterday in scenes of carnage we hoped never to see again. It was a new horror just as the province had begun to believe it could finally escape the vicious cycle of violence that has so darkened the lives of its people."
Ireland on Sunday produced an eight-page pull-out on the bombing with the headline: 'Why?'
Its back page showed the wedding photograph of Enniskillen bomb victim Stephen Ross with his bride Heather Watson.
On its front page the Sunday Tribune carried Taoiseach Bertie Ahern's pledge to "ruthlessly suppress" the killers, while the Sunday Independent told how an Ulsterbus ferried casualties to hospital.
The Sunday Times quoted dentist Gerard Turbitt who described a scene of absolute carnage in which parts of people's bodies were lying on the ground. "I put three injured people into the back of an ambulance, although I doubt if they made it to the operating theatre," he said.
The Observer devoted almost all of its front page to the explosion, using a photograph of fire officers sifting through tons of rubble in Market Street. The Sunday Telegraph quoted Ulster Unionist Ken Maginnis who described the attack as a "dreadful crime against humanity".
The Belfast-based Sunday Life reported eyewitnesses describing the aftermath of the bomb as a "battlefield of burning flesh and dead bodies".
In a strongly-worded editorial the paper demanded 'Hound down these scum' saying that the perpetrators butchered innocent people and they had to be "ruthlessly" tracked down.
The paper warned that if the Secretary of State Mo Mowlam failed to respond effectively "she will invite the wrath of Ulster's law abiding citizens, both Protestants and Catholics".
The Dublin-based Sunday World quoted one man who witnessed the carnage as saying "the smell of burning flesh was everywhere".
They also printed a picture of a man - with his eyes blanked out - who they claimed was the 'terror chief who ordered the outrage'.
They said he was a Dundalk businessman who heads the 'Real IRA'.
In its editorial the paper said people in Northern Ireland should "never bend the knee to fascism" especially when there is a new dawn of democracy for the first time in 30 years.
The British tabloids also expressed outrage and horror at the deaths.
The Sunday Mirror called the perpetrators 'savages' but its editorial said the murders must not block the road to peace.
The Sunday People said Omagh was the type of town where farming people came on Saturdays for shopping. It was a place where people had been enjoying a sunny afternoon, so rare in this summer of rain.
The paper's editorial said the Omagh outrage demonstrated the contempt in which Republicans hold democracy and human life and they said the
IRA and others should play a part in helping to bring the dissident republicans accused of the bombing to justice.
The News of the World's editorial said the bomb outlined the fragility of the peace process in Northern Ireland.
The Sunday Express editorial called on politicians to "seize the political initiative" to pull the north "back from the brink".
The Mail On Sunday who described the atrocity as 'Bloody Saturday' said the "most evil aspect of the atrocity was the cruel deception played on the security forces".
The Scotland-based Sunday Post quoted one witness as saying: 'I've never seen so much blood' and in their editorial urged people in Northern Ireland to "hold their nerve" in the peace process. Another Scottish title, The Sunday Mail, printed a picture of the atrocity with the headline 'So This Is Peace'.
By Niall Blaney
SCENES of slaughter and destruction featured on the front pages of most of the Sunday papers yesterday.
Some had gone to print before reports of the Omagh bombing reached newsrooms across Ireland and Britain.
Others managed to get details of the bloody atrocity into their later editions.
The Independent on Sunday quoted eye-witnesses who described seeing dead bodies lying in the street.
The attack, said the paper, brought echoes of the Poppy Day massacre In Enniskillen in 1987.
In its editorial the paper said: "In a few terrible seconds the fragile peace of Northern Ireland erupted yesterday in scenes of carnage we hoped never to see again. It was a new horror just as the province had begun to believe it could finally escape the vicious cycle of violence that has so darkened the lives of its people."
Ireland on Sunday produced an eight-page pull-out on the bombing with the headline: 'Why?'
Its back page showed the wedding photograph of Enniskillen bomb victim Stephen Ross with his bride Heather Watson.
On its front page the Sunday Tribune carried Taoiseach Bertie Ahern's pledge to "ruthlessly suppress" the killers, while the Sunday Independent told how an Ulsterbus ferried casualties to hospital.
The Sunday Times quoted dentist Gerard Turbitt who described a scene of absolute carnage in which parts of people's bodies were lying on the ground. "I put three injured people into the back of an ambulance, although I doubt if they made it to the operating theatre," he said.
The Observer devoted almost all of its front page to the explosion, using a photograph of fire officers sifting through tons of rubble in Market Street. The Sunday Telegraph quoted Ulster Unionist Ken Maginnis who described the attack as a "dreadful crime against humanity".
The Belfast-based Sunday Life reported eyewitnesses describing the aftermath of the bomb as a "battlefield of burning flesh and dead bodies".
In a strongly-worded editorial the paper demanded 'Hound down these scum' saying that the perpetrators butchered innocent people and they had to be "ruthlessly" tracked down.
The paper warned that if the Secretary of State Mo Mowlam failed to respond effectively "she will invite the wrath of Ulster's law abiding citizens, both Protestants and Catholics".
The Dublin-based Sunday World quoted one man who witnessed the carnage as saying "the smell of burning flesh was everywhere".
They also printed a picture of a man - with his eyes blanked out - who they claimed was the 'terror chief who ordered the outrage'.
They said he was a Dundalk businessman who heads the 'Real IRA'.
In its editorial the paper said people in Northern Ireland should "never bend the knee to fascism" especially when there is a new dawn of democracy for the first time in 30 years.
The British tabloids also expressed outrage and horror at the deaths.
The Sunday Mirror called the perpetrators 'savages' but its editorial said the murders must not block the road to peace.
The Sunday People said Omagh was the type of town where farming people came on Saturdays for shopping. It was a place where people had been enjoying a sunny afternoon, so rare in this summer of rain.
The paper's editorial said the Omagh outrage demonstrated the contempt in which Republicans hold democracy and human life and they said the
IRA and others should play a part in helping to bring the dissident republicans accused of the bombing to justice.
The News of the World's editorial said the bomb outlined the fragility of the peace process in Northern Ireland.
The Sunday Express editorial called on politicians to "seize the political initiative" to pull the north "back from the brink".
The Mail On Sunday who described the atrocity as 'Bloody Saturday' said the "most evil aspect of the atrocity was the cruel deception played on the security forces".
The Scotland-based Sunday Post quoted one witness as saying: 'I've never seen so much blood' and in their editorial urged people in Northern Ireland to "hold their nerve" in the peace process. Another Scottish title, The Sunday Mail, printed a picture of the atrocity with the headline 'So This Is Peace'.
Further Information
Publisher: THE IRISH NEWS
Ref: IN/0043
Published Date: 17-Aug-98
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