DISMAL GREY UNDERLINES TRAGEDY OF ANN'S DEATH
Dismal grey underlines tragedy of Ann's death
By Niall Blaney
in Mountjoy
A dismal coat of grey cloud swallowed the Bolaght Mountains, the tall rotating wind turbines disappearing as it crept across the houses and bungalows of Mountjoy.
Mourners emerged from a crossroads of country lanes, using umbrellas to aid them in the climb to the village's Presbyterian Church.
They waited, quiet and reserved, for Ann McCombe to make her last journey to a Presbyterian service.
The 48-year-old wife and mother died along with two work colleagues while attempting to flee Saturday's bomb. Ann's was the final funeral of the 28 killed.
She was a member of the choir at Mountjoy Presbyterian Church, which lies in serene countryside a few miles north of Omagh.
On summer Sundays she would have emerged from the simple stone church and gazed across a patchwork of fields filled with wheat and rapeseed, bathed in sunshine. She would have seen the horses across the road from the white church gates.
In autumn she would have emerged to find fallen leaves from the crest of trees surrounding the church scattered throughout the cemetery.
In winter she would see the snow draping a white blanket over the Sperrin Mountains to the east. In spring, the bleets of life from newborn lambs on surrounding farm land.
A place where Ann McCombe found tranquillity and peace was horrifically transformed into a place where she was received from a torturous death.
As Ann left Mountjoy Presbyterian Church for the final time it was an alien picture - hundreds of people with their heads bowed, the rain beating down on their backs; police officers; camera crews; traffic cones and the debris of floral tributes and wreaths strewn across the road.
Ann's two sons, Clive (22) and Colan (18), helped their father Stanley carry her coffin into the packed church. Mr McCombe had described his wife as his best friend.
There was complete silence, save for the fall of rain, and coats and umbrellas battling with the wind.
Presbyterian Moderator Dr John Dixon said that when the church's general assembly met in June members thought they had seen the last funeral resulting from paramilitary violence. He said it was a special privilege to convey his condolences and those of all presbyterians to the McCombe family.
The minister of Mountjoy, the Rev Ian Mairs, described Ann as a genuinely bright, positive and happy character.
He said: "Ann had a radiant beauty that was not dependent on her natural looks, on the tasteful way she dressed or on the distinct way in which she always wore her hair. No, Ann had what Peter described as 'the ageless beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit which is of the greatest value in God's sight'.
"When that bomb blew Ann McCombe off her feet last Saturday afternoon - it blew her safely into the everlasting arms of her everloving Heavenly Father, where we believe she remains at peace today."
The minister said he was grateful to Stanley for allowing him to borrow Ann's well used Bible, filled with church service sheets and daily readings.
Mr Mairs said the bombing was an offence against the whole community, through which it was designed to drive a wedge.
"I believe time alone will show that this was the decisive act in unleashing a fierce determination from the people of Omagh to stand together as a community," he said.
"I believe, as never before, that there exists a corporate will to work together to build a new community under the mantle of the new political structures which the vast majority of the decent, Godfearing, peace loving people of the island of Ireland have voted for."
Mr Mairs read out the names of those murdered in the bombing.
He invited Omagh priest Fr Kevin Mullan to address the congregation. He said the devastated town was a whole community, sharing the same hearts and minds. "We weep, grieve and pray with you," said Fr Mullan.
Earlier, the McCombe family held a private service at their Omagh home.
Ann's remains were later buried at , Mountjoy cemetery.
By Niall Blaney
in Mountjoy
A dismal coat of grey cloud swallowed the Bolaght Mountains, the tall rotating wind turbines disappearing as it crept across the houses and bungalows of Mountjoy.
Mourners emerged from a crossroads of country lanes, using umbrellas to aid them in the climb to the village's Presbyterian Church.
They waited, quiet and reserved, for Ann McCombe to make her last journey to a Presbyterian service.
The 48-year-old wife and mother died along with two work colleagues while attempting to flee Saturday's bomb. Ann's was the final funeral of the 28 killed.
She was a member of the choir at Mountjoy Presbyterian Church, which lies in serene countryside a few miles north of Omagh.
On summer Sundays she would have emerged from the simple stone church and gazed across a patchwork of fields filled with wheat and rapeseed, bathed in sunshine. She would have seen the horses across the road from the white church gates.
In autumn she would have emerged to find fallen leaves from the crest of trees surrounding the church scattered throughout the cemetery.
In winter she would see the snow draping a white blanket over the Sperrin Mountains to the east. In spring, the bleets of life from newborn lambs on surrounding farm land.
A place where Ann McCombe found tranquillity and peace was horrifically transformed into a place where she was received from a torturous death.
As Ann left Mountjoy Presbyterian Church for the final time it was an alien picture - hundreds of people with their heads bowed, the rain beating down on their backs; police officers; camera crews; traffic cones and the debris of floral tributes and wreaths strewn across the road.
Ann's two sons, Clive (22) and Colan (18), helped their father Stanley carry her coffin into the packed church. Mr McCombe had described his wife as his best friend.
There was complete silence, save for the fall of rain, and coats and umbrellas battling with the wind.
Presbyterian Moderator Dr John Dixon said that when the church's general assembly met in June members thought they had seen the last funeral resulting from paramilitary violence. He said it was a special privilege to convey his condolences and those of all presbyterians to the McCombe family.
The minister of Mountjoy, the Rev Ian Mairs, described Ann as a genuinely bright, positive and happy character.
He said: "Ann had a radiant beauty that was not dependent on her natural looks, on the tasteful way she dressed or on the distinct way in which she always wore her hair. No, Ann had what Peter described as 'the ageless beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit which is of the greatest value in God's sight'.
"When that bomb blew Ann McCombe off her feet last Saturday afternoon - it blew her safely into the everlasting arms of her everloving Heavenly Father, where we believe she remains at peace today."
The minister said he was grateful to Stanley for allowing him to borrow Ann's well used Bible, filled with church service sheets and daily readings.
Mr Mairs said the bombing was an offence against the whole community, through which it was designed to drive a wedge.
"I believe time alone will show that this was the decisive act in unleashing a fierce determination from the people of Omagh to stand together as a community," he said.
"I believe, as never before, that there exists a corporate will to work together to build a new community under the mantle of the new political structures which the vast majority of the decent, Godfearing, peace loving people of the island of Ireland have voted for."
Mr Mairs read out the names of those murdered in the bombing.
He invited Omagh priest Fr Kevin Mullan to address the congregation. He said the devastated town was a whole community, sharing the same hearts and minds. "We weep, grieve and pray with you," said Fr Mullan.
Earlier, the McCombe family held a private service at their Omagh home.
Ann's remains were later buried at , Mountjoy cemetery.
Further Information
Publisher: THE IRISH NEWS
Ref: IN/0144
Published Date: 21-Aug-98
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