OMAGH SHOP REJECTS INSENSITIVE GAME
Omagh shop rejects 'insensitive' game
By Seamus McKinney
AN OMAGH shop owner, whose wife was injured in the August 15 bombing, has refused to stock a new game because of its "insensitive name". Pass the Bomb was listed in this year's Christmas toys catalogue issued to every home in Northern Ireland by the Toymaster group but Ivor White of White's Toymaster in Omagh felt its name was too insensitive for the bomb-torn town.
Based in Britain, Toymaster is a collective of many toy retailers throughout Northern Ireland, Britain and the Republic. The collective has 23 members in Northern Ireland with stores in almost every town. Listed as game of the year by British newspaper, the Daily Telegraph, the game has been available for some years but Toymaster resisted including it in their annual catalogue in the past because of its name.
The aim of the game is to use cards to make up words within a maximum period of one minute before a toy bomb explodes. Included in the contents of the game are two packs of letter cards, a special dice and the bomb which is started by pressing a red button. The device has a timer so that the bomb explodes alter 10-60 seconds.
Described in the catalogue as "the explosive game that will blow your mind", the board game is designed for children aged 12 years and over. But, with Christmas just 10 weeks away, management at White's Toymaster in Omagh felt they just could not put the toy on their shelves this year.
Ivor White, whose wife lost an eye in the August 15 explosion which claimed 29 lives, said he felt the people of Omagh could "do without" toys like Pass the Bomb.
"The problem is that it was a UK list and people in the UK do not have the feelings that we have," he said.
Mr White said he even declined to sell fireworks in the run-up to Hallowe'en this year as he felt it would bring back too many bad memories for local people.
"We are trying to build a positive image of Omagh," Mr White said.
Marketing manager with Toymaster, Nick Curry said there was no question of the group trying to offend anyone by placing the game on the Christmas market.
Mr Curry said the decision of the Daily Telegraph to list Pass the Bomb as game of the year was the main reason that Toymaster opted to include the toy in their Christmas catalogue this year. Mr Curry said that while the game's name was unfortunate, the product was good.
"If there was anything controversial or anything linking us with a subversive movement, we would just walk away," he said.
By Seamus McKinney
AN OMAGH shop owner, whose wife was injured in the August 15 bombing, has refused to stock a new game because of its "insensitive name". Pass the Bomb was listed in this year's Christmas toys catalogue issued to every home in Northern Ireland by the Toymaster group but Ivor White of White's Toymaster in Omagh felt its name was too insensitive for the bomb-torn town.
Based in Britain, Toymaster is a collective of many toy retailers throughout Northern Ireland, Britain and the Republic. The collective has 23 members in Northern Ireland with stores in almost every town. Listed as game of the year by British newspaper, the Daily Telegraph, the game has been available for some years but Toymaster resisted including it in their annual catalogue in the past because of its name.
The aim of the game is to use cards to make up words within a maximum period of one minute before a toy bomb explodes. Included in the contents of the game are two packs of letter cards, a special dice and the bomb which is started by pressing a red button. The device has a timer so that the bomb explodes alter 10-60 seconds.
Described in the catalogue as "the explosive game that will blow your mind", the board game is designed for children aged 12 years and over. But, with Christmas just 10 weeks away, management at White's Toymaster in Omagh felt they just could not put the toy on their shelves this year.
Ivor White, whose wife lost an eye in the August 15 explosion which claimed 29 lives, said he felt the people of Omagh could "do without" toys like Pass the Bomb.
"The problem is that it was a UK list and people in the UK do not have the feelings that we have," he said.
Mr White said he even declined to sell fireworks in the run-up to Hallowe'en this year as he felt it would bring back too many bad memories for local people.
"We are trying to build a positive image of Omagh," Mr White said.
Marketing manager with Toymaster, Nick Curry said there was no question of the group trying to offend anyone by placing the game on the Christmas market.
Mr Curry said the decision of the Daily Telegraph to list Pass the Bomb as game of the year was the main reason that Toymaster opted to include the toy in their Christmas catalogue this year. Mr Curry said that while the game's name was unfortunate, the product was good.
"If there was anything controversial or anything linking us with a subversive movement, we would just walk away," he said.
Further Information
Publisher: THE IRISH NEWS
Ref: IN/0439
Published Date: 14-Oct-98
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