OMAGH BOMB WIDOWER FINDS LOVE IN ROMANIAN ORPHANAGE
Omagh bomb widower finds love in Romanian orphanage
A MAN whose wife was killed in the Omagh bomb atrocity is to marry the Romanian mother of a child they had wanted to adopt.
Kevin Skelton (50) will wed Maria Nedelcu in the Co Tyrone town next week after a lengthy struggle with red tape.
Ms Nedelcu (39) has already moved to Ireland with two of her three daughters from her former home in Fagaras in central Romania.
The couple met when Mr Skelton, whose wife Mena (49) died in the 1998 Real IRA massacre, travelled to eastern Europe. He had gone to an orphanage where Ms Nedelcu's middle daughter, Andrea, was staying.
The former lorry driver and his late wife had been charmed by the nine-year-old when she came to stay at their home in Drumquin in Co Tyrone on a two-week relief holiday in 1997.
Neither were aware that her mother was still alive and Mr Skelton said they had discussed the possibility of adopting her.
But when he arrived at the orphanage after his wife's death, he discovered Ms Nedelcu waiting for him, alarmed that he had come to take her child away.
The factory worker had put her children into temporary care because she could not afford to look after them.
Mr Skelton recalled: "From the day I saw Maria for the first time something happened to me.
"I felt something for her the minute I saw her. But I didn't say anything."
It was only after a series of trips to Romania that Ms Nedelcu finally wrote to him last September revealing her own true feelings.
"It finished up saying 'If I'm wrong, I'm sorry and we'll always remain friends'," Mr Skelton said.
Since then the father-of-four has proposed and brought Ms Nedelcu over to Ireland on a six-month visa to acclimatise her to the new lifestyle.
Their marriage plans have been backed by his family and friends, although they have been forced to wade through red tape.
Permission to get married was needed from British Home Office authorities because Ms Nedelcu is from a non-EU country.
Mr Skelton said his initial application was rejected.
"But [SDLP Foyle MP] Mark Durkan sent a letter back to the minister and it turned out he knew nothing about it. Some civil servant had dealt with it," Mr Skelton said.
"They were embarrassed and I got a letter back from the Home Office saying they would give me a certificate to get married on compassionate grounds."
Even though the couple are getting married on October 12, they must return to Romania within weeks to seek another visa securing Ms Nedelcu's right to live in the north.
As well as that struggle, Mr Skelton also spoke of his own fight against the guilt he felt at falling in love.
But he stressed: "I was sitting here feeling sorry for myself and one of my daughters said if mummy could come back for five minutes the first thing she would do would be to hit me a kick up the backside.
"She wasn't a person who would want me sitting about moping."
Mr Skelton said Ms Nedelcu has rescued him from a depression that had engulfed him since the August 1998 massacre which claimed 29 lives in total, including a mother pregnant with twins
"I have someone with me, someone who cares for me. If I want to go out I have someone by my side and my life has changed completely," he said.
Ms Nedelcu's daughter Andrea, now 17, is studying beauty therapy at Omagh College, and her youngest daughter, five-year-old Iulia, will attend a local primary school.
Her eldest child, Nicoleta (19), is to travel over on holiday for the wedding at Omagh District Council register office.
Ms Nedelcu praised her husband-to-be as she described their happiness.
"He's kind and he shows me a lot of respect that I would not get back home," she said.
"Kevin told me about his home, but I wasn't coming for a house - I was coming to be with him."
A MAN whose wife was killed in the Omagh bomb atrocity is to marry the Romanian mother of a child they had wanted to adopt.
Kevin Skelton (50) will wed Maria Nedelcu in the Co Tyrone town next week after a lengthy struggle with red tape.
Ms Nedelcu (39) has already moved to Ireland with two of her three daughters from her former home in Fagaras in central Romania.
The couple met when Mr Skelton, whose wife Mena (49) died in the 1998 Real IRA massacre, travelled to eastern Europe. He had gone to an orphanage where Ms Nedelcu's middle daughter, Andrea, was staying.
The former lorry driver and his late wife had been charmed by the nine-year-old when she came to stay at their home in Drumquin in Co Tyrone on a two-week relief holiday in 1997.
Neither were aware that her mother was still alive and Mr Skelton said they had discussed the possibility of adopting her.
But when he arrived at the orphanage after his wife's death, he discovered Ms Nedelcu waiting for him, alarmed that he had come to take her child away.
The factory worker had put her children into temporary care because she could not afford to look after them.
Mr Skelton recalled: "From the day I saw Maria for the first time something happened to me.
"I felt something for her the minute I saw her. But I didn't say anything."
It was only after a series of trips to Romania that Ms Nedelcu finally wrote to him last September revealing her own true feelings.
"It finished up saying 'If I'm wrong, I'm sorry and we'll always remain friends'," Mr Skelton said.
Since then the father-of-four has proposed and brought Ms Nedelcu over to Ireland on a six-month visa to acclimatise her to the new lifestyle.
Their marriage plans have been backed by his family and friends, although they have been forced to wade through red tape.
Permission to get married was needed from British Home Office authorities because Ms Nedelcu is from a non-EU country.
Mr Skelton said his initial application was rejected.
"But [SDLP Foyle MP] Mark Durkan sent a letter back to the minister and it turned out he knew nothing about it. Some civil servant had dealt with it," Mr Skelton said.
"They were embarrassed and I got a letter back from the Home Office saying they would give me a certificate to get married on compassionate grounds."
Even though the couple are getting married on October 12, they must return to Romania within weeks to seek another visa securing Ms Nedelcu's right to live in the north.
As well as that struggle, Mr Skelton also spoke of his own fight against the guilt he felt at falling in love.
But he stressed: "I was sitting here feeling sorry for myself and one of my daughters said if mummy could come back for five minutes the first thing she would do would be to hit me a kick up the backside.
"She wasn't a person who would want me sitting about moping."
Mr Skelton said Ms Nedelcu has rescued him from a depression that had engulfed him since the August 1998 massacre which claimed 29 lives in total, including a mother pregnant with twins
"I have someone with me, someone who cares for me. If I want to go out I have someone by my side and my life has changed completely," he said.
Ms Nedelcu's daughter Andrea, now 17, is studying beauty therapy at Omagh College, and her youngest daughter, five-year-old Iulia, will attend a local primary school.
Her eldest child, Nicoleta (19), is to travel over on holiday for the wedding at Omagh District Council register office.
Ms Nedelcu praised her husband-to-be as she described their happiness.
"He's kind and he shows me a lot of respect that I would not get back home," she said.
"Kevin told me about his home, but I wasn't coming for a house - I was coming to be with him."
Further Information
Publisher: THE IRISH NEWS
Ref: IN/0758
Published Date: 03-Oct-05
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