WEDDING JOY FOR OMAGH HUSBAND
Wedding joy for Omagh husband
By Diana Rusk
ROMANIAN interpreter and relatives of Omagh bomb victims were among those celebrating the wedding yesterday of a man who lost his first wife in the atrocity.
Kevin Skelton (50) from Drumquin was marrying the Romanian mother of a child he and his late wife had wanted to adopt.
An interpreter was at the Omagh registry office to repeat the vows to bride Maria Nedelcu (39), who is currently learning English.
Ms Nedelcu wore a floor-length lime green dress and her 19-year-old daughter Nicoleta travelled over from Fagarus in Romania to act as witness.
Amy Smyton, registrar at Omagh District Council, said: "She's a beautiful, petite person and looked elegant. It was a lovely wedding."
The pair met a year after Mr Skelton's wife Mena was killed in the August 1998 Real IRA bomb.
The former lorry driver had travelled to Romania to an orphanage where Ms Nedelcu's middle daughter Andrea was staying.
Mr Skelton and his late wife had been charmed by the child when she spent two weeks with them during a respite holiday.
The father-of-four presumed the child's parents were dead and was surprised to find Ms Nedelcu waiting for him with fears that he might take her daughter away.
The couple fell in love over time but had to wade through red tape before they were granted a marriage licence.
Among the wedding guests were others affected by the Omagh bomb, including Stanley McComb whose wife Ann was killed.
Michael Gallagher, who lost his son Aiden in the bomb, and Billy Jameson whose wife was injured also attended.
The ceremony lasted for half an hour, with a reception at the Hunting Lodge hotel in Newtownstewart.
The pair will now return to Romania in a bid to secure a permanent visa for Ms Nedelcu to live in Northern Ireland.
By Diana Rusk
ROMANIAN interpreter and relatives of Omagh bomb victims were among those celebrating the wedding yesterday of a man who lost his first wife in the atrocity.
Kevin Skelton (50) from Drumquin was marrying the Romanian mother of a child he and his late wife had wanted to adopt.
An interpreter was at the Omagh registry office to repeat the vows to bride Maria Nedelcu (39), who is currently learning English.
Ms Nedelcu wore a floor-length lime green dress and her 19-year-old daughter Nicoleta travelled over from Fagarus in Romania to act as witness.
Amy Smyton, registrar at Omagh District Council, said: "She's a beautiful, petite person and looked elegant. It was a lovely wedding."
The pair met a year after Mr Skelton's wife Mena was killed in the August 1998 Real IRA bomb.
The former lorry driver had travelled to Romania to an orphanage where Ms Nedelcu's middle daughter Andrea was staying.
Mr Skelton and his late wife had been charmed by the child when she spent two weeks with them during a respite holiday.
The father-of-four presumed the child's parents were dead and was surprised to find Ms Nedelcu waiting for him with fears that he might take her daughter away.
The couple fell in love over time but had to wade through red tape before they were granted a marriage licence.
Among the wedding guests were others affected by the Omagh bomb, including Stanley McComb whose wife Ann was killed.
Michael Gallagher, who lost his son Aiden in the bomb, and Billy Jameson whose wife was injured also attended.
The ceremony lasted for half an hour, with a reception at the Hunting Lodge hotel in Newtownstewart.
The pair will now return to Romania in a bid to secure a permanent visa for Ms Nedelcu to live in Northern Ireland.
Further Information
Publisher: THE IRISH NEWS
Ref: IN/0759
Published Date: 13-Oct-05
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