FAMILIES BOYCOTT DESIGN UNVEILING
Families boycott design unveiling
By Alan Erwin PA
A PLANNED memorial to victims of the Omagh bombing has been hit by a new row on the day the design was unveiled.
Even though a special tribute has now been commissioned, relatives of some of those murdered in the Real IRA attack threatened to erect their own monument.
They boycotted an official unveiling of the Dublin-based design team's plans over their demands for an inscription that would declare that dissident republicans were to blame for the bombing.
The August 1998 attack killed 29 people, including a woman pregnant with twins, in the Co Tyrone town.
The chosen memorial was announced in Omagh yesterday but any text has still to be agreed.
Michael Gallagher, whose son Aiden was killed in the bombing, said those involved in the monument were refusing to guarantee the form of words requested.
"If the memorial working group and the council are unwilling to address the issue we will mark the spot," he said.
"We will take appropriate action to make sure the truth is told.
"Some people might view that as a threat but if the truth is a threat, people can judge for themselves.
"We will have no choice other than to address the issue ourselves.
"There can be no ambiguity over what happened on August 15 1998 and no dancing around words can distract from the truth."
Mr Gallagher and others in the Omagh Support and Self-Help Group, which represents some of the victims' families, withdrew from the process to choose a memorial over the wording row.
They were absent as Danny McSorley, chairman of the Omagh Memorial Working Group, announced that landscape architect Desmond Fitzgerald and artist Sean Hillen had been commissioned to produce the work.
Their design, Garden of Light, links the bombing site on Omagh's lower Market Street to the nearby Memorial Garden.
An independent panel of assessors selected the design following an international competition.
Using state-of-the-art technology the planned monument includes lines of small mirrors positioned on poles around a reflecting pool and backed by a grassy bank planted with silver birch trees and wild flowers.
A heliostat mirror in the garden will track the sun and pour a beam of light on to 31 reflectors arranged to carry it to a heart-shaped sculpture at the bombing site, which will be almost constantly in the shade.
The heart, made of cut-glass crystal, will appear to float inside a pillar of glass.
According to the designers, the heart will sparkle and glitter as it catches, reflects and distributes the light as a reminder of the sunlight that makes all life possible.
Mr McSorley said commissioning the plans was a significant step towards delivery of a memorial in time for next August's 10th anniversary of the bombing.
He said Omagh District Council would appoint an independent professional facilitator to lead a series of discussions involving all those affected by the bombing on the issue of a narrative text and to prepare a report for consideration.
The decision was taken in recognition of the wide range of views on the subject and in an attempt to reach a successful and consensual outcome, Mr McSorley said.
Mr Gallagher stressed his support for a fitting memorial but said he wanted guarantees over the wording favoured by the relatives.
"We have already told the truth in the [memorial] garden," he said.
"But people who visit the street may not visit the garden and we need it there.
"We are the families who have come together since 1998 and consistently pursued the interests of those affected by the bomb.
"Things are being manipulated because the views of the families are not acceptable."
By Alan Erwin PA
A PLANNED memorial to victims of the Omagh bombing has been hit by a new row on the day the design was unveiled.
Even though a special tribute has now been commissioned, relatives of some of those murdered in the Real IRA attack threatened to erect their own monument.
They boycotted an official unveiling of the Dublin-based design team's plans over their demands for an inscription that would declare that dissident republicans were to blame for the bombing.
The August 1998 attack killed 29 people, including a woman pregnant with twins, in the Co Tyrone town.
The chosen memorial was announced in Omagh yesterday but any text has still to be agreed.
Michael Gallagher, whose son Aiden was killed in the bombing, said those involved in the monument were refusing to guarantee the form of words requested.
"If the memorial working group and the council are unwilling to address the issue we will mark the spot," he said.
"We will take appropriate action to make sure the truth is told.
"Some people might view that as a threat but if the truth is a threat, people can judge for themselves.
"We will have no choice other than to address the issue ourselves.
"There can be no ambiguity over what happened on August 15 1998 and no dancing around words can distract from the truth."
Mr Gallagher and others in the Omagh Support and Self-Help Group, which represents some of the victims' families, withdrew from the process to choose a memorial over the wording row.
They were absent as Danny McSorley, chairman of the Omagh Memorial Working Group, announced that landscape architect Desmond Fitzgerald and artist Sean Hillen had been commissioned to produce the work.
Their design, Garden of Light, links the bombing site on Omagh's lower Market Street to the nearby Memorial Garden.
An independent panel of assessors selected the design following an international competition.
Using state-of-the-art technology the planned monument includes lines of small mirrors positioned on poles around a reflecting pool and backed by a grassy bank planted with silver birch trees and wild flowers.
A heliostat mirror in the garden will track the sun and pour a beam of light on to 31 reflectors arranged to carry it to a heart-shaped sculpture at the bombing site, which will be almost constantly in the shade.
The heart, made of cut-glass crystal, will appear to float inside a pillar of glass.
According to the designers, the heart will sparkle and glitter as it catches, reflects and distributes the light as a reminder of the sunlight that makes all life possible.
Mr McSorley said commissioning the plans was a significant step towards delivery of a memorial in time for next August's 10th anniversary of the bombing.
He said Omagh District Council would appoint an independent professional facilitator to lead a series of discussions involving all those affected by the bombing on the issue of a narrative text and to prepare a report for consideration.
The decision was taken in recognition of the wide range of views on the subject and in an attempt to reach a successful and consensual outcome, Mr McSorley said.
Mr Gallagher stressed his support for a fitting memorial but said he wanted guarantees over the wording favoured by the relatives.
"We have already told the truth in the [memorial] garden," he said.
"But people who visit the street may not visit the garden and we need it there.
"We are the families who have come together since 1998 and consistently pursued the interests of those affected by the bomb.
"Things are being manipulated because the views of the families are not acceptable."
Further Information
Publisher: THE IRISH NEWS
Ref: IN/0853
Published Date: 19-Sep-07
Related Images
