OMAGH BOMB VICTIM'S DYING WORDS REVEALED BY HUSBAND
Omagh bomb victim's dying words revealed by husband
THE husband of an Omagh bomb victim revealed yesterday how she summoned the strength to say a few final words to him before she died.
Mark Breslin told the High Court in Belfast how he found his wife Geraldine (43) in hospital among the dead and injured hours after the blast.
Giving emotion-charged evidence at the civil trial of five men blamed for the terrorist atrocity, Mr Breslin said he was brought to her bedside after learning her leg had been amputated.
He said: "As I went towards her there were bandages on her face and a patch over one eye. Some of her teeth were missing.
"As I put my head over so she could see me. Her eye that wasn't covered was kind of rolling around looking at the ceiling.
"But as I looked over she fixed her eye on me and realised who I was. Briefly she raised the energy to say a few words."
Questioned by Brett Lockhart QC, for the victims' families, whether he remembered what she said, he replied: "I am sorry".
Mr Breslin was the first of those bereaved in the dissident republican bombing which claimed 29 lives to go into the witness box.
The relatives are suing five men they hold responsible for the August 15, 1998 attack: Michael McKevitt, Liam Campbell, Seamus McKenna, Colm Murphy and Seamus Daly. All five deny liability.
Mr Breslin said he headed for Omagh hospital to search for Geraldine, his wife of two and a half years who worked in a town centre clothes shop, when nothing was heard of her after the explosion.
By that stage the accident and emergency department was crammed with people looking for their loved ones, the court heard.
He said he eventually saw Geraldine's name on a nurse's list, gaining encouragement from the level of information included.
As his wife was flown by helicopter to Belfast's Royal Victoria Hospital, he remembered feeling relieved she was still alive.
"I had still this belief that she would survive.
"On the way back from the helicopter pad I pressed the nurse as to how long Geraldine would be in Belfast. She had suggested maybe a couple of weeks," he said.
But when he arrived in Belfast that night a doctor broke the news that she had not survived.
The couple lived just over a mile outside Omagh with Geraldine's son, who was 15 when he lost his mother.
"We had been married just over two and a half years and knew each other probably something similar (before that)," Mr Breslin said.
He returned to his job as a buyer with a building firm for about a year and a half but said he was taking a lot of sick leave and regularly late for work.
Unable to apply himself and believing he was depriving someone else of a job he said he took a year and a half off to research how the bomb evacuation was carried out.
Michael O'Higgins SC, for McKevitt, told Mr Breslin he had given evidence on the "horrendous and catastrophic event" he had been caught up in with "great dignity".
The defence barrister did however cross-examine him on the issue of the three telephone warnings made before the bomb went off, and whether these were passed to police on the ground. The case continues.
THE husband of an Omagh bomb victim revealed yesterday how she summoned the strength to say a few final words to him before she died.
Mark Breslin told the High Court in Belfast how he found his wife Geraldine (43) in hospital among the dead and injured hours after the blast.
Giving emotion-charged evidence at the civil trial of five men blamed for the terrorist atrocity, Mr Breslin said he was brought to her bedside after learning her leg had been amputated.
He said: "As I went towards her there were bandages on her face and a patch over one eye. Some of her teeth were missing.
"As I put my head over so she could see me. Her eye that wasn't covered was kind of rolling around looking at the ceiling.
"But as I looked over she fixed her eye on me and realised who I was. Briefly she raised the energy to say a few words."
Questioned by Brett Lockhart QC, for the victims' families, whether he remembered what she said, he replied: "I am sorry".
Mr Breslin was the first of those bereaved in the dissident republican bombing which claimed 29 lives to go into the witness box.
The relatives are suing five men they hold responsible for the August 15, 1998 attack: Michael McKevitt, Liam Campbell, Seamus McKenna, Colm Murphy and Seamus Daly. All five deny liability.
Mr Breslin said he headed for Omagh hospital to search for Geraldine, his wife of two and a half years who worked in a town centre clothes shop, when nothing was heard of her after the explosion.
By that stage the accident and emergency department was crammed with people looking for their loved ones, the court heard.
He said he eventually saw Geraldine's name on a nurse's list, gaining encouragement from the level of information included.
As his wife was flown by helicopter to Belfast's Royal Victoria Hospital, he remembered feeling relieved she was still alive.
"I had still this belief that she would survive.
"On the way back from the helicopter pad I pressed the nurse as to how long Geraldine would be in Belfast. She had suggested maybe a couple of weeks," he said.
But when he arrived in Belfast that night a doctor broke the news that she had not survived.
The couple lived just over a mile outside Omagh with Geraldine's son, who was 15 when he lost his mother.
"We had been married just over two and a half years and knew each other probably something similar (before that)," Mr Breslin said.
He returned to his job as a buyer with a building firm for about a year and a half but said he was taking a lot of sick leave and regularly late for work.
Unable to apply himself and believing he was depriving someone else of a job he said he took a year and a half off to research how the bomb evacuation was carried out.
Michael O'Higgins SC, for McKevitt, told Mr Breslin he had given evidence on the "horrendous and catastrophic event" he had been caught up in with "great dignity".
The defence barrister did however cross-examine him on the issue of the three telephone warnings made before the bomb went off, and whether these were passed to police on the ground. The case continues.
Further Information
Publisher: THE IRISH NEWS
Ref: IN/0942
Published Date: 04-Jun-08
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