FAMILIES TELL OF RUINED LIVES
Families tell of ruined lives
THE brother of an Omagh bomb victim stood beside her body for two days to stop anyone discovering the horrific scale of her injuries a court has heard.
Edmond Gibson's account of defying exhaustion to shield family and friends from the ravages inflicted on his sister Esther was revealed during harrowing evidence read out at the landmark civil action at the High Court in Belfast.
Other bereaved relatives and their partners also told how their lives were destroyed by the Real IRA attack in August 1998.
Some thought of suicide, while others turned to drink in a bid to block out their pain.
Brett Lockhart QC, for the families taking a multi-million-pound lawsuit against five alleged dissident republicans, went through a series of statements from those who lost loved ones.
The court heard how Mr Gibson, a police officer at the time of the bombing, joined a clean-up operation following the attack but was unaware that his 36-year-old sister was among the dead.
Later he recalled identifying her shattered body and then, as the oldest brother, standing next to it day and night during an extended wake.
"I was told no-one could touch her body as there was nothing behind her face or chest," he said.
"When it came to carrying the coffin I almost collapsed as I was so exhausted from the emotion of standing in Esther's room for two days.
"I felt at this stage I was wiping away everyone else's tears and had no tears left to cry myself."
As his agony intensified and post-traumatic stress set in, his job became so difficult that eventually he was medically retired from the police service.
Mr Gibson said he had been haunted by guilt and thoughts that he could have lifted his sister's body as he helped clear debris from the bomb scene
"As a policeman it should have been me that died, not Esther," he said.
Mr Gibson's wife Heather also told how he had never got over what happened to his sister, with his sense of pride and love of sports wiped out.
"It's as if he had been in the bomb," she said.
Their accounts emerged as lawyers for the families confirmed that two men who lost wives in the atrocity would be seeking �225,000 and �160,000 in damages for loss of dependency and loss of services.
One of them, Mark Breslin, sat head bowed in court as Mr Locknart went through statements from doctors who treated his wife Geraldine (43) as she lay dying.
All sides in the action against Michael McKevitt, Liam Campbell, Seamus McKenna, Colm Murphy and Seamus Daly sat in silence as the emotion-charged accounts were read out.
Others for whom the suffering has been relentless include the family of 15-year-old murder victim Lorraine Wilson.
Her mother, Geraldine Ann Wilson, said they were blighted by grief, rows, attempted suicides and heavier alcohol dependency.
Mrs Wilson also disclosed that the impact on young son Colin, a 10-year-old with some learning difficulties at the time of the bomb.
"Colin was plunged into a world of chaos and depression," she said in her statement.
"He had gone from having a good family life to a family who were bitter and upset, drinking and argumentative."
The boy became so scared that he had to sleep on a mattress on his parents' bedroom floor.
"The death of Lorraine has scarred Colin for life," his mother said.
The trial was adjourned until Tuesday, when it will again hear evidence in Dublin.
THE brother of an Omagh bomb victim stood beside her body for two days to stop anyone discovering the horrific scale of her injuries a court has heard.
Edmond Gibson's account of defying exhaustion to shield family and friends from the ravages inflicted on his sister Esther was revealed during harrowing evidence read out at the landmark civil action at the High Court in Belfast.
Other bereaved relatives and their partners also told how their lives were destroyed by the Real IRA attack in August 1998.
Some thought of suicide, while others turned to drink in a bid to block out their pain.
Brett Lockhart QC, for the families taking a multi-million-pound lawsuit against five alleged dissident republicans, went through a series of statements from those who lost loved ones.
The court heard how Mr Gibson, a police officer at the time of the bombing, joined a clean-up operation following the attack but was unaware that his 36-year-old sister was among the dead.
Later he recalled identifying her shattered body and then, as the oldest brother, standing next to it day and night during an extended wake.
"I was told no-one could touch her body as there was nothing behind her face or chest," he said.
"When it came to carrying the coffin I almost collapsed as I was so exhausted from the emotion of standing in Esther's room for two days.
"I felt at this stage I was wiping away everyone else's tears and had no tears left to cry myself."
As his agony intensified and post-traumatic stress set in, his job became so difficult that eventually he was medically retired from the police service.
Mr Gibson said he had been haunted by guilt and thoughts that he could have lifted his sister's body as he helped clear debris from the bomb scene
"As a policeman it should have been me that died, not Esther," he said.
Mr Gibson's wife Heather also told how he had never got over what happened to his sister, with his sense of pride and love of sports wiped out.
"It's as if he had been in the bomb," she said.
Their accounts emerged as lawyers for the families confirmed that two men who lost wives in the atrocity would be seeking �225,000 and �160,000 in damages for loss of dependency and loss of services.
One of them, Mark Breslin, sat head bowed in court as Mr Locknart went through statements from doctors who treated his wife Geraldine (43) as she lay dying.
All sides in the action against Michael McKevitt, Liam Campbell, Seamus McKenna, Colm Murphy and Seamus Daly sat in silence as the emotion-charged accounts were read out.
Others for whom the suffering has been relentless include the family of 15-year-old murder victim Lorraine Wilson.
Her mother, Geraldine Ann Wilson, said they were blighted by grief, rows, attempted suicides and heavier alcohol dependency.
Mrs Wilson also disclosed that the impact on young son Colin, a 10-year-old with some learning difficulties at the time of the bomb.
"Colin was plunged into a world of chaos and depression," she said in her statement.
"He had gone from having a good family life to a family who were bitter and upset, drinking and argumentative."
The boy became so scared that he had to sleep on a mattress on his parents' bedroom floor.
"The death of Lorraine has scarred Colin for life," his mother said.
The trial was adjourned until Tuesday, when it will again hear evidence in Dublin.
Further Information
Publisher: THE IRISH NEWS
Ref: IN/0966
Published Date: 26-Sep-08
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