BOND OF LOVE FOR PEOPLE OF TOWN
Bond 'of love' for people of town
By Seamus McKinney
IT WAS only last month that Fr Kevin Mullan was able to piece together another part of the jigsaw of his actions on August 15 1998.
A native of Omagh, he had been no stranger to the hurt and bitterness of the Troubles.
Before he was posted as a curate in his home town, he had served in Limavady where he struck up a solid friendship with English Presbyterian minister Rev David Armstrong.
In 1983 Fr Mullan, pictured crossed the road from his church to wish his Presbyterian neighbours a happy Christmas at the invitation of his friend. It was enough for die-hards to force Rev Armstrong out. He now works as a Church of Ireland vicar in the Republic. Last month Fr Mullan, who is now based in Drumquin, was chatting to his barber about the bombing anniversary.
"I said to him 'where were you?' and he told me he was standing beside me," the cleric said.
"He said he went to the dry cleaners and took out all the drapes and curtains to cover the bodies and you came and you anointed them. I can't remember him being there. I think I was in shock." Fr Mullan cannot remember any of the details of the minutes after the bombing.
He prayed over each dead body but does not recall who they were.
He was called on to go with two different families to identify the shattered bodies of their loved ones.
He knew Michael Gallagher's son Aiden (21) and has since become a firm friend of the Grimes family from Beragh. While the pain of any Omagh family cannot be quantified, the Grimes lost more than any other.
The Real IRA bomb claimed the lives of Mary Grimes (65), her daughter Avril Monaghan (30), her granddaughter Maura Monaghan (18 months), and her two unborn twin grandchildren who died in Avril's womb. Fr Mullan believes the legacy of the Omagh bomb for him was that it gave him access to "people's hearts and homes" in a way that other priests may not have in the modern world. It has also created a greater bond of love between people in the town.
"We know we are part of God's response to evil."
By Seamus McKinney
IT WAS only last month that Fr Kevin Mullan was able to piece together another part of the jigsaw of his actions on August 15 1998.
A native of Omagh, he had been no stranger to the hurt and bitterness of the Troubles.
Before he was posted as a curate in his home town, he had served in Limavady where he struck up a solid friendship with English Presbyterian minister Rev David Armstrong.
In 1983 Fr Mullan, pictured crossed the road from his church to wish his Presbyterian neighbours a happy Christmas at the invitation of his friend. It was enough for die-hards to force Rev Armstrong out. He now works as a Church of Ireland vicar in the Republic. Last month Fr Mullan, who is now based in Drumquin, was chatting to his barber about the bombing anniversary.
"I said to him 'where were you?' and he told me he was standing beside me," the cleric said.
"He said he went to the dry cleaners and took out all the drapes and curtains to cover the bodies and you came and you anointed them. I can't remember him being there. I think I was in shock." Fr Mullan cannot remember any of the details of the minutes after the bombing.
He prayed over each dead body but does not recall who they were.
He was called on to go with two different families to identify the shattered bodies of their loved ones.
He knew Michael Gallagher's son Aiden (21) and has since become a firm friend of the Grimes family from Beragh. While the pain of any Omagh family cannot be quantified, the Grimes lost more than any other.
The Real IRA bomb claimed the lives of Mary Grimes (65), her daughter Avril Monaghan (30), her granddaughter Maura Monaghan (18 months), and her two unborn twin grandchildren who died in Avril's womb. Fr Mullan believes the legacy of the Omagh bomb for him was that it gave him access to "people's hearts and homes" in a way that other priests may not have in the modern world. It has also created a greater bond of love between people in the town.
"We know we are part of God's response to evil."
Further Information
Publisher: THE IRISH NEWS
Ref: IN10An/13
Published Date: 07-Aug-08
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