HUNDREDS PAY TRIBUTE TO TERROR BOMB VICTIM
Hundreds pay tribute to terror bomb victim
By GARY KELLY
FRIENDS and family paid moving tributes as the 29th victim of the Omagh bombing was buried yesterday after a funeral service attended by hundreds of mourners.
Sean McGrath, 61, a retired businessman who was married with four grown-up children, died on Saturday, three weeks after he was critically injured in the atrocity which claimed the lives of 28 others.
Born and bred in the town's Market Street, Mr McGrath died of horrific injuries received in the Real IRA bomb attack on the same street.
Parish priest the Rev Francis Murray paid tribute to Mr McGrath, who was well known in the town.
He said the parish had lost one its most highly esteemed members.
"Sean was a great family man, wonderful husband an exceptional father and a friend to all."
The Most Reverend Francis Lagan, auxiliary Roman Catholic Bishop of Derry, strongly condemned those who planned and perpetrated the bombing.
"Enough has been said about those who carried out this evil act that caused Sean's death and the death of so many others. They know how they stand in the eyes of the people of Omagh and the entire country.
"Today, we would rather talk, not so much about the agents of death, but about the agents of life, for example the doctors and nurses of the Royal Victoria Hospital who tried so valiantly to restore Sean to life."
Around 300 people crowded into St Mary's Church in Killyclogher for the Requiem Mass and applauded as friends paid tribute to Mr McGrath, who had lived in Omagh all his life.
Eilish Gallagher, who was invited by the family to say a few words, said she remembered Mr McGrath as a little boy slipping down the stairs into the family business in Market Street. She said that business was in his blood and he immediately went into the bakery business after leaving school.
"He loved his town. He loved being an Omagh man. Born in Market Street and then so tragically killed from Market Street. Sean will be remembered for being Sean, a loving husband and a devoted and proud father."
After Requiem Mass Mr McGrath's coffin was borne on a horse-drawn carriage to the nearby cemetery in Dublin Road, passing the place where the bomb had exploded.
Meanwhile, two of the hundreds of people injured in the bombing remain in a critical condition in hospital.
By GARY KELLY
FRIENDS and family paid moving tributes as the 29th victim of the Omagh bombing was buried yesterday after a funeral service attended by hundreds of mourners.
Sean McGrath, 61, a retired businessman who was married with four grown-up children, died on Saturday, three weeks after he was critically injured in the atrocity which claimed the lives of 28 others.
Born and bred in the town's Market Street, Mr McGrath died of horrific injuries received in the Real IRA bomb attack on the same street.
Parish priest the Rev Francis Murray paid tribute to Mr McGrath, who was well known in the town.
He said the parish had lost one its most highly esteemed members.
"Sean was a great family man, wonderful husband an exceptional father and a friend to all."
The Most Reverend Francis Lagan, auxiliary Roman Catholic Bishop of Derry, strongly condemned those who planned and perpetrated the bombing.
"Enough has been said about those who carried out this evil act that caused Sean's death and the death of so many others. They know how they stand in the eyes of the people of Omagh and the entire country.
"Today, we would rather talk, not so much about the agents of death, but about the agents of life, for example the doctors and nurses of the Royal Victoria Hospital who tried so valiantly to restore Sean to life."
Around 300 people crowded into St Mary's Church in Killyclogher for the Requiem Mass and applauded as friends paid tribute to Mr McGrath, who had lived in Omagh all his life.
Eilish Gallagher, who was invited by the family to say a few words, said she remembered Mr McGrath as a little boy slipping down the stairs into the family business in Market Street. She said that business was in his blood and he immediately went into the bakery business after leaving school.
"He loved his town. He loved being an Omagh man. Born in Market Street and then so tragically killed from Market Street. Sean will be remembered for being Sean, a loving husband and a devoted and proud father."
After Requiem Mass Mr McGrath's coffin was borne on a horse-drawn carriage to the nearby cemetery in Dublin Road, passing the place where the bomb had exploded.
Meanwhile, two of the hundreds of people injured in the bombing remain in a critical condition in hospital.
Further Information
Publisher: NEWS LETTER
Ref: NL/285
Published Date: 08-Sep-98
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