MEMORIES REKINDLED ON FATEFUL STREETS
Memories rekindled on fateful streets
THE intense grief families of the Omagh bomb victims are being forced to relive was recognised yesterday on the streets of Omagh.
As the Chief Constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan talked to more than 100 relatives of the dead and victims of the 1998 atrocity in the Silverbirch Hotel, shoppers in the town centre recalled the nightmare which devastated the market town.
Jane Darlington, who worked with bomb victim Libby Rush for 10 years, said the investigations by the Police Ombudsman and Chief Constable were nothing short of torture for the families.
"Every time this happens, the day is replayed in their minds," she said. "This is torture for the families. What has come out in the media recently is playing with people's minds."
Harry McCartney said the reports by the Police Ombudsman and Chief Constable were intensifying the grief for the relatives.
Mr McCartney said he was delighted that one man had been charged in connection with the bomb but said more arrests must follow.
"Hopefully this will be the start of arrests," he said. "It would help the relatives if the other half dozen individuals behind the bomb were put behind bars, where they should be."
Meanwhile an emotional Hilary Smyth, also from Omagh, said she had no idea how the relatives' families were coping.
She was in Omagh on the day of the bomb - and even remembering the day reduces her to tears.
"What is going on at the moment between the Police Ombudsman and Chief Constable is bringing the events of the day back to the victims' families," she said. "It's as if the day is happening all over again.
"That day was horrific. The families have been through so much and I just hope they can soon get some peace of mind."
THE intense grief families of the Omagh bomb victims are being forced to relive was recognised yesterday on the streets of Omagh.
As the Chief Constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan talked to more than 100 relatives of the dead and victims of the 1998 atrocity in the Silverbirch Hotel, shoppers in the town centre recalled the nightmare which devastated the market town.
Jane Darlington, who worked with bomb victim Libby Rush for 10 years, said the investigations by the Police Ombudsman and Chief Constable were nothing short of torture for the families.
"Every time this happens, the day is replayed in their minds," she said. "This is torture for the families. What has come out in the media recently is playing with people's minds."
Harry McCartney said the reports by the Police Ombudsman and Chief Constable were intensifying the grief for the relatives.
Mr McCartney said he was delighted that one man had been charged in connection with the bomb but said more arrests must follow.
"Hopefully this will be the start of arrests," he said. "It would help the relatives if the other half dozen individuals behind the bomb were put behind bars, where they should be."
Meanwhile an emotional Hilary Smyth, also from Omagh, said she had no idea how the relatives' families were coping.
She was in Omagh on the day of the bomb - and even remembering the day reduces her to tears.
"What is going on at the moment between the Police Ombudsman and Chief Constable is bringing the events of the day back to the victims' families," she said. "It's as if the day is happening all over again.
"That day was horrific. The families have been through so much and I just hope they can soon get some peace of mind."
Further Information
Publisher: NEWS LETTER
Ref: NL/421
Published Date: 25-Jan-02
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