BY IAN GRAHAM HOW LOVE LIFTED THE OMAGH BOMB GRIEF
How love lifted the Omagh bomb grief
BY ALAN ERWIN
A MAN whose wife was killed in the Omagh bomb atrocity is to marry the Romanian mother of a child they tried to adopt.
Kevin Skelton, 50, will wed Maria Nedelcu at a register office in the Tyrone town next week after a lengthy battle with Home Office officials.
Ms Nedelcu, 39, has already moved to Northern Ireland, with two of her three daughters, from her former home in Fagaras, central Romania.
The couple met when Mr Skelton, whose wife, Mena, 49, died in the August, 1998, Real IRA massacre, travelled to eastern Europe.
He had gone to an orphanage where Ms Nedelcu's middle daughter, Andrea, was staying.
The former lorry driver and his late wife had been charmed by the nine-year-old when she stayed at their home in Drumquin, Co Tyrone, on a two-week relief holiday in 1997.
Neither was aware that her mother was still alive and they had discussed the possibility of adopting the girl before the bomb attack, Mr Skelton said.
When he arrived at the orphanage after his wife's death, he discovered Ms Nedelcu waiting for him, alarmed that he had come to take her child away.
The factory worker had put her children into temporary care because she could not afford to look after them.
Mr Skelton said: "From the day I saw Maria for the first time, something happened to me. I felt something for her the minute I saw her. But I didn't say anything."
It was only after a series of trips to Romania that Ms Nedelcu finally wrote to him last September revealing her feelings for him.
"It finished up saying 'If I'm wrong, I'm sorry and we'll always remain friends',"
Mr Skelton said. "I sat and read it about 20 times."
The father of four proposed and brought Ms Nedelcu to Northern Ireland on a six -month visa to acclimatise her to the new lifestyle.
Permission to get married was needed from Home Office authorities because Ms Nedelcu is from a non-EU country and Mr Skelton said that he was helped by SDLP Foyle MP Mark Durkan.
"Mark Durkan sent a letter back to the Minister and it turned out he knew nothing about it. Some civil servant had dealt with it.
"They were embarrassed and I got a letter back from the Home Office saying they would give me a certificate to get married on compassionate grounds."
After the October 12 wedding, they must go to Romania within weeks to get a visa securing Ms Nedelcu's right to live in the UK.
BY ALAN ERWIN
A MAN whose wife was killed in the Omagh bomb atrocity is to marry the Romanian mother of a child they tried to adopt.
Kevin Skelton, 50, will wed Maria Nedelcu at a register office in the Tyrone town next week after a lengthy battle with Home Office officials.
Ms Nedelcu, 39, has already moved to Northern Ireland, with two of her three daughters, from her former home in Fagaras, central Romania.
The couple met when Mr Skelton, whose wife, Mena, 49, died in the August, 1998, Real IRA massacre, travelled to eastern Europe.
He had gone to an orphanage where Ms Nedelcu's middle daughter, Andrea, was staying.
The former lorry driver and his late wife had been charmed by the nine-year-old when she stayed at their home in Drumquin, Co Tyrone, on a two-week relief holiday in 1997.
Neither was aware that her mother was still alive and they had discussed the possibility of adopting the girl before the bomb attack, Mr Skelton said.
When he arrived at the orphanage after his wife's death, he discovered Ms Nedelcu waiting for him, alarmed that he had come to take her child away.
The factory worker had put her children into temporary care because she could not afford to look after them.
Mr Skelton said: "From the day I saw Maria for the first time, something happened to me. I felt something for her the minute I saw her. But I didn't say anything."
It was only after a series of trips to Romania that Ms Nedelcu finally wrote to him last September revealing her feelings for him.
"It finished up saying 'If I'm wrong, I'm sorry and we'll always remain friends',"
Mr Skelton said. "I sat and read it about 20 times."
The father of four proposed and brought Ms Nedelcu to Northern Ireland on a six -month visa to acclimatise her to the new lifestyle.
Permission to get married was needed from Home Office authorities because Ms Nedelcu is from a non-EU country and Mr Skelton said that he was helped by SDLP Foyle MP Mark Durkan.
"Mark Durkan sent a letter back to the Minister and it turned out he knew nothing about it. Some civil servant had dealt with it.
"They were embarrassed and I got a letter back from the Home Office saying they would give me a certificate to get married on compassionate grounds."
After the October 12 wedding, they must go to Romania within weeks to get a visa securing Ms Nedelcu's right to live in the UK.
Further Information
Publisher: NEWS LETTER
Ref: NL/631
Published Date: 03-Oct-05
Related Images
There have been no images archived for this article.