THERE'S DAYS I JUST DON'T WANT TO LIVE
There's days I just don't want to live'
BY ALAN ERWIN
A MOTHER whose teenage son was killed in the Omagh bomb, was subjected to intimidation after the atrocity, she told the High Court yesterday.
Marion Radford also told how her pain and suffering has been so great she sometimes no longer wants to go on living.
Other relatives giving evidence at the multi-million pound compensation case spoke of insomnia, nightmares, heavy drinking and fraught personal relationships since the devastating terrorist attack on August 15, 1998.
Mrs Radford and 16-year-old Alan, whom she described as her son and best friend, had been separated when the bomb went off, the court heard.
She suffered head injuries but went looking for him amid the carnage.
"There was a terrible silence after the bomb, then I heard screams. I started to walk about and I thought 'Where's Alan?'," she said.
"I was aware of bits of bodies on the ground but I didn't want to look."
Later, at the hospital, she recalled further horrific scenes, telling Brett Lockhart QC, for the families taking the action: "There were bits of limbs on trollies, people maybe sorting out what belonged to who.
"I just found it hard to cope with. I kept going out to every ambulance looking to see if Alan was on it."
It was the following day when confirmation came that the teenager was among the dead, with the mother of six saying the reality only hit her when he was brought home in a box.
Mrs Radford, who lives alone, spoke of the "dreadful loneliness" she still endures, and how she struggles to put on a front around people.
"There's days I just don't want to live anyway," she admitted.
"I see my children suffer as well and that's hard for a mother. It will go through another generation to my grandchildren who see their parents suffer."
She also spoke of intimidation being directed at her family following the bombing and how she would move to Scotland if it did not mean leaving her family.
"There was a republican flag put up on my roof," she said.
"I was going to move but I can't move because I have good memories here of Alan."
Relatives of the Omagh victims began giving evidence as part of the case against five men they blame for the attack: Michael McKevitt, Liam Campbell, Seamus McKenna, Colm Murphy and Seamus Daly. All five deny responsibility.
Mrs Radford's older son, Paul, told of how he went to hospital seeking his mother and brother, on his way helping to carry in a man who would later die.
Finally he was taken to a temporary morgue with his sister where Alan's body was.
He said: "I saw his hair and I knew it was him. They pulled the blanket back, there was a triangular cut on his face (from) shrapnel."
Mr Radford, who left Omagh soon after the bomb, said he had turned to alcohol to try to sleep at night.
"I still don't sleep. I'm very moody with my wife and I work all the time to keep busy."
BY ALAN ERWIN
A MOTHER whose teenage son was killed in the Omagh bomb, was subjected to intimidation after the atrocity, she told the High Court yesterday.
Marion Radford also told how her pain and suffering has been so great she sometimes no longer wants to go on living.
Other relatives giving evidence at the multi-million pound compensation case spoke of insomnia, nightmares, heavy drinking and fraught personal relationships since the devastating terrorist attack on August 15, 1998.
Mrs Radford and 16-year-old Alan, whom she described as her son and best friend, had been separated when the bomb went off, the court heard.
She suffered head injuries but went looking for him amid the carnage.
"There was a terrible silence after the bomb, then I heard screams. I started to walk about and I thought 'Where's Alan?'," she said.
"I was aware of bits of bodies on the ground but I didn't want to look."
Later, at the hospital, she recalled further horrific scenes, telling Brett Lockhart QC, for the families taking the action: "There were bits of limbs on trollies, people maybe sorting out what belonged to who.
"I just found it hard to cope with. I kept going out to every ambulance looking to see if Alan was on it."
It was the following day when confirmation came that the teenager was among the dead, with the mother of six saying the reality only hit her when he was brought home in a box.
Mrs Radford, who lives alone, spoke of the "dreadful loneliness" she still endures, and how she struggles to put on a front around people.
"There's days I just don't want to live anyway," she admitted.
"I see my children suffer as well and that's hard for a mother. It will go through another generation to my grandchildren who see their parents suffer."
She also spoke of intimidation being directed at her family following the bombing and how she would move to Scotland if it did not mean leaving her family.
"There was a republican flag put up on my roof," she said.
"I was going to move but I can't move because I have good memories here of Alan."
Relatives of the Omagh victims began giving evidence as part of the case against five men they blame for the attack: Michael McKevitt, Liam Campbell, Seamus McKenna, Colm Murphy and Seamus Daly. All five deny responsibility.
Mrs Radford's older son, Paul, told of how he went to hospital seeking his mother and brother, on his way helping to carry in a man who would later die.
Finally he was taken to a temporary morgue with his sister where Alan's body was.
He said: "I saw his hair and I knew it was him. They pulled the blanket back, there was a triangular cut on his face (from) shrapnel."
Mr Radford, who left Omagh soon after the bomb, said he had turned to alcohol to try to sleep at night.
"I still don't sleep. I'm very moody with my wife and I work all the time to keep busy."
Further Information
Publisher: NEWS LETTER
Ref: NL/755
Published Date: 04-Jun-08
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