PARENTS REBUILD LIVES IN SON'S DREAM HOME
Parents rebuild lives in son's dream home
Reports: PAULINE REYNOLDS Pictures: EDDIE HARVEY
A HEADSTONE was placed on Aidan Gallagher's grave last week. It was the hardest thing his dad has ever done.
"I never imagined I would be buying a headstone for my son - it's the child whose supposed to do that for a parent," says Michael Gallagher.
But he wants things to be just right, and that includes the family keeping alive good-natured Aidan's hopes, and dreams, for the future.
At just 21, his life was ended in a split second by the sheer brutality of the Omagh bomb.
That morning, before leaving home to go into town for a new pair of boots, and jeans, he chatted excitedly to mum. Patsy, about his future plans,
Michael's voice lowers, to almost a whisper, as he remembers that final conversation.
"Across the road from our own house, is a wee cottage which was the original family home. Three weeks before he died, Michael's plans for an extension had been passed.
Shattered
"That Saturday, he was just telling his mum how he was looking forward to living across from us. That was important to him."
Now the Gallaghers are fulfilling his dreams, hoping it will help them rebuild their own shattered lives.
"Getting Aidan's house in order is something we can focus on, and will bring some meaning back into our lives again," says Michael.
"Patsy and I will live there when the work is finished. Our daughters, Cathy and Sharon, will stay in our own house."
The close-knit family cannot come to terms with the appalling human tragedy that stole their beloved Aidan.
Michael, and his popular gentle giant of a son, had a special bond. They even worked together in their car repair business. But after Aidan was taken from him, Michael could not bear to touch the tools they shared. He finds it too painful to go back to working on his own.
And the house, at Circular Road, is so much emptier without Aidan's smiling face, and humorous banter: "When I go into his bedroom, I always come out in tears. All his things are still there. That room was full of music when Aidan was alive. Now it's so quiet."
Michael's spirits lift a little, as he looks back over his son's lifetime, and achievements: "I remember when Aidan was young, there were a lot of war time films on television.
"He would say to me, 'dad, why is all this rubbish on TV?' And I'd tell him that it's so people will never forget the terrible things that happen in war. In one sense, I hope it's the same with Omagh: that no one will ever forget the awful tragedy that bur town has had to suffer."
He remembers Aidan as a "big strong fella, with not a care in the world, and a extraordinarily kind nature".
Today, will be the most difficult for the Gallaghers since the atrocity: "This is the first anniversary, and of course there's a lot of interest in it.
"But our family will have these anniversaries, alone, for the rest of our lives. We won't have the crowds around us in years to come, but we'll still have to bear the pain."
Reports: PAULINE REYNOLDS Pictures: EDDIE HARVEY
A HEADSTONE was placed on Aidan Gallagher's grave last week. It was the hardest thing his dad has ever done.
"I never imagined I would be buying a headstone for my son - it's the child whose supposed to do that for a parent," says Michael Gallagher.
But he wants things to be just right, and that includes the family keeping alive good-natured Aidan's hopes, and dreams, for the future.
At just 21, his life was ended in a split second by the sheer brutality of the Omagh bomb.
That morning, before leaving home to go into town for a new pair of boots, and jeans, he chatted excitedly to mum. Patsy, about his future plans,
Michael's voice lowers, to almost a whisper, as he remembers that final conversation.
"Across the road from our own house, is a wee cottage which was the original family home. Three weeks before he died, Michael's plans for an extension had been passed.
Shattered
"That Saturday, he was just telling his mum how he was looking forward to living across from us. That was important to him."
Now the Gallaghers are fulfilling his dreams, hoping it will help them rebuild their own shattered lives.
"Getting Aidan's house in order is something we can focus on, and will bring some meaning back into our lives again," says Michael.
"Patsy and I will live there when the work is finished. Our daughters, Cathy and Sharon, will stay in our own house."
The close-knit family cannot come to terms with the appalling human tragedy that stole their beloved Aidan.
Michael, and his popular gentle giant of a son, had a special bond. They even worked together in their car repair business. But after Aidan was taken from him, Michael could not bear to touch the tools they shared. He finds it too painful to go back to working on his own.
And the house, at Circular Road, is so much emptier without Aidan's smiling face, and humorous banter: "When I go into his bedroom, I always come out in tears. All his things are still there. That room was full of music when Aidan was alive. Now it's so quiet."
Michael's spirits lift a little, as he looks back over his son's lifetime, and achievements: "I remember when Aidan was young, there were a lot of war time films on television.
"He would say to me, 'dad, why is all this rubbish on TV?' And I'd tell him that it's so people will never forget the terrible things that happen in war. In one sense, I hope it's the same with Omagh: that no one will ever forget the awful tragedy that bur town has had to suffer."
He remembers Aidan as a "big strong fella, with not a care in the world, and a extraordinarily kind nature".
Today, will be the most difficult for the Gallaghers since the atrocity: "This is the first anniversary, and of course there's a lot of interest in it.
"But our family will have these anniversaries, alone, for the rest of our lives. We won't have the crowds around us in years to come, but we'll still have to bear the pain."
Further Information
Publisher: SUNDAY LIFE
Ref: SL/097
Published Date: 15-Aug-99
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