SHOPPING TRIP ENDED IN NIGHTMARE
Shopping trip ended in nightmare
ONE of the many bomb blast victims to survive, Mrs. Valerie Emery (41), recalled how her shopping trip into Omagh town centre with her pregnant daughter on a sunny afternoon, ended in a nightmare.
Speaking from her bed in the Royal Victoria Hospital, she said she and her daughter, Nicola (21), were enjoying a browse around shops when the 500lb device exploded.
Mrs. Emery, who suffered cuts and fractures to her feet, said the force of the bomb was like a thunderbolt hitting her around the head.
She saw debris flying all around her as she tried to get to her feet and find her daughter.
Nicola was due to give birth to the Emerys' first grandchild within days.
Mother and daughter were with Mrs. Emery's cousin, Dorothy Graham, and her nine-year-old son when they heard the bomb warning.
"I thought it was a hoax but we decided to go home. But before we got there it went off," she recalled.
Meanwhile, Nicola had crossed the road and avoided the main force of the blast. She was standing behind a wall which sufficient protection to save her life.
In the immediate aftermath of the explosion, Nicola's first thoughts were for her young cousin.
"I frantically looked around for him and when we found him I rushed to my mum and tried to lift her up, but I couldn't," she said.
Mrs. Emery managed to walk to her car, which she had left that morning to go to work at a china shop before meeting her family for the afternoon's shopping at 2.30pm.
"I'm in a daze. I can't remember very much, but I could see things falling down all around me, and I managed to get to the car and a friend from work drove me to hospital," she said.
Although she did not take in much of what was happening in the Tyrone County Hospital she said she could remember seeing people lying everywhere. Nicola said she was now focusing on the birth of her grandchild.
"I cannot believe what has happened. 1 just think I am very lucky to be here. I don't think there is anything that could describe the people who did this. They didn't just affect one side, it affected everyone. They didn't care who it was as long as they had victims," she said.
Nicola said she was excited about the birth of her child but also felt shattered, and was in delayed shock.
"I was very scared at the time. I thought I was going to lose the baby, but I was also worried about my mum," she said.
She added that she hoped the birth would give her mother something to look forward to when she got out of hospital.
Mrs. Emery is a cousin of Elaine O'Donnell, who is also being treated at the Royal Victoria. She has suffered a leg injury, but Mrs. Emery does not know how serious the injury is.
"She was going to get married in three weeks' time, but obviously that has been cancelled now," she said.
ONE of the many bomb blast victims to survive, Mrs. Valerie Emery (41), recalled how her shopping trip into Omagh town centre with her pregnant daughter on a sunny afternoon, ended in a nightmare.
Speaking from her bed in the Royal Victoria Hospital, she said she and her daughter, Nicola (21), were enjoying a browse around shops when the 500lb device exploded.
Mrs. Emery, who suffered cuts and fractures to her feet, said the force of the bomb was like a thunderbolt hitting her around the head.
She saw debris flying all around her as she tried to get to her feet and find her daughter.
Nicola was due to give birth to the Emerys' first grandchild within days.
Mother and daughter were with Mrs. Emery's cousin, Dorothy Graham, and her nine-year-old son when they heard the bomb warning.
"I thought it was a hoax but we decided to go home. But before we got there it went off," she recalled.
Meanwhile, Nicola had crossed the road and avoided the main force of the blast. She was standing behind a wall which sufficient protection to save her life.
In the immediate aftermath of the explosion, Nicola's first thoughts were for her young cousin.
"I frantically looked around for him and when we found him I rushed to my mum and tried to lift her up, but I couldn't," she said.
Mrs. Emery managed to walk to her car, which she had left that morning to go to work at a china shop before meeting her family for the afternoon's shopping at 2.30pm.
"I'm in a daze. I can't remember very much, but I could see things falling down all around me, and I managed to get to the car and a friend from work drove me to hospital," she said.
Although she did not take in much of what was happening in the Tyrone County Hospital she said she could remember seeing people lying everywhere. Nicola said she was now focusing on the birth of her grandchild.
"I cannot believe what has happened. 1 just think I am very lucky to be here. I don't think there is anything that could describe the people who did this. They didn't just affect one side, it affected everyone. They didn't care who it was as long as they had victims," she said.
Nicola said she was excited about the birth of her child but also felt shattered, and was in delayed shock.
"I was very scared at the time. I thought I was going to lose the baby, but I was also worried about my mum," she said.
She added that she hoped the birth would give her mother something to look forward to when she got out of hospital.
Mrs. Emery is a cousin of Elaine O'Donnell, who is also being treated at the Royal Victoria. She has suffered a leg injury, but Mrs. Emery does not know how serious the injury is.
"She was going to get married in three weeks' time, but obviously that has been cancelled now," she said.
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/0054
Published Date: 20-Aug-98
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