TC/0257

SPORTING PROGRAMME CANCELLED IN WAKE OF ATROCITY

IT should have been a busy week of sport in the Omagh and district area, but the events of Saturday afternoon in what has become Northern Ireland's 'blackest day' has left no one wanting to take part in any sporting fixture.
All fixtures involving Omagh teams in all sports have been postponed along with the entire Fermanagh and Western Football League programme, as a mark of respect to those who died or were injured in Saturday's terrorist bomb.
And Tuesday's Fermanagh and Western programme was also postponed, with training sessions for numerous soccer, rugby, hockey and gaelic clubs cancelled.
"No body is interested in taking part in any sort of fixtures this week, " said the secretary of local football club, Dunbreen Rovers.
George Henderson said the local F & W league had done the right thing in calling off Tuesday's games and he welcomed Tuesday morning's decision to postpone all games on Saturday.
His club's reserve team had opened their division three programme on Saturday with neighbouring Omagh Hospitals Reserves. However, as news of how serious the bomb explosion was filtered through to the Crevenagh Road ground, the referee, local man Brendan Johns, stopped the game after 80 minutes as players became more and more anxious about relatives and loved ones.
"Football was the last thing on the minds of the players," said Mr. Henderson.
Enda Love, chairman of the local association, said he condemned the brutal slaying of innocent people in Omagh .
"This type of thing brings everything into context. Mothers and children were out shopping, enjoying their day, and within a second, they had been wiped from the face of the earth," he said.
Mr. Love said the league had taken the decision to postpone Tuesday's games on Saturday evening, and after further consideration had decided that Saturday's games should also be called off as a mark of respect.
'No interest in playing'
"Those involved in the game at local level are not interested in playing football matches at this sad time," he said.
Fixtures scheduled for Tuesday will go ahead, with players wearing black armbands and teams observing a minute's silence before all games.
The Fermanagh and Western Referees' Association also extended sympathy this week to one of its long serving former referees', Kevin Skelton, who lost his wife, Philomena, in the attack.
Mr. Basil Marshall, match appointments secretary, said all who knew Kevin and his wife were deeply saddened to learn of Philomena's death.
Many of the referees, along with members of the football league and association, attended the funeral yesterday in Drumquin.
Meanwhile, Omagh Town's Irish League Premiership match against Newry Town, which was to have been their opening home game of the
season has also been postponed.
The St. Julian's Road is only a short distance away from where the bomb wrecked so many lives.
Town manager, Roy McCreadie, said he knew football was striving to find some normality and to play games at the arranged times, but this was a circumstance that no-one could have forseen.
"Personally I would not have the stomach for a match on Saturday and I think my players and the rest of the staff will be feeling the same. How can you think of a football game when there is devastation all around,"
He added: "This is not the time for football."
And it was not just local soccer games which were postponed as a mark of respect.
Northern Ireland's under-21 international on Tuesday night, and the full international game last night (Wednesday), both against Malta, were postponed by the Irish Football Association, again as a mark of respect to the people in Omagh who had lost lives or been injured.
Soccer school cancelled
The Gerry Armstrong Soccer School, which was to have started on Monday, was cancelled and organiser, Sean Curneen, said it would be held again at a time which was more fitting.
This was also the week that Omagh Academicals Rugby Club firsts were to have been putting the final preparations to their campaign for a serious assault on the new look Ulster League B Division.
Latest recruit, New Zealander, Simon McKearney, was to have made his debut for the club in their opening game away against Collegians in Belfast, but it was postponed early in the week.
Mervyn Beattie, club match secretary, said a number of the players knew of many people who had been killed or injured and the last thing on their minds was getting ready for a rugby game in the aftermath of such a sickening atrocity which had saddened everyone.
And honorary secretary, Mr. James Carberry. said the club would be closed all day on Saturday as a mark of respect.
The committee met on Tuesday night and passed a motion of sympathy to those club members, as well as all those who had been bereaved or had had relatives injured.
Anxious enquiries
Meanwhile, a number of people involved in hockey contacted the former captain of the men's section of Omagh Hockey Club this week making anxious enquiries to find out if any of their players had been injured or killed in the incident.
Many of the players in clubs Omagh would compete against in the Ulster Intermediate League saw pictures of the Kozy Corner bar in the rubble, a place where they had socialised many times with the Omagh players.
"The secretary of South Antrim Hockey Club contacted me to say that he and many of the players were thinking of us at this time and hoped that everyone was alright," the former fixtures secretary said.
"Fortunately I was able to say that at that stage as far as I knew everyone was okay, but for one member who had received some minor injuries. But many of the members knew some of those who had been killed and badly injured," he added.
It was one of a number of calls which enquired about members of the club.
Golfers in Omagh on Saturday who had been enjoying a round on a beautiful afternoon, stopped playing before their rounds were up when news of the seriousness of the blast filtered around the course.
Several of them playing rushed to the hospital to give assistance where they could, and others made for the town centre to check on relatives.
Club member, Peter Mathers, said many members, and visitors were playing one of the final competitions of open week when news of the atrocity made its way around the course.
Empty
Since then the course has remained empty and all competitions have been cancelled.
The council met on Monday night for their monthly meeting when all business was adjourned.
A vote of sympathy was passed to members affected by the tragedy and to the community in general.
All competitions were cancelled including the annual Bessy Bell competition, scheduled to take place at Omagh and Newtownstewart this week-
end.
In addition to the Bessy Bell event at Newtownstewart, the Ardstraw West and Castlederg Parish event scheduled to take place tomorrow Friday, was cancelled.
And the Baronscourt course will be closed on Saturday as a mark of respect.
On the gaelic scene, all of Sunday's games in Tyrone were called off as a mark of respect to the victims of the Omagh bombing and their families.
And any matches due to take place during the week were also put back.
But Sunday's All-Ireland Minor semi-final between Tyrone and Leitrim will go ahead, after the Tyrone County Board decided on Monday night to request a postponement.
Tyrone PRO, Dominic McCaughey, explained that the board felt cancelling all fixtures for the week had shown reasonable respect for the victims, and the game would go ahead as planned on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the Australian A cricket team may not be visiting Londonderry next week as part of their planned tour of Ireland.
The Wallabies flew into Dublin on Tuesday and face Ireland in the city in a three-day game starting today (Thursday).
They were supposed to move North to play games in Waringstown, Downpatrick and Londonderry, but it is understood they were advised by their government not to travel to Northern Ireland for their own safety.

Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION

Ref: TC/0257

Published Date: 20-Aug-98