TENS OF THOUSANDS SAY EVIL WILL NOT TRIUMPH
Tens of thousands came to say evil will not triumph
AT 3.10pm in Omagh on Saturday the silence was deafening. Tens of thousands of people packed the town centre and surrounding car parks to pay a final, poignant farewell to the 28 men, women and children who had lost their lives, and the hundreds more who had been injured, in Ireland's worst single terrorist atrocity in 30 years.
From 11am, people had started gathering quietly in the town for the act of prayerful reflection, scheduled for 2.45pm. By 1.30, when St. Eugene's Band struck up the first haunting notes of 'Abide with Me', the main street was a sea of people.
Despite the frantic media circus of the previous week, there was still a sense of unreality in the air, with many people shaking their heads in disbelief at the carnage that had been wrought on the town. Others said they had never seen such a crowd in Omagh before.
At 2.20pm, the first of those who had lost relatives, along with politicians, members of the clergy, and representatives of the emergency services, filed onto the Courthouse steps, as the eyes of thousands silently looked on.
Among the dignitaries present were Ireland's four main church leaders, the Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, Northern Ireland's First and Second Ministers, David Trimble and Seamus Mallon, the President and Premier of the Republic of Ireland, Mary McAleese and Bertie Ahern, West Tyrone MP, William Thompson, and the Duke and Duchess of Abercorn.
At 2.30, the church bells began to toll, and at 2.45, Rev. Kevin Mullan, a curate at Christ the King Church at Strathroy, gave an emotional opening address.
He told the assembled crowd that the town was a "silent sanctuary of remembrance, sharing the silence of the inner sanctuaries of broken hearts and families".
At the same time last week, he said, everyone had had "a future for some time on this earth".
"But the future had already been brought among us. Evil had already possessed some human hearts and minds to do evil unto other human beings," he said.
"At ten minutes past three, the future came. Death and life were blasted together. Death carried life and peace away. It searched for many more of us with its savage, scorching breath.
"Its bloody greed was fought in the street and the hospital by those who love and treasure life, and dearly loved the lives for whom they fought."
Pain and loss
Dr. Brendan McCarthy, of Omagh Community Church, said the community had come to reclaim its town, and to declare that evil would not triumph.
"The pain and loss will remain but our community will not be torn apart," he said.
During the singing of the 23rd Psalm, 'The Lord's My Shepherd', the relatives of those who lost their lives huddled together in small groups, consoling one another, and being comforted by members of the clergy. Many wept openly.
Prayers were then read, before Dromore girl, Juliet Turner, stepped forward to sing a haunting song based on two passages from the Old Testament, 'Broken Things'.
As she finished and turned back to be comforted by other members of the platform party, there was a spontaneous burst of applause.
A scripture reading and prayers of thanksgiving were then given, as the hands of the Courthouse clock moved towards 3.10pm, the moment the bomb had gone off one week before.
Omagh District Council's chief executive, Mr. John McKinney, read out the names of the 28 dead, and then the people of Omagh, along with hundreds of thousands of others in towns across the island of Ireland, stopped and remembered.
In the Press area, too, not a single camera shutter clicked. The only sound to be heard was the crying of a few small children.
Following the minute's silence, the crowd recited the Lord's Prayer, led by Fr. Mullan, and further prayers were read.
Eight baskets of flowers were then symbolically lifted from the bottom of the Courthouse steps, to be sent to the Tyrone County Hospital, and the other hospitals which treated the wounded.
Rev. Ruth Adams, curate assistant at St. Columba's Parish Church in Omagh, said: "We remember our dead and bereaved. We reach out now to
the injured and those who love and care for them.
"From the heart of this gathering we send flowers to our own hospital that gave its all, and to its sister hospitals across the north, who reached out to save our beloved people and still care for them."
Prayer of hope
As the service drew to a close, young Louise Scott, who was injured in the bombing, and Jody Sharkey, whose uncle, Brian McCrory, was killed, read out a prayer of hope.
With his arms around the two children, Rev. Robert Herron, Minister of Trinity Presbyterian Church, gave the final blessing, and asked all those present to make a sign of peace before departing.
On the Courthouse steps and around the town centre, people, young and old alike, shook hands and hugged each other. For a few minutes afterwards, no one moved, reluctant perhaps to leave. But then they gradually began to make their way home.
Many, however, remained in the town, to read the messages on the floral tributes and talk about the service.
One Omagh man, who came with his wife and three children, said he was thankful they were able to come to the service as a family unit.
"So many people were touched by this tragedy, and this was a way of offering support," he said.
He added that he found the service very moving, but had been unable to get into the town centre because of huge crowds.
Across Northern Ireland and the Republic, similar services were held.
In Strabane and Londonderry, massive numbers filled the streets, and, in Enniskillen, where the atrocity brought back many memories of the town's own Poppy Day bombing 11 years ago, thousands stood in silence for a full five minutes while the church bells tolled.
AT 3.10pm in Omagh on Saturday the silence was deafening. Tens of thousands of people packed the town centre and surrounding car parks to pay a final, poignant farewell to the 28 men, women and children who had lost their lives, and the hundreds more who had been injured, in Ireland's worst single terrorist atrocity in 30 years.
From 11am, people had started gathering quietly in the town for the act of prayerful reflection, scheduled for 2.45pm. By 1.30, when St. Eugene's Band struck up the first haunting notes of 'Abide with Me', the main street was a sea of people.
Despite the frantic media circus of the previous week, there was still a sense of unreality in the air, with many people shaking their heads in disbelief at the carnage that had been wrought on the town. Others said they had never seen such a crowd in Omagh before.
At 2.20pm, the first of those who had lost relatives, along with politicians, members of the clergy, and representatives of the emergency services, filed onto the Courthouse steps, as the eyes of thousands silently looked on.
Among the dignitaries present were Ireland's four main church leaders, the Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, Northern Ireland's First and Second Ministers, David Trimble and Seamus Mallon, the President and Premier of the Republic of Ireland, Mary McAleese and Bertie Ahern, West Tyrone MP, William Thompson, and the Duke and Duchess of Abercorn.
At 2.30, the church bells began to toll, and at 2.45, Rev. Kevin Mullan, a curate at Christ the King Church at Strathroy, gave an emotional opening address.
He told the assembled crowd that the town was a "silent sanctuary of remembrance, sharing the silence of the inner sanctuaries of broken hearts and families".
At the same time last week, he said, everyone had had "a future for some time on this earth".
"But the future had already been brought among us. Evil had already possessed some human hearts and minds to do evil unto other human beings," he said.
"At ten minutes past three, the future came. Death and life were blasted together. Death carried life and peace away. It searched for many more of us with its savage, scorching breath.
"Its bloody greed was fought in the street and the hospital by those who love and treasure life, and dearly loved the lives for whom they fought."
Pain and loss
Dr. Brendan McCarthy, of Omagh Community Church, said the community had come to reclaim its town, and to declare that evil would not triumph.
"The pain and loss will remain but our community will not be torn apart," he said.
During the singing of the 23rd Psalm, 'The Lord's My Shepherd', the relatives of those who lost their lives huddled together in small groups, consoling one another, and being comforted by members of the clergy. Many wept openly.
Prayers were then read, before Dromore girl, Juliet Turner, stepped forward to sing a haunting song based on two passages from the Old Testament, 'Broken Things'.
As she finished and turned back to be comforted by other members of the platform party, there was a spontaneous burst of applause.
A scripture reading and prayers of thanksgiving were then given, as the hands of the Courthouse clock moved towards 3.10pm, the moment the bomb had gone off one week before.
Omagh District Council's chief executive, Mr. John McKinney, read out the names of the 28 dead, and then the people of Omagh, along with hundreds of thousands of others in towns across the island of Ireland, stopped and remembered.
In the Press area, too, not a single camera shutter clicked. The only sound to be heard was the crying of a few small children.
Following the minute's silence, the crowd recited the Lord's Prayer, led by Fr. Mullan, and further prayers were read.
Eight baskets of flowers were then symbolically lifted from the bottom of the Courthouse steps, to be sent to the Tyrone County Hospital, and the other hospitals which treated the wounded.
Rev. Ruth Adams, curate assistant at St. Columba's Parish Church in Omagh, said: "We remember our dead and bereaved. We reach out now to
the injured and those who love and care for them.
"From the heart of this gathering we send flowers to our own hospital that gave its all, and to its sister hospitals across the north, who reached out to save our beloved people and still care for them."
Prayer of hope
As the service drew to a close, young Louise Scott, who was injured in the bombing, and Jody Sharkey, whose uncle, Brian McCrory, was killed, read out a prayer of hope.
With his arms around the two children, Rev. Robert Herron, Minister of Trinity Presbyterian Church, gave the final blessing, and asked all those present to make a sign of peace before departing.
On the Courthouse steps and around the town centre, people, young and old alike, shook hands and hugged each other. For a few minutes afterwards, no one moved, reluctant perhaps to leave. But then they gradually began to make their way home.
Many, however, remained in the town, to read the messages on the floral tributes and talk about the service.
One Omagh man, who came with his wife and three children, said he was thankful they were able to come to the service as a family unit.
"So many people were touched by this tragedy, and this was a way of offering support," he said.
He added that he found the service very moving, but had been unable to get into the town centre because of huge crowds.
Across Northern Ireland and the Republic, similar services were held.
In Strabane and Londonderry, massive numbers filled the streets, and, in Enniskillen, where the atrocity brought back many memories of the town's own Poppy Day bombing 11 years ago, thousands stood in silence for a full five minutes while the church bells tolled.
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/0274
Published Date: 27-Aug-98
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