FESTIVAL GROUP TALKS OF OMAGH SPIRIT
Festival group talks of Omagh spirit
OMAWEST Community Development Association has said the spirit it had striven to achieve through the Omagh Community Festival was reflected in the aftermath of the bombing.
In a statement the group said that what was to be the culmination of a week graced with happiness became a "cauldron of destruction both emotionally and physically".
"The first Omagh festival in over a decade became irrelevant. A spirit which was evident throughout the week was again present but in a very different manner," said a spokesman for the group.
"It will be a day etched in the hearts and minds of the entire community for decades to follow but unfortunately for all the wrong reasons.
"Yet amidst all the confusion, despair and agony the strength spirit within the Omagh community left a clear message for every' around the world.
"Omagh is a town with a powerful cross-community spirit, a town which has always been admired for it togetherness serving as a flag ship for the entire Northern Ireland population in their search for peace," he said.
Expressing his sympathy to who had been affected by bomb, Mr. Gerry McCusker, Association's chairman, also paid tribute to those who had supported the festival.
"When such happiness is suddenly followed and overshadowed by so much grief it leaves a community so confused and angered," he said.
OMAWEST Community Development Association has said the spirit it had striven to achieve through the Omagh Community Festival was reflected in the aftermath of the bombing.
In a statement the group said that what was to be the culmination of a week graced with happiness became a "cauldron of destruction both emotionally and physically".
"The first Omagh festival in over a decade became irrelevant. A spirit which was evident throughout the week was again present but in a very different manner," said a spokesman for the group.
"It will be a day etched in the hearts and minds of the entire community for decades to follow but unfortunately for all the wrong reasons.
"Yet amidst all the confusion, despair and agony the strength spirit within the Omagh community left a clear message for every' around the world.
"Omagh is a town with a powerful cross-community spirit, a town which has always been admired for it togetherness serving as a flag ship for the entire Northern Ireland population in their search for peace," he said.
Expressing his sympathy to who had been affected by bomb, Mr. Gerry McCusker, Association's chairman, also paid tribute to those who had supported the festival.
"When such happiness is suddenly followed and overshadowed by so much grief it leaves a community so confused and angered," he said.
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/0507
Published Date: 27-Aug-98
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