UTTER DISGUST AT SECRECY OF QUEEN'S OMAGH VISIT
Utter disgust' at secrecy of Queen's Omagh visit
Sir,
I write, as a member of the general public, to express my utter disgust with the powers that be, presumably the Northern Ireland Office, at the unnecessary secrecy surrounding the Queen's visit to Omagh.
Those who knew of it in advance had to rely on word of mouth conversations and some unofficial press leaks.
Some weeks ago, you published a letter of mine criticising the authorities for refusing to furnish any advanced publicity for the Jubilee Itinerary in Northern Ireland, when we all knew where and when the Queen would visit all other parts of the United Kingdom. In the letter, I also expressed the hope that Her Majesty might care to include Omagh in her tour, if only to visit the site of the worst bomb outrage of the Troubles and perhaps the Memorial Garden too.
I was delighted when I learned on the morning of the proposed visit, that the Queen and her husband would, in fact, be arriving at the Library Headquarters in Omagh around noon.
Naturally, I thought that the Royal couple would be escorted to lower Market Street, where perhaps one representative of each bereaved family would be there to meet them. Little wonder I was so dumbfounded when Mr. and Mrs. Godfrey Wilson, two of the Omagh relatives, informed me that they, like me, were completely unaware of the visit and that there were no official plans to talk to the relatives or even visit the bomb site.
I overheard some of Godfrey's interview with a 'Sun' reporter as we waited together, along with hundreds of well-wishers for the Royal party to leave the library building.
In it, he expressed consternation that the victims' relatives had been totally ignored. No doubt the Secretary of State became aware of the adverse reaction of townsfolk, especially as Mr. Michael Gallagher had already phoned the Northern Ireland Office to express his deep disappointment at the snub for the Omagh relatives.
Fortunately the day was saved, when a last minute alteration to the schedule allowed the Royal entourage to stop briefly at the site on its way to the Baronscourt demesne. Sadly, there were no relatives there, nor had the party time to go into the Garden of Remembrance.
In my opinion, the omission of a tour of the bomb site in Omagh from the original planning schedule was a blunder of great magnitude, insensitive in the extreme, and made worse by the fact that we never heard anyone in the Northern Ireland Office offer, as yet, an apology for the ridiculous faux pas.
It is so hypocritical for our government on the one hand to be forever plugging the success of the peace process, yet on the other hand, having to admit to its obvious flaws, when the security for the Head of State cannot be guaranteed for a Golden Jubilee visit.
Why else is it always felt necessary for Royal visits to this part of the United Kingdom to be shrouded in such secrecy. Many thousands more of the Queen's loyal subjects were thus denied the opportunity to greet her on this one-off Royal visit and this, in my opinion, is grossly intolerable.
Yours,
Wilfred Breen, Omagh
Sir,
I write, as a member of the general public, to express my utter disgust with the powers that be, presumably the Northern Ireland Office, at the unnecessary secrecy surrounding the Queen's visit to Omagh.
Those who knew of it in advance had to rely on word of mouth conversations and some unofficial press leaks.
Some weeks ago, you published a letter of mine criticising the authorities for refusing to furnish any advanced publicity for the Jubilee Itinerary in Northern Ireland, when we all knew where and when the Queen would visit all other parts of the United Kingdom. In the letter, I also expressed the hope that Her Majesty might care to include Omagh in her tour, if only to visit the site of the worst bomb outrage of the Troubles and perhaps the Memorial Garden too.
I was delighted when I learned on the morning of the proposed visit, that the Queen and her husband would, in fact, be arriving at the Library Headquarters in Omagh around noon.
Naturally, I thought that the Royal couple would be escorted to lower Market Street, where perhaps one representative of each bereaved family would be there to meet them. Little wonder I was so dumbfounded when Mr. and Mrs. Godfrey Wilson, two of the Omagh relatives, informed me that they, like me, were completely unaware of the visit and that there were no official plans to talk to the relatives or even visit the bomb site.
I overheard some of Godfrey's interview with a 'Sun' reporter as we waited together, along with hundreds of well-wishers for the Royal party to leave the library building.
In it, he expressed consternation that the victims' relatives had been totally ignored. No doubt the Secretary of State became aware of the adverse reaction of townsfolk, especially as Mr. Michael Gallagher had already phoned the Northern Ireland Office to express his deep disappointment at the snub for the Omagh relatives.
Fortunately the day was saved, when a last minute alteration to the schedule allowed the Royal entourage to stop briefly at the site on its way to the Baronscourt demesne. Sadly, there were no relatives there, nor had the party time to go into the Garden of Remembrance.
In my opinion, the omission of a tour of the bomb site in Omagh from the original planning schedule was a blunder of great magnitude, insensitive in the extreme, and made worse by the fact that we never heard anyone in the Northern Ireland Office offer, as yet, an apology for the ridiculous faux pas.
It is so hypocritical for our government on the one hand to be forever plugging the success of the peace process, yet on the other hand, having to admit to its obvious flaws, when the security for the Head of State cannot be guaranteed for a Golden Jubilee visit.
Why else is it always felt necessary for Royal visits to this part of the United Kingdom to be shrouded in such secrecy. Many thousands more of the Queen's loyal subjects were thus denied the opportunity to greet her on this one-off Royal visit and this, in my opinion, is grossly intolerable.
Yours,
Wilfred Breen, Omagh
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/1056
Published Date: 23-May-02
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