WE HAVE MADE SURE HIS LIFE COUNTED IN DEATH AS MUCH AS IT DID IN LIFE
We have made sure his life counted in death, as much as it did in life'
Perhaps best known as the 'public face' of the Omagh bomb tragedy, Michael Gallagher recognises that his quest for justice is not without its critics.
Having spent 10 years in pursuit of the truth behind the August 15 atrocity -through court cases, inquiries and under an unwavering media spotlight - he is convinced that nothing less would have been good enough.
Ten years ago a loving son and brother, 21- year-old Aidan, was taken from the Gallagher family, alongside 28 others.
"We did what we thought was important and necessary.
"Some people have criticised us for - I've heard it, sadly, in recent years -holding back other victims of the bomb who want to get on with their lives and want to put that behind them. I can understand that, but we feel that justice and truth is very necessary, and whilst those people choose to take that direction, those of us that have chosen to pursue justice shouldn't be denied it."
Aware that some seem to shake their heads indulgently at his persistence, he denies any suggestion that his efforts are driven by an inability to deal with his loss.
"There's other criticism being levelled against us that, 'those poor people, it's understandable what they came through and the loss that they had, that they react in the way that they do'.
"As if in some way we're not rational - as if we have some sort of mental health problem because we're pursuing justice.
"We're moving on. We're dealing with the issues of the 15th of August. For those people that have buried that -that's their coping mechanism, but we can live with the direction that we've taken."
What they've done, he emphasises, is in their eyes "absolutely necessary", but admits that it is "probably therapeutic".
Calling his son a 'wonderful human being', he added: "We just can't walk away and say, Aidan died -or was murdered - it's just one of those things, let's get on with life.
"We have, in a sense, made sure that his life counted as much in death as it did in life."
Not his first experience of such loss, Michael Gallagher's brother, Huey, was killed by the IRA at age 26.
"Like Aidan his life was used to make a political protest. You just can't walk away from these things and brush it off."
Having spent more of the last 10 years consumed by the pursuit of justice than he could ever have imagined, he acknowledges that he made an early choice to take the voice of Omagh away from the terrorists.
"I can remember on August 16,1998, thinking -well everybody knows what happened in Omagh, and very shortly these people will be brought before the courts and held responsible for what happened.
"I think the horror that somebody could put a car bomb in the midst of people who were in the town working, shopping - or young people just hanging out with their friends - and commit such a wicked and evil act, and be allowed to get away with it, was beyond any of us.
"Very few people were willing to talk about what's happened, and that's understandable - you were the person literally under siege."
Emphasising that he is just one of a group of bereaved families, seeking to reveal the truth of the 1998 car bomb attack, he continued: "Really it was a decision that I took to talk to the media and have the public profile that I do have now.
"I felt that the best placed people to talk about those that were lost in Omagh were the families themselves, because traditionally it was always politicians who came on and talked - I don't regret that."
Refuting any suggestion that his quest is in any way fanatical, Michael believes that he does have a balanced lifestyle - despite what his public image might suggest - and recognises that "it's obvious, 10 years on that we're not going to have justice".
"I don't have any anger at all. I went through the phase of anger with Hugh's death, and I know how destructive that can be.
"I've used my energies to make them count - within the law we've pursued these people, and dealt with them as best we could."
He added: "Given what I have gone through over the past 10 years, and in the previous years before, with Hughie's death, I'm as well balanced as you can be, having been through that."
Asserting that he will be only too happy to step out of the limelight, he maintains that answers must first be forthcoming.
"We need some degree of closure on Omagh, and I think the public inquiry is the vehicle to deliver that -then I think, as a bereaved parent, I can walk away and say that I did everything humanly possible that I could, and I know that other families feel the same.
"Maybe the grieving process will only start then."
Acknowledging that it is difficult to accept that he can never change what happened, he says that at least after such an inquiry "we can look at using our energies in a different way from then on".
The Support and Self Help Group's endeavours, he says, have gone far beyond the 'adversarial side' so often played out on the world stage.
As well as the less 'headline-grabbing' programme of complementary therapies, educational courses and recreational events, they have embarked on a range of high-profile campaigns.
The group have been far from idle over the past decade, seeking to thwart terrorism at its roots. Noting that the revulsion felt over the Omagh atrocity has not deterred dissident activity, Michael evidenced a number of attacks on police officers in recent months.
Having the Real IRA and the 32 Counties Sovereignty Movement put on the American foreign terrorist list, forcing the removal of a merchandising website for a terrorist organisation from the internet, disrupting fundraisers in west Belfast and central London, and meeting with various politicians over the finer details of the 2000 Terrorism Act, are just a few of their achievements.
Although vocal and determined, Michael acknowledges that he and his family still find it "extremely hard to cope", often struggling with their inexplicable loss: "We have loving memories to give us comfort".
The anniversaries, he says, are important because they "focus the mind" and bring families together, but that every day Aidan is with them, spoken of, loved, and deeply missed. The passage of 10 years has in no way diminished their loss.
Perhaps best known as the 'public face' of the Omagh bomb tragedy, Michael Gallagher recognises that his quest for justice is not without its critics.
Having spent 10 years in pursuit of the truth behind the August 15 atrocity -through court cases, inquiries and under an unwavering media spotlight - he is convinced that nothing less would have been good enough.
Ten years ago a loving son and brother, 21- year-old Aidan, was taken from the Gallagher family, alongside 28 others.
"We did what we thought was important and necessary.
"Some people have criticised us for - I've heard it, sadly, in recent years -holding back other victims of the bomb who want to get on with their lives and want to put that behind them. I can understand that, but we feel that justice and truth is very necessary, and whilst those people choose to take that direction, those of us that have chosen to pursue justice shouldn't be denied it."
Aware that some seem to shake their heads indulgently at his persistence, he denies any suggestion that his efforts are driven by an inability to deal with his loss.
"There's other criticism being levelled against us that, 'those poor people, it's understandable what they came through and the loss that they had, that they react in the way that they do'.
"As if in some way we're not rational - as if we have some sort of mental health problem because we're pursuing justice.
"We're moving on. We're dealing with the issues of the 15th of August. For those people that have buried that -that's their coping mechanism, but we can live with the direction that we've taken."
What they've done, he emphasises, is in their eyes "absolutely necessary", but admits that it is "probably therapeutic".
Calling his son a 'wonderful human being', he added: "We just can't walk away and say, Aidan died -or was murdered - it's just one of those things, let's get on with life.
"We have, in a sense, made sure that his life counted as much in death as it did in life."
Not his first experience of such loss, Michael Gallagher's brother, Huey, was killed by the IRA at age 26.
"Like Aidan his life was used to make a political protest. You just can't walk away from these things and brush it off."
Having spent more of the last 10 years consumed by the pursuit of justice than he could ever have imagined, he acknowledges that he made an early choice to take the voice of Omagh away from the terrorists.
"I can remember on August 16,1998, thinking -well everybody knows what happened in Omagh, and very shortly these people will be brought before the courts and held responsible for what happened.
"I think the horror that somebody could put a car bomb in the midst of people who were in the town working, shopping - or young people just hanging out with their friends - and commit such a wicked and evil act, and be allowed to get away with it, was beyond any of us.
"Very few people were willing to talk about what's happened, and that's understandable - you were the person literally under siege."
Emphasising that he is just one of a group of bereaved families, seeking to reveal the truth of the 1998 car bomb attack, he continued: "Really it was a decision that I took to talk to the media and have the public profile that I do have now.
"I felt that the best placed people to talk about those that were lost in Omagh were the families themselves, because traditionally it was always politicians who came on and talked - I don't regret that."
Refuting any suggestion that his quest is in any way fanatical, Michael believes that he does have a balanced lifestyle - despite what his public image might suggest - and recognises that "it's obvious, 10 years on that we're not going to have justice".
"I don't have any anger at all. I went through the phase of anger with Hugh's death, and I know how destructive that can be.
"I've used my energies to make them count - within the law we've pursued these people, and dealt with them as best we could."
He added: "Given what I have gone through over the past 10 years, and in the previous years before, with Hughie's death, I'm as well balanced as you can be, having been through that."
Asserting that he will be only too happy to step out of the limelight, he maintains that answers must first be forthcoming.
"We need some degree of closure on Omagh, and I think the public inquiry is the vehicle to deliver that -then I think, as a bereaved parent, I can walk away and say that I did everything humanly possible that I could, and I know that other families feel the same.
"Maybe the grieving process will only start then."
Acknowledging that it is difficult to accept that he can never change what happened, he says that at least after such an inquiry "we can look at using our energies in a different way from then on".
The Support and Self Help Group's endeavours, he says, have gone far beyond the 'adversarial side' so often played out on the world stage.
As well as the less 'headline-grabbing' programme of complementary therapies, educational courses and recreational events, they have embarked on a range of high-profile campaigns.
The group have been far from idle over the past decade, seeking to thwart terrorism at its roots. Noting that the revulsion felt over the Omagh atrocity has not deterred dissident activity, Michael evidenced a number of attacks on police officers in recent months.
Having the Real IRA and the 32 Counties Sovereignty Movement put on the American foreign terrorist list, forcing the removal of a merchandising website for a terrorist organisation from the internet, disrupting fundraisers in west Belfast and central London, and meeting with various politicians over the finer details of the 2000 Terrorism Act, are just a few of their achievements.
Although vocal and determined, Michael acknowledges that he and his family still find it "extremely hard to cope", often struggling with their inexplicable loss: "We have loving memories to give us comfort".
The anniversaries, he says, are important because they "focus the mind" and bring families together, but that every day Aidan is with them, spoken of, loved, and deeply missed. The passage of 10 years has in no way diminished their loss.
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC10An/35
Published Date: 14-Aug-08
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