OMAGH AN OPEN WOUND
Omagh - An open wound
by Emma Stewart
AS Omagh last week joined in remembrance of its darkest hour, families united in grief affirmed that only truth and justice can begin to heal the wounds of August 15, 1998.
Two separately organised services held to remember those killed in the dissident republican car bomb attack on Omagh's Market Street were attended by representatives from the British, Irish and Spanish governments, as well as local clergy who had hastily resolved a public dispute over which event they would attend by being represented at both.
A key theme emanating from both services was the family's continuing battle to discover the truth behind the August 15 attack.
During Friday's civic ceremony, organised by Omagh District Council, keynote speaker Terry Waite CBE acknowledged the families' struggle to move past the events of that fateful day in 1998.
"We know that in a flawed and broken world complete justice is hardly ever experienced. We do not live in a world where we can experience absolute justice. With justice as with so many other things in life, we frequently have to settle for something less than the absolute. It is far from easy to recognise that fact," he said.
This was echoed during Sunday's Omagh Support and Self-Help Group-led service by bereaved father, Michael Gallagher, who is unimpressed by the support the families' campaign has received to date. He has demanded that politicians from both governments adopt a proactive approach to the pursuit of justice.
The only proper tribute to the dead of Omagh 10 years on must be a full, cross-border, public enquiry. This should be backed by all, otherwise the systems continue to fail, and those people should hold their heads in shame, and not make the gestures - the token gestures - that they have done in recent weeks," he said.
A decade on and pleas for such an inquiry have replaced any hopes of judicial atonement, while a civil action being taken by some families continues against those they believe were responsible for the bomb atrocity.
However, following Omagh District Council's commemorative service on Friday, there remained no tangible unity of purpose on the issue from governments north and south.
While Sinn Fein Deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness, said that his party would back the families' public inquiry demands, Irish Premier Brian Cowen remained tight-lipped.
Mr Cowen pointed to the civil action currently being heard in Belfast and Dublin as the reasoning behind his reticence.
Mr McGuinness said that he supported an inquiry on the basis of "very serious concerns about how the police handled this investigation from beginning to end", while conversely junior minister Jeffrey Donaldson instead expressed hopes that those who perpetrated the "evil deeds" would be brought to justice.
Such discord characterised the atmosphere surrounding last weekend's events, which saw tensions between some bereaved families and Omagh District Council - and indeed Omagh Churches Forum - played out across the national media.
This uneasy stand-off in the days preceding the 10th anniversary of the car bomb atrocity arose as some bereaved families refused to attend the council-led service, in preference for that organised by Omagh Support and Self-Help Group which was held on Sunday.
They reasoned that conflict with Omagh District Council over their handling of the design of the new memorial garden, and a dispute over the wording for the bomb memorial, lay behind their decision.
Indeed some were emphatic that they would not stand beside representatives of Sinn Fein Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness and Pat Doherty MP - while they remembered those loved ones who were killed by a dissident republican car bomb.
An Omagh Churches Forum statement expressing their intention to attend the 'official' Friday service alone, had further escalated tensions. Those tensions eased as local clerics indicated they would be present at the Sunday service too.
However as the community came together at both commemorations, the focus returned to those 31 -including unborn twins -whose lives were brought to a brutal end that day, to the hundreds injured and traumatised, and to those who fought so valiantly to save lives.
On Friday afternoon last people of all ages, from all walks of life, and with their own memories of Omagh's greatest tragedy, began to drift down through Market Street. They walked past the place where 10 years ago those they mourned had been ushered to supposed safety.
Huddled under umbrellas, in an atmosphere of great solemnity, hundreds gathered.
In a brief hiatus from otherwise unrelenting rain, Omagh stood still on Friday at 3.10pm, the point at which the car bomb was detonated, to remember those for whom one Saturday afternoon a decade ago brought unspeakable horror.
As the bell at Sacred Heart Church tolled, Omagh remembered the moment all was changed forever.
Then - just 48 hours later - glorious sun shone on the town's new memorial garden as bereaved families joined with their community once more to remember their cherished loved ones.
With grief unabated by the passage of a decade, a very personal service commemorated those held dear by grieving relatives. The Support and Self-Help Group's Sunday service then, said one attendee, gave an opportunity for families to "grieve at their own pace and in their own place".
As the service carried on in the garden below, newly installed overhead mirrors tracked the sun throughout, pouring constant beams of sunlight onto 31 small pole-mounted mirrors - one for each life stolen on August 15, 1998.
by Emma Stewart
AS Omagh last week joined in remembrance of its darkest hour, families united in grief affirmed that only truth and justice can begin to heal the wounds of August 15, 1998.
Two separately organised services held to remember those killed in the dissident republican car bomb attack on Omagh's Market Street were attended by representatives from the British, Irish and Spanish governments, as well as local clergy who had hastily resolved a public dispute over which event they would attend by being represented at both.
A key theme emanating from both services was the family's continuing battle to discover the truth behind the August 15 attack.
During Friday's civic ceremony, organised by Omagh District Council, keynote speaker Terry Waite CBE acknowledged the families' struggle to move past the events of that fateful day in 1998.
"We know that in a flawed and broken world complete justice is hardly ever experienced. We do not live in a world where we can experience absolute justice. With justice as with so many other things in life, we frequently have to settle for something less than the absolute. It is far from easy to recognise that fact," he said.
This was echoed during Sunday's Omagh Support and Self-Help Group-led service by bereaved father, Michael Gallagher, who is unimpressed by the support the families' campaign has received to date. He has demanded that politicians from both governments adopt a proactive approach to the pursuit of justice.
The only proper tribute to the dead of Omagh 10 years on must be a full, cross-border, public enquiry. This should be backed by all, otherwise the systems continue to fail, and those people should hold their heads in shame, and not make the gestures - the token gestures - that they have done in recent weeks," he said.
A decade on and pleas for such an inquiry have replaced any hopes of judicial atonement, while a civil action being taken by some families continues against those they believe were responsible for the bomb atrocity.
However, following Omagh District Council's commemorative service on Friday, there remained no tangible unity of purpose on the issue from governments north and south.
While Sinn Fein Deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness, said that his party would back the families' public inquiry demands, Irish Premier Brian Cowen remained tight-lipped.
Mr Cowen pointed to the civil action currently being heard in Belfast and Dublin as the reasoning behind his reticence.
Mr McGuinness said that he supported an inquiry on the basis of "very serious concerns about how the police handled this investigation from beginning to end", while conversely junior minister Jeffrey Donaldson instead expressed hopes that those who perpetrated the "evil deeds" would be brought to justice.
Such discord characterised the atmosphere surrounding last weekend's events, which saw tensions between some bereaved families and Omagh District Council - and indeed Omagh Churches Forum - played out across the national media.
This uneasy stand-off in the days preceding the 10th anniversary of the car bomb atrocity arose as some bereaved families refused to attend the council-led service, in preference for that organised by Omagh Support and Self-Help Group which was held on Sunday.
They reasoned that conflict with Omagh District Council over their handling of the design of the new memorial garden, and a dispute over the wording for the bomb memorial, lay behind their decision.
Indeed some were emphatic that they would not stand beside representatives of Sinn Fein Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness and Pat Doherty MP - while they remembered those loved ones who were killed by a dissident republican car bomb.
An Omagh Churches Forum statement expressing their intention to attend the 'official' Friday service alone, had further escalated tensions. Those tensions eased as local clerics indicated they would be present at the Sunday service too.
However as the community came together at both commemorations, the focus returned to those 31 -including unborn twins -whose lives were brought to a brutal end that day, to the hundreds injured and traumatised, and to those who fought so valiantly to save lives.
On Friday afternoon last people of all ages, from all walks of life, and with their own memories of Omagh's greatest tragedy, began to drift down through Market Street. They walked past the place where 10 years ago those they mourned had been ushered to supposed safety.
Huddled under umbrellas, in an atmosphere of great solemnity, hundreds gathered.
In a brief hiatus from otherwise unrelenting rain, Omagh stood still on Friday at 3.10pm, the point at which the car bomb was detonated, to remember those for whom one Saturday afternoon a decade ago brought unspeakable horror.
As the bell at Sacred Heart Church tolled, Omagh remembered the moment all was changed forever.
Then - just 48 hours later - glorious sun shone on the town's new memorial garden as bereaved families joined with their community once more to remember their cherished loved ones.
With grief unabated by the passage of a decade, a very personal service commemorated those held dear by grieving relatives. The Support and Self-Help Group's Sunday service then, said one attendee, gave an opportunity for families to "grieve at their own pace and in their own place".
As the service carried on in the garden below, newly installed overhead mirrors tracked the sun throughout, pouring constant beams of sunlight onto 31 small pole-mounted mirrors - one for each life stolen on August 15, 1998.
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC10An/43
Published Date: 21-Aug-08
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