TC/1220

Robbed of sight, teenager Claire bravely adjusts to life after the bomb

'In a way I feel so lucky that I'm still here'
CLAIRE Gallagher walks into the front room of her Omagh home, treading the once-familiar steps which now have to be taken with extra care, and speaks calmly and candidly about the bomb which left her blind.
The brave teenager, who was lucky to survive the blast, was close to the maroon Vauxhall Cavalier when it exploded in Market Street on
August 15.
But in everything she says, she reveals an unselfish concern for others her parents, brother, sisters, friends, doctors and nurses - who are also suffering in the aftermath of the bomb.
And she displays the quiet maturity of a 15-year-old who has had to grow up very quickly in the past six weeks, as well as a fierce independence that will enable her to face the future without, the benefit of sight.
Claire has resolved to return to Loreto Grammar School soon, for her GCSE year. Although she will have to give up some subjects, she will be learning new skills: taking a keyboard course, as well as learning how to use a voice-activated computer.
The subjects she will definitely not be dropping are geography, Irish and, her favourite, music.
Then there is the Grade 5 piano examination to be taken in March. She will be learning how to read Braille music, with the help of her tutor, Miss Bronagh Quinn. Her other instruments include the flute, the guitar, and, unusually, the drums.
Claire is also determined to achieve her Duke of Edinburgh award, which she began last year. The only section she had left to complete when the bomb struck was the hiking and camping expedition, which she intends to do in the springtime.
She is already training to build up her stamina, and, only a month-and-a-half after the bomb, has enrolled at the fitness suite in the Leisure Centre.
And she has courageously agreed to co-operate with television programmes for both the BBC and UTV.
The irrepressible young woman speaks of her shocking experiences in a calm and considered tone.
Calm
"I knew when I got up that my eyes were hurt but I didn't realize how badly. I was calm. Probably in shock: and I didn't feel pain around the face, although I knew I was injured," she said.
She realizes she is lucky to be alive, and speaks frankly about the extent of her injuries.
"Do you see that scar at the top of my nose?" she asked, pointing to a very fine line which runs between her eyebrows. "A piece of metal went in there. If it had been a wee bit further up it would have been in my brain.
"The top of my nose, where the metal went in, was in bits. My right eye was later removed and I didn't feel any pain, I was so badly injured.
"In a way I feel lucky that I'm still here because there were people standing further away who were killed."
Claire's memory of August 15 is clear, as she remained conscious throughout her ordeal.
"Beforehand I met a friend for lunch and we were going to Super Valu, and as we were heading up Market Street they cordoned off the town and we were sent on down the street. The policemen thought they were taking us to safety," she said.
"I don't think anybody thought it was an actual bomb. We weren't rushing, though we weren't dandering either. I was trying to convince myself it was nothing, but I'm sort of a worrier."
Remembering that her mother, a radiographer, was on duty that day, Claire sensibly decided to walk in the direction of the hospital. Unfortunately, she would later be brought to the casualty department in a commandeered CA Anderson's van.
"We were making our way down to go out to the hospital where mum was working. I thought I wouldn't be able to get out to the house and I knew I couldn't walk through the town, so I thought that was the next best option," said Claire.
"After the bomb went off, I remember calling for my friends. They were calling me and telling me to get up. I didn't see anything. I just heard the bang.
"I knew it was a bomb because of the bomb scare. But when I heard it first I didn't think it was near us, but then I knew it was. I was half hoping everybody was safe.
Shouting
"There was crying, and a lot of alarms from the shops. I remember people shouting for other people that they were with. I was shouting for my friends and for help.
"Someone came over and helped me up, I thought he was a policeman. I said 'Who are you?" and he told me his name," she said.
The young man stayed with Claire at the scene until help came, and accompanied her to the hospital, but she does not wish to reveal his identity.
Scenes of bedlam, by now well documented, awaited her at the hospital.
"Everybody was crying and calling for help. The girl sitting beside me kept saying 'My leg', and people were shouting about their arms and legs, and the other people who were with them," she said.
Separated from her friends and surrounded by strangers, it was a long time before Claire heard a familiar voice.
Mrs. Gallagher had just returned to her Ashbourne Heights home, after a Saturday morning shift at the hospital, when she was bleeped to return because of the emergency.
She sensed that Claire was among the crowds of injured people streaming towards casualty, and was torn between her professional duty and her love for her daughter.
"I was looking after others, but I knew she had to be injured and needed to be with her. It was difficult to carry on with work," said Mrs Gallagher.
"We were continually X-raying patients. I was trying to be of assistance to my colleagues, while watching out for Claire through a big window in the X-ray department looking out to casualty."
Mrs Gallagher was frantically trying to remember what Claire had been wearing when she last saw her earlier that morning.
Even when speaking about this dark event, Claire can find some humour in the situation: "I was wearing blue jeans when I left the house, but when I got to the hospital I think they were red," she joked.
Selfless
Hospital staff wanted to send Claire to Enniskillen, but she insisted on staying in Omagh where her mother was working although she was selfless enough not to ask to see her.
"I said Mum was working there and I didn't want to go. I wanted Mum with me but I knew other people would need her help. I just kept thinking that," said Claire.
It was a half hour or more before Mrs. Gallagher was re-united with her injured daughter.
"An auxillary nurse came and took me over to where she was being assessed by the GP from Carrickmore," said Mrs. Gallagher.
Claire's father heard emergency vehicles heading towards the hospital.
"When he arrived at the hospital he went straight to the radiography department and he was relieved to find Claire there with me, having X-rays taken, said Mrs. Gallagher.
The consultant surgeons, Mr. Rao and Mr. Pinto, examined her injuries and put her on the priority list for the Royal Victoria Hospital.
Claire and her parents then boarded a helicopter bound for Belfast, a journey which took 20 minutes.
When Mrs. Gallagher's medical training could be of no more help to Claire, she did what any mother would do, she held her daughter.
"We held her hand, and let her know somebody was there. I knew it was important that there was always someone holding her," she said.
Since then, Claire has undergone four operations, although she does not dwell on the details of the surgery. Instead, she praises the doctors and nurses describing them as "brilliant".
A very down-to-earth teenager, Claire seems remarkably unfazed by the many important visitors she has had during her convalescence.
The 15-year-old who has shaken hands with the Clintons, the Blairs, Dr Mo Mowlam, and Senator George Mitchell, simply said "I enjoyed meeting them."
She had a top-secret meeting with Mrs Hillary Clinton at the Royal on Thursday, September 3, at the request of the First Lady.
Privilege
Mrs Clinton told Claire it was privilege to meet her, and observed that she was wearing the same nail varnish as her daughter, Chelsea.
"She was really nice and friendly, talking about school and the piano, and told me 'You'll have to come and play at the White House.'"said Claire.
The Gallaghers were also at the Leisure Centre in Omagh for President Clinton's visit with the rest of the bereaved and injured. It was the first time those who were hurt by the bomb were brought together.
"It was all buzz, there were lots of people, yet it was very quiet," revealed Claire.
She was brought up to the front to meet the President and he said: "So this is Claire that Hillary has been telling me about."
And Mrs Gallagher was particularly impressed by the behaviour of the Prime Minister.
"Mr. Blair was so sincere. We received a lovely hand-written letter from him one week later, in which he said Claire was everything he expected her to be, and asking her to come to Downing Street," she said.
Claire, the eldest of five children, and was at first apprehensive about how Gemma, Elaine, Christopher and Karen would react to the fact that their big sister so badly injured.
"But they have been a really good help, even Karen, who is only five. When I need help going somewhere or getting something, she does it for me. And Mum and Dad have been coping really well too," she says.
Claire's loyal friends rarely leave her side.
"They have been a great support," she said, "at the start when they came to visit they were a bit quiet, but when they realized I still had the personality that I had before, they relaxed."
And she draws strength from the countless cards and messages of goodwill she has received, many from people she has never met.
This resilient young woman, who will never see the devastation the bombers wreaked on Market Street, could well prove to be an inspiration to all the people of Omagh.

Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION

Ref: TC/1220

Published Date: 24-Sep-98