HUSHED COURT HEARS OF BABY'S DEATH
Hushed court hears of baby's death through head injuries
A SILENT Omagh Inquest heard how the uncle of a toddler ran to a policeman with his gravely injured niece, Breda Devine, who died around 20 minutes later at Tyrone County Hospital.
Mr. Garry Patrick McGillion, who was himself seriously injured in the blast, sustaining extensive burn injuries, recalled how he had left home in Newtownstewart to travel to his fianc�e, Donna-Marie's home in Omagh. His sister, Tracey, of Dunnaboe Road, Donemana, and her daughter, Breda, his niece, also arrived and the group left for the town centre. He told the Inquest that they had gone into town to buy a pair of shoes for Breda. They knew there was a bomb scare.
They came out of the shop and Donna-Marie was pushing the buggy with Breda sitting in it. He remembered his sister was crossing the road and was slightly behind them.
In his statement he said that he was between Mr. G's and Hyper when he felt a massive electric shock. He remembered flying through the air and hitting the road face first.
Mr. McGillion said everything went black and when he got to his feet he noticed he was burning, and pulled his burning shirt off.
He recalled how there had been a long, dead silence, followed by a roar of screaming and shouting, and he decided to look for Breda and went to find Donna-Marie.
He said he found Donna-Marie, but she did not respond to him. He noticed she was still holding the buggy, which was covered in rubble and a shop sign.
He said he tried to move the sign, but initially could not and shouted for help. But the second time he moved it off the buggy and underneath he found his niece. Her face was blackened.
Mr. McGillion said he realised he needed to get Breda to medical help. He could feel her breathing but it felt panicked, so he ran towards the Northern Bank with the toddler and there a policeman took the infant from him.
Graphic
Coroner: "That is an extremely graphic account of what happened and conveys the horror of it all in a very graphic way. It was quite
remarkable that Breda was not thrown out of the pushchair. Had she been strapped in?"
Mr. McGillion: "Yes",
Coroner: "Obviously you were injured. Are you on the mend?"
Mr. McGillion: "The physical injuries are still there and there is still a lot of hospital treatment to go through".
Mr. McGillion added that the memories of what had happened on August 15 were "very dreadful".
Earlier in the inquest, little Breda Devine's father, Mr. Manus Eamon Paul Devine, said he identified his daughter's body at Tyrone County Hospital.
Mr. Devine also said that the other members of the family who had been injured had undergone a very long, slow recovery. He said his wife, Tracey was making great progress, but was badly scarred. However, mentally, she was "coping very well".
He said the couple had three other children ranging in age from four to eight, and they appreciated what had happened to the family, especially the older two.
A locum consultant anaesthetist at the County Hospital, Mr. M. T. Qureshi, said that Breda was brought in unconscious with burns on her face and her body. She was gasping and had no palpable pulse. He pronounced life extinct at 3.50pm.
The doctor said that Breda was among the first to arrive at hospital. Her face was covered with soot and dust. She was not breathing.
The staff tried to incubate her and also tried heart massage. Her pupils were fixed and dilated.
Coroner: "Really you were just making a futile effort."
Mr. Martin McCann, counsel for the family of Breda Devine, commented: "It must have been heartbreaking to see a little baby having life taken away from her.
Mr. Qureshi: "Yes. It was." Constable David Jenkins and Mr. John Aidan Devine, Breda's uncle, told the inquest that they also played a role in identifying the baby girl.
In his findings, the then Deputy State Pathologist, Dr. Derek Carson, found that the cause of death in respect of baby Breda Devine was brain injury with associated skull fractures due to a blow on the head due to a bomb.
He said such injury could have been caused by shrapnel, rubble falling on the child, or by the shop sign found on top of her.
He said such an injury would have caused immediate unconsciousness, and she might have survived her other injuries had it not been for the injury to her head.
He stressed that there was no hope of the child's continued survival despite medical help, and he felt she would have slipped into deepening unconsciousness before her death.
Mr. Oliver Roche, solicitor, said it seemed to be the case that for each family who had been bereaved, each individual family had its own tragic story, none of which appeared in the depositions or documentation before the Inquest.
He outlined how Mrs. Devine had been very badly injured in the face and how she spent eight weeks in Intensive Care unconscious. When she came around she could remember nothing, and not only did she have to come to terms with her own injuries, but it was only then that she began grieving for her daughter who was buried almost two months before.
Further, he said she had to learn that her brother and his now wife were very seriously injured in the bomb.
"Such a scenario on behalf of Mrs. Devine is almost beyond description. I find it difficult to find words to describe how she felt. They have asked me to express sincere thanks to everyone who had tried to comfort and save Breda," he said.
Mr. Roche said that there were two people in particular, who deserved particular mention, namely Breda's uncle, Garry, and the traffic warden, Mrs. Rosemary Ingram, who gave evidence last week.
He said it was evident front what had been said that both were more concerned about Breda than themselves.
Thanking Mr. Roche for his background to the trauma the family suffered, the coroner, Mr. John Leckey, said that he wanted to recognise the suffering that was still ongoing. I am sure we would all agree there is nothing so dreadful as the death of a child. The death of a child is a dreadful occurrence and no family ever recovers completely from such a loss.
"I hope very much with the passage of time the Devine family will be able to lead some form of normal life in the future," Mr. Leckey said.
He went on to offer his sincere sympathy on the death of Breda to the Devine family.
A SILENT Omagh Inquest heard how the uncle of a toddler ran to a policeman with his gravely injured niece, Breda Devine, who died around 20 minutes later at Tyrone County Hospital.
Mr. Garry Patrick McGillion, who was himself seriously injured in the blast, sustaining extensive burn injuries, recalled how he had left home in Newtownstewart to travel to his fianc�e, Donna-Marie's home in Omagh. His sister, Tracey, of Dunnaboe Road, Donemana, and her daughter, Breda, his niece, also arrived and the group left for the town centre. He told the Inquest that they had gone into town to buy a pair of shoes for Breda. They knew there was a bomb scare.
They came out of the shop and Donna-Marie was pushing the buggy with Breda sitting in it. He remembered his sister was crossing the road and was slightly behind them.
In his statement he said that he was between Mr. G's and Hyper when he felt a massive electric shock. He remembered flying through the air and hitting the road face first.
Mr. McGillion said everything went black and when he got to his feet he noticed he was burning, and pulled his burning shirt off.
He recalled how there had been a long, dead silence, followed by a roar of screaming and shouting, and he decided to look for Breda and went to find Donna-Marie.
He said he found Donna-Marie, but she did not respond to him. He noticed she was still holding the buggy, which was covered in rubble and a shop sign.
He said he tried to move the sign, but initially could not and shouted for help. But the second time he moved it off the buggy and underneath he found his niece. Her face was blackened.
Mr. McGillion said he realised he needed to get Breda to medical help. He could feel her breathing but it felt panicked, so he ran towards the Northern Bank with the toddler and there a policeman took the infant from him.
Graphic
Coroner: "That is an extremely graphic account of what happened and conveys the horror of it all in a very graphic way. It was quite
remarkable that Breda was not thrown out of the pushchair. Had she been strapped in?"
Mr. McGillion: "Yes",
Coroner: "Obviously you were injured. Are you on the mend?"
Mr. McGillion: "The physical injuries are still there and there is still a lot of hospital treatment to go through".
Mr. McGillion added that the memories of what had happened on August 15 were "very dreadful".
Earlier in the inquest, little Breda Devine's father, Mr. Manus Eamon Paul Devine, said he identified his daughter's body at Tyrone County Hospital.
Mr. Devine also said that the other members of the family who had been injured had undergone a very long, slow recovery. He said his wife, Tracey was making great progress, but was badly scarred. However, mentally, she was "coping very well".
He said the couple had three other children ranging in age from four to eight, and they appreciated what had happened to the family, especially the older two.
A locum consultant anaesthetist at the County Hospital, Mr. M. T. Qureshi, said that Breda was brought in unconscious with burns on her face and her body. She was gasping and had no palpable pulse. He pronounced life extinct at 3.50pm.
The doctor said that Breda was among the first to arrive at hospital. Her face was covered with soot and dust. She was not breathing.
The staff tried to incubate her and also tried heart massage. Her pupils were fixed and dilated.
Coroner: "Really you were just making a futile effort."
Mr. Martin McCann, counsel for the family of Breda Devine, commented: "It must have been heartbreaking to see a little baby having life taken away from her.
Mr. Qureshi: "Yes. It was." Constable David Jenkins and Mr. John Aidan Devine, Breda's uncle, told the inquest that they also played a role in identifying the baby girl.
In his findings, the then Deputy State Pathologist, Dr. Derek Carson, found that the cause of death in respect of baby Breda Devine was brain injury with associated skull fractures due to a blow on the head due to a bomb.
He said such injury could have been caused by shrapnel, rubble falling on the child, or by the shop sign found on top of her.
He said such an injury would have caused immediate unconsciousness, and she might have survived her other injuries had it not been for the injury to her head.
He stressed that there was no hope of the child's continued survival despite medical help, and he felt she would have slipped into deepening unconsciousness before her death.
Mr. Oliver Roche, solicitor, said it seemed to be the case that for each family who had been bereaved, each individual family had its own tragic story, none of which appeared in the depositions or documentation before the Inquest.
He outlined how Mrs. Devine had been very badly injured in the face and how she spent eight weeks in Intensive Care unconscious. When she came around she could remember nothing, and not only did she have to come to terms with her own injuries, but it was only then that she began grieving for her daughter who was buried almost two months before.
Further, he said she had to learn that her brother and his now wife were very seriously injured in the bomb.
"Such a scenario on behalf of Mrs. Devine is almost beyond description. I find it difficult to find words to describe how she felt. They have asked me to express sincere thanks to everyone who had tried to comfort and save Breda," he said.
Mr. Roche said that there were two people in particular, who deserved particular mention, namely Breda's uncle, Garry, and the traffic warden, Mrs. Rosemary Ingram, who gave evidence last week.
He said it was evident front what had been said that both were more concerned about Breda than themselves.
Thanking Mr. Roche for his background to the trauma the family suffered, the coroner, Mr. John Leckey, said that he wanted to recognise the suffering that was still ongoing. I am sure we would all agree there is nothing so dreadful as the death of a child. The death of a child is a dreadful occurrence and no family ever recovers completely from such a loss.
"I hope very much with the passage of time the Devine family will be able to lead some form of normal life in the future," Mr. Leckey said.
He went on to offer his sincere sympathy on the death of Breda to the Devine family.
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/1563
Published Date: 28-Sep-00
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