NOTHING WILL EASE OUR GRIEF OR SENSE OF LOSS
Nothing will ease our grief or sense of loss, family tells inquest
THE daughter of a 60-year-old woman who was murdered in the Omagh atrocity, has lashed those who have questioned the bravery displayed and the role played by the police in the minutes leading up to the detonation of the 300lb car bomb.
Mrs. Olive Hawkes had been shopping in the town centre and was one of five customers and staff of Watterson's drapers to die.
Her daughter, Mrs. Mandy Walker, displayed great strength of spirit as she read her family's statement.
She said: "Whilst I respect the need to adapt some detachment in proceedings such as this, I would like to state that my mother was not just a 'deceased body' at the scene. She was foremost a wonderful person, who was much-loved and needed by her family.
"Although she was 60 years of age, I can assure you that she had an enormous enthusiasm and vitality for life and was not simply a 'housewife'. She was so much more to those most fortunate whose life she touched,"
"This inquest, nor time, will succeed in easing our grief and deep sense of loss. Indeed, it has done nothing more than to paint a vivid picture in our minds forever, of the day when the so-called Real IRA destroyed our family unit and robbed us of the opportunity to even say 'goodbye' to the most precious gift that God could have given us," she said.
Mrs. Walker continued: "We are eternally grateful to the police, in knowing that she was not alone and was treated with the respect and dignity that she so richly deserved. That is what is important to us, for no one here is on trial or accountable in our minds.
"As a family we have, at times, felt almost ashamed being part of a proceedings whereby those to whom we should be honouring for their bravery and compassion are being questioned and almost over shadowing those directly responsible for the murder of Elizabeth Olive Hawkes," she said of those who had questioned the role the RUC had played on the day in clearing the town.
Giving evidence, Sergeant Robin Wilson told the inquest that he was helped to identify the body of Mrs. Hawkes by Mr. Mark Thomas Hawkes, her son.
The Pathologist, Professor Jack Crane, said trauma to the head caused instant death.
He assured the inquest that Mrs. Hawkes would not have had any idea of what had happened to her.
Offering his sympathy, the coroner, Mr. John Leckey, said that, perhaps, it was some degree of comfort to the family that Mrs. Hawkes would have known nothing.
"It is very important to the families to know whether their loved ones suffered in any way. Thankfully, that does not appear to be the case. Mrs. Hawkes would have been oblivious to all and unaware of what happened.
"I hope that will provide some comfort to her family. I found the statement of Mrs. Walker to be very moving. Mrs. Hawkes seems to have been a wonderful mother, a person whom it was great to know," he said.
THE daughter of a 60-year-old woman who was murdered in the Omagh atrocity, has lashed those who have questioned the bravery displayed and the role played by the police in the minutes leading up to the detonation of the 300lb car bomb.
Mrs. Olive Hawkes had been shopping in the town centre and was one of five customers and staff of Watterson's drapers to die.
Her daughter, Mrs. Mandy Walker, displayed great strength of spirit as she read her family's statement.
She said: "Whilst I respect the need to adapt some detachment in proceedings such as this, I would like to state that my mother was not just a 'deceased body' at the scene. She was foremost a wonderful person, who was much-loved and needed by her family.
"Although she was 60 years of age, I can assure you that she had an enormous enthusiasm and vitality for life and was not simply a 'housewife'. She was so much more to those most fortunate whose life she touched,"
"This inquest, nor time, will succeed in easing our grief and deep sense of loss. Indeed, it has done nothing more than to paint a vivid picture in our minds forever, of the day when the so-called Real IRA destroyed our family unit and robbed us of the opportunity to even say 'goodbye' to the most precious gift that God could have given us," she said.
Mrs. Walker continued: "We are eternally grateful to the police, in knowing that she was not alone and was treated with the respect and dignity that she so richly deserved. That is what is important to us, for no one here is on trial or accountable in our minds.
"As a family we have, at times, felt almost ashamed being part of a proceedings whereby those to whom we should be honouring for their bravery and compassion are being questioned and almost over shadowing those directly responsible for the murder of Elizabeth Olive Hawkes," she said of those who had questioned the role the RUC had played on the day in clearing the town.
Giving evidence, Sergeant Robin Wilson told the inquest that he was helped to identify the body of Mrs. Hawkes by Mr. Mark Thomas Hawkes, her son.
The Pathologist, Professor Jack Crane, said trauma to the head caused instant death.
He assured the inquest that Mrs. Hawkes would not have had any idea of what had happened to her.
Offering his sympathy, the coroner, Mr. John Leckey, said that, perhaps, it was some degree of comfort to the family that Mrs. Hawkes would have known nothing.
"It is very important to the families to know whether their loved ones suffered in any way. Thankfully, that does not appear to be the case. Mrs. Hawkes would have been oblivious to all and unaware of what happened.
"I hope that will provide some comfort to her family. I found the statement of Mrs. Walker to be very moving. Mrs. Hawkes seems to have been a wonderful mother, a person whom it was great to know," he said.
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/1564
Published Date: 28-Sep-00
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