RELATIVES REFLECT ON 'PAINFUL' TIME
Relatives reflect on 'painful' time
THREE of those bereaved by the Market Street bombing two years ago have spoken of how the legal proceedings has given them some of the answers they sought, but also rekindled painful memories.
Speaking at the conclusion of the inquest on Tuesday, Mr. Stanley McCombe, whose wife, Ann died in the blast, said that the inquest had brought up a lot of memories.
He said it had been another hurdle his family had to cross, but it was only one of many more that still had to be faced.
Mr. McCombe said that the past four weeks had given him an insight into what happened, and for those bereaved it had allowed them to know exactly what happened and how their loved ones had died.
He said that the detail had been harrowing and people were just glad it was over, but there were still those "out there" that relatives would like to see prosecuted, and the bottom line was that the perpetrators should be brought to justice.
The father of two also acknowledged that the RUC and Garda were doing all in their power to bring the guilty to justice, and he had no doubt they would.
Responding to the coroner's decision not to dilute or sanitise the evidence, Mr. Michael Gallagher, whose 21-year-old son, Adrian, died, said that people did not know what to expect, but as the inquest unfolded the true horror of it began to unfold and it had been painful to listen to.
He said the third video had been particularly horrific, and he personally believed that it should be shown widely with a warning to people of the effects of a 5OOlb car bomb and what it could do to human life.
He said that at least now the bereaved knew the full extent of what had happened and there would be no more shocks.
He also said that final closure would only come when those responsible were behind bars.
Mrs. Marion Radford, whose teenage son, Alan, also perished in the explosion, said that she was glad she had attended. She said there were those who had asked why rake everything up, but she said that she had a lot of questions and wanted to know if her son was on his own, and did someone pick him up.
She said she was grateful to the police for what they had done for Alan, and said it had given her comfort.
She said that although her son was in a cemetery, he lived on for her and did not have a broken body.
"The inquest has done a lot of good for me, but it has been very painful," she said.
Mr. McCombe said that a lot of the families would be returning to support the Barker family later in week, but he added that it would be hard to get back into a routine.
He said the families' fight for justice would continue and there were still a number of issues that needed to be pursued, but he was grateful to the senior representative of the Garda who had come to Omagh this week and spoken to families, as it had alleviated a lot of the worries they had.
Mr. Gallagher said that he had written and faxed the First Minister, Mr. David Trimble, indicating the families' disappointment that the Garda had not taken part in the Inquest.
He said that despite representations to the coroner before the inquest started, the families had no choice but to sit through graphic evidence.
Mrs. Radford took the press conference as an opportunity to praise the work of the police, and said they had done everything they could on the day.
She also stressed that people were sometimes reluctant to move when the police told them to, and she stressed that people had a responsibility to move when told.
"We have a responsibility to clear off right away," she said.
She added that she would very much like to see legislation in Northern Ireland's Coroners' Courts being brought into line with those of England and Wales so that verdicts of murder, manslaughter and infanticide could be recorded.
"Murder is murder," she said, adding: "There would not have to be an inquest if they had not been murdered".
THREE of those bereaved by the Market Street bombing two years ago have spoken of how the legal proceedings has given them some of the answers they sought, but also rekindled painful memories.
Speaking at the conclusion of the inquest on Tuesday, Mr. Stanley McCombe, whose wife, Ann died in the blast, said that the inquest had brought up a lot of memories.
He said it had been another hurdle his family had to cross, but it was only one of many more that still had to be faced.
Mr. McCombe said that the past four weeks had given him an insight into what happened, and for those bereaved it had allowed them to know exactly what happened and how their loved ones had died.
He said that the detail had been harrowing and people were just glad it was over, but there were still those "out there" that relatives would like to see prosecuted, and the bottom line was that the perpetrators should be brought to justice.
The father of two also acknowledged that the RUC and Garda were doing all in their power to bring the guilty to justice, and he had no doubt they would.
Responding to the coroner's decision not to dilute or sanitise the evidence, Mr. Michael Gallagher, whose 21-year-old son, Adrian, died, said that people did not know what to expect, but as the inquest unfolded the true horror of it began to unfold and it had been painful to listen to.
He said the third video had been particularly horrific, and he personally believed that it should be shown widely with a warning to people of the effects of a 5OOlb car bomb and what it could do to human life.
He said that at least now the bereaved knew the full extent of what had happened and there would be no more shocks.
He also said that final closure would only come when those responsible were behind bars.
Mrs. Marion Radford, whose teenage son, Alan, also perished in the explosion, said that she was glad she had attended. She said there were those who had asked why rake everything up, but she said that she had a lot of questions and wanted to know if her son was on his own, and did someone pick him up.
She said she was grateful to the police for what they had done for Alan, and said it had given her comfort.
She said that although her son was in a cemetery, he lived on for her and did not have a broken body.
"The inquest has done a lot of good for me, but it has been very painful," she said.
Mr. McCombe said that a lot of the families would be returning to support the Barker family later in week, but he added that it would be hard to get back into a routine.
He said the families' fight for justice would continue and there were still a number of issues that needed to be pursued, but he was grateful to the senior representative of the Garda who had come to Omagh this week and spoken to families, as it had alleviated a lot of the worries they had.
Mr. Gallagher said that he had written and faxed the First Minister, Mr. David Trimble, indicating the families' disappointment that the Garda had not taken part in the Inquest.
He said that despite representations to the coroner before the inquest started, the families had no choice but to sit through graphic evidence.
Mrs. Radford took the press conference as an opportunity to praise the work of the police, and said they had done everything they could on the day.
She also stressed that people were sometimes reluctant to move when the police told them to, and she stressed that people had a responsibility to move when told.
"We have a responsibility to clear off right away," she said.
She added that she would very much like to see legislation in Northern Ireland's Coroners' Courts being brought into line with those of England and Wales so that verdicts of murder, manslaughter and infanticide could be recorded.
"Murder is murder," she said, adding: "There would not have to be an inquest if they had not been murdered".
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/1573
Published Date: 05-Oct-00
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