THE LOST SMILES
THE LOST SMILES
28 DEAD: 14 WOMEN, 3 GIRLS, 5 MEN, 4 BOYS, 2 UNKNOWN
By BRIAN READE in OMAGH
THESE are just some of the victims of the massive bomb that tore Omagh apart.
Among them is a mum, pregnant with twins, one of three generations of a family wiped out in the explosion.
They were killed by men who hide behind an ancient tribal cause to disguise their bloodlust.
At 3.10 on Saturday, they descended to the bottom of the gutter.
A 500lb car bomb went off in the packed Co. Tyrone town centre, leaving 28 dead and 220 injured. Several children were among the fatalities.
When the device exploded, the gutless cowards who planted it became the lowest of the low. They forfeited their rights to be members of the human race.
And anyone who tries to mount the slightest defence for this obscene crime forfeits membership with them.
Even in the light of the last 30 years in which 3,000 people have died, this was the worst single attack on citizens of this tragic island.
Look at the faces on our pages. Look at the statistics. At the women and children mowed down by this barbaric act.
Listen to the stories of unimaginable pain. Imagine your child or your pregnant sister having their limbs blown off in the supposed name of liberating the people of Northern Ireland.
As Omagh last night struggled to comprehend the horror that has struck the quiet market town, Premier Tony Blair was battling to rescue the Ulster peace deal.
He broke off a family holiday in France to fly to Belfast for crisis talks with political leaders.
He condemned the bombing as a "blast of evil" and pledged the killers would be found.
Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams repeated his "utter condemnation" of the outrage.
And President Bill Clinton called it a "barbaric act" but said it must not set back the peace process.
The damage done to that search for peace, though, was painfully evident all around Omagh last night.
Walk around the streets and see a community paralysed by shock and anger.
A community, half of whom are Catholics, whose lives have been devastated by henchmen who hijack their religion to quench their thirst for power.
Killers who have ruined thousands of lives and taken Ulster to the brink.
And all supposedly for the love of Ireland and the Irish.
Love and weep.
28 DEAD: 14 WOMEN, 3 GIRLS, 5 MEN, 4 BOYS, 2 UNKNOWN
By BRIAN READE in OMAGH
THESE are just some of the victims of the massive bomb that tore Omagh apart.
Among them is a mum, pregnant with twins, one of three generations of a family wiped out in the explosion.
They were killed by men who hide behind an ancient tribal cause to disguise their bloodlust.
At 3.10 on Saturday, they descended to the bottom of the gutter.
A 500lb car bomb went off in the packed Co. Tyrone town centre, leaving 28 dead and 220 injured. Several children were among the fatalities.
When the device exploded, the gutless cowards who planted it became the lowest of the low. They forfeited their rights to be members of the human race.
And anyone who tries to mount the slightest defence for this obscene crime forfeits membership with them.
Even in the light of the last 30 years in which 3,000 people have died, this was the worst single attack on citizens of this tragic island.
Look at the faces on our pages. Look at the statistics. At the women and children mowed down by this barbaric act.
Listen to the stories of unimaginable pain. Imagine your child or your pregnant sister having their limbs blown off in the supposed name of liberating the people of Northern Ireland.
As Omagh last night struggled to comprehend the horror that has struck the quiet market town, Premier Tony Blair was battling to rescue the Ulster peace deal.
He broke off a family holiday in France to fly to Belfast for crisis talks with political leaders.
He condemned the bombing as a "blast of evil" and pledged the killers would be found.
Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams repeated his "utter condemnation" of the outrage.
And President Bill Clinton called it a "barbaric act" but said it must not set back the peace process.
The damage done to that search for peace, though, was painfully evident all around Omagh last night.
Walk around the streets and see a community paralysed by shock and anger.
A community, half of whom are Catholics, whose lives have been devastated by henchmen who hijack their religion to quench their thirst for power.
Killers who have ruined thousands of lives and taken Ulster to the brink.
And all supposedly for the love of Ireland and the Irish.
Love and weep.
Further Information
Publisher: THE MIRROR
Ref: TM/001
Published Date: 17-Aug-98
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