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IRA VICTIM'S BABY JOY AS PEACE CENTRE OPENS
By PAUL BYRNE

Samantha cradled dying boy in Warrington bomb
SEVEN years ago Samantha Thompson held tightly on to the dying body of IRA bomb victim Johnathan Ball.
Samantha took the full force of the blast which killer her little pal, Johnathan, 3, and 12-year-old Tim Parry.
But as she celebrated the opening of a new £3mlllion centre dedicated to the two Warrington bomb victims yesterday. Samantha was determined to put the past behind her.
Today she is the proud mum of a beautiful, bouncing baby and a symbol of the human spirit the terrorists tried to crush.
Seconds after the two bomb blasts which shook Warrington town centre, Samantha crawled into a shop doorway, cradling the broken body of Johnathan.
She suffered appalling injuries. Samantha, then aged 13, was the boy's babysitter and had taken him into town to buy a card for Mother's Day.
The young mum was one of the guests at the opening of the Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Young People's Centre just a mile away from the scene of the IRA attack.
"I am here for Johnathan, not for me," she said.
"It is a lovely centre and a fitting tribute to the two boys."
Representatives from Omagh were among the dignitaries present for the opening.
Speaking outside the centre, former Taoiseach Albert Reynolds, who attended along with former Prime Minister John Major, said the project was "an edifice to conflict resolution".
Addressing the crowd, Colin Parry, 53, said: "Today we can let Bridge Street rest in peace and move on to the future which lies firmly with our young people."