FILM WILL BE SO PAINFUL FOR ME TO WATCH
VICTIMS DAD TELLS OF ANGUISH AT PALNS FOR OMAGH MOVIE
EXCLUSIVE
By LYNNE KELLEHER and DONNA CARTON
Film will be so painful for me to watch but our story must be told
FILMING of a drama based on the Omagh bombing will begin within weeks.
And the movie, by the award-winning Bloody-Sunday production team, has the blessing of the victims' families.
Michael Gallagher, whose son Aidan died in the atrocity, said the film was a "painful but important" portrayal of the dreadful events of August 15 1998, the worst single atrocity of the Troubles.
Actor Gerard McSorley, who played John Gilligan in the recent Veronica Guerin movie, will play Mr Gallagher in the production.
The two men have already met and Mr Gallagher described the actor as "a very nice man who knows what we are about".
He added: "It is a little bit strange meeting someone who is going to play you in a film.
"They can never have a surrogate for you but Gerard is not just from Northern Ireland but from Omagh and so has a direct connection with the place and an understanding of what happened here."
The new film has the backing of the Irish Film Board, Channel Four and RTE.
Moira Hogan of the IFB said: "This is a very important and sensitive story which needs to be told."
Cold Feet director Pete Travis will direct the project which will be filmed in Dublin and other locations around the country.
Director of the controversial Bloody Sunday Paul Greengrass has written the script for the new film.
The Omagh families will get a final reading of the script before filming - begins.
Mr Gallagher said: "The families were contacted very early on and the production company has kept in touch.
"They sought our views on everything that has happened since the bomb.
"Basically, we have told them of our journey through the last five years.
"Although this will be difficult for the families and others who were caught up in the bombing, film and TV are good media to tell the story of Omagh.
"We asked that they keep as true to the story of Omagh as possible, bearing in mind it's a commercial venture and we truly hope that is what is done.
"There is no doubt this film will be very painful to watch but this story must be told.
"Everyone should watch this and see what has happened to the families of Omagh since the bombing, see what we have endured.
"This film will tell the story of our fight for justice, our fight to have questions answered by the two governments and two police forces.
"The families of Omagh have had the courage to tell their story and people should watch and listen.
"The last five years have been a struggle. We weren't trained for this but were thrust into being lawyers and politicians all rolled into one and without the families I think Omagh would be an almost forgotten atrocity.
"The BBC's Question Time came from Omagh last week and no one talked about the bombing.
"They sat in the very leisure centre in which we waited for news of our loved ones the night of the blast and no one mentioned the bomb.
"It's as if Omagh has been airbrushed from history.
"If this film does anything, hopefully it will spark new interest in our cause.
"The message of this film, I hope, is that a group of victims' families, Catholic and Protestant, put aside their differences and came together for justice and peace against a tide of indifference."
Omagh relatives are still calling for a public inquiry into the attack.
With no sign of the culprits being brought to justice for the Real IRA car bomb which killed 29 people and injured 200, the families feel they will receive answers only from a joint Anglo-Irish judicial investigation.
They are pursuing a civil action against five men they believe were involved in the bombing and have been raising money to fund the bid.
Mr Gallagher believes the case could go to trial next Spring.
The families have also called for the Irish government to let them see the Nally Report, which contains specific information on allegations by a senior detective that the Garda had allowed two Real IRA mortar attacks in Northern Ireland to go ahead.
He claimed the attacks were allowed to proceed by the Garda Intelligence Unit to protect an informant who was stealing cars for the Real IRA.
It was alleged the informant, codename 'Budget', had warned
Garda officers before the 1998 Omagh atrocity that a car was being sought for a bomb attack. He subsequently told his Garda handler that the Real IRA had obtained a car.
The Irish detective claimed the warning had not been passed on to the RUC to enable them to monitor the car's movements in the Louth/Monaghan border areas.
Mr Gallagher has criticised the Irish Government, saying the Omagh families had been kept in the dark about progress on the Nally investigation.
He said: "When the film is screened, all of these issues will be raised and our constant battle for answers, our fight for truth and justice will be seen."
Executive Producer of the film Andrew Lowe, from Element Films, said: "The film deals with the families' struggle for justice and coming to terms with the perpetrators of the crime."
A spokesman for Channel Four described the film as a "large scale project" and said filming will begin in December.
EXCLUSIVE
By LYNNE KELLEHER and DONNA CARTON
Film will be so painful for me to watch but our story must be told
FILMING of a drama based on the Omagh bombing will begin within weeks.
And the movie, by the award-winning Bloody-Sunday production team, has the blessing of the victims' families.
Michael Gallagher, whose son Aidan died in the atrocity, said the film was a "painful but important" portrayal of the dreadful events of August 15 1998, the worst single atrocity of the Troubles.
Actor Gerard McSorley, who played John Gilligan in the recent Veronica Guerin movie, will play Mr Gallagher in the production.
The two men have already met and Mr Gallagher described the actor as "a very nice man who knows what we are about".
He added: "It is a little bit strange meeting someone who is going to play you in a film.
"They can never have a surrogate for you but Gerard is not just from Northern Ireland but from Omagh and so has a direct connection with the place and an understanding of what happened here."
The new film has the backing of the Irish Film Board, Channel Four and RTE.
Moira Hogan of the IFB said: "This is a very important and sensitive story which needs to be told."
Cold Feet director Pete Travis will direct the project which will be filmed in Dublin and other locations around the country.
Director of the controversial Bloody Sunday Paul Greengrass has written the script for the new film.
The Omagh families will get a final reading of the script before filming - begins.
Mr Gallagher said: "The families were contacted very early on and the production company has kept in touch.
"They sought our views on everything that has happened since the bomb.
"Basically, we have told them of our journey through the last five years.
"Although this will be difficult for the families and others who were caught up in the bombing, film and TV are good media to tell the story of Omagh.
"We asked that they keep as true to the story of Omagh as possible, bearing in mind it's a commercial venture and we truly hope that is what is done.
"There is no doubt this film will be very painful to watch but this story must be told.
"Everyone should watch this and see what has happened to the families of Omagh since the bombing, see what we have endured.
"This film will tell the story of our fight for justice, our fight to have questions answered by the two governments and two police forces.
"The families of Omagh have had the courage to tell their story and people should watch and listen.
"The last five years have been a struggle. We weren't trained for this but were thrust into being lawyers and politicians all rolled into one and without the families I think Omagh would be an almost forgotten atrocity.
"The BBC's Question Time came from Omagh last week and no one talked about the bombing.
"They sat in the very leisure centre in which we waited for news of our loved ones the night of the blast and no one mentioned the bomb.
"It's as if Omagh has been airbrushed from history.
"If this film does anything, hopefully it will spark new interest in our cause.
"The message of this film, I hope, is that a group of victims' families, Catholic and Protestant, put aside their differences and came together for justice and peace against a tide of indifference."
Omagh relatives are still calling for a public inquiry into the attack.
With no sign of the culprits being brought to justice for the Real IRA car bomb which killed 29 people and injured 200, the families feel they will receive answers only from a joint Anglo-Irish judicial investigation.
They are pursuing a civil action against five men they believe were involved in the bombing and have been raising money to fund the bid.
Mr Gallagher believes the case could go to trial next Spring.
The families have also called for the Irish government to let them see the Nally Report, which contains specific information on allegations by a senior detective that the Garda had allowed two Real IRA mortar attacks in Northern Ireland to go ahead.
He claimed the attacks were allowed to proceed by the Garda Intelligence Unit to protect an informant who was stealing cars for the Real IRA.
It was alleged the informant, codename 'Budget', had warned
Garda officers before the 1998 Omagh atrocity that a car was being sought for a bomb attack. He subsequently told his Garda handler that the Real IRA had obtained a car.
The Irish detective claimed the warning had not been passed on to the RUC to enable them to monitor the car's movements in the Louth/Monaghan border areas.
Mr Gallagher has criticised the Irish Government, saying the Omagh families had been kept in the dark about progress on the Nally investigation.
He said: "When the film is screened, all of these issues will be raised and our constant battle for answers, our fight for truth and justice will be seen."
Executive Producer of the film Andrew Lowe, from Element Films, said: "The film deals with the families' struggle for justice and coming to terms with the perpetrators of the crime."
A spokesman for Channel Four described the film as a "large scale project" and said filming will begin in December.
Further Information
Publisher: THE MIRROR
Ref: TM/196
Published Date: 16-Nov-03
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