SERIES OF MEMORIAL MEETINGS
Series of memorial meetings
BY RONAN MCSHERRY
r.mcsherry@ulsterherald.com
REPRESENTATIVES of the Omagh Self Help group met with the Omagh Memorial Working Group and the Advisory Panel yesterday to discuss a memorial to the victims of the 1998 atrocity. A total of 31 people, among them two unborn children, died in the blast.
The Advisory Panel includes representatives of the British, Irish and Spanish governments as well as of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Visual Artists Ireland. The Panel was formed after a dispute between Omagh District Council and Omagh Self Help Group which is made up of relatives of those killed in the Real IRA massacre.
Chairman of the Omagh Working Group, Danny McSorley said that "The Working Group has moved to establish an Advisory Tier in recognition of the fact that the Omagh bomb had a huge impact not only locally, but also nationally and internationally.
"The Advisory Panel has been appointed to take a strategic overview of the process to provide a memorial as well as to afford an external perspective and to provide advice and expertise. The Panel will meet regularly with the Omagh Memorial Working Group to monitor progress."
Michael Gallagher, whose son Aidan was among those who died, has claimed the Omagh District Council would not accept the wording on the memorial. He said the words stated the facts of what happened during the blast.
The words proposed were to read, "To honour and remember 31 people murdered and hundreds injured from three nations by a dissident republican terrorist car bomb."
After their discussion with the relatives, the government representatives had a meeting with the Omagh Memorial Working Group. The Group was established in late 1999 to take forward the provision of a fitting permanent memorial to the victims of the Omagh bomb. Working Group members were originally drawn from the statutory, voluntary, community and private sectors together with representation from Omagh Churches Forum and of the bereaved and the injured.
Danny McSorley added, "It is part of a series of meetings which are being taken forward by the Omagh Memorial Working Group at which the advisory panel will attend. These people are part and parcel of a process aimed at developing a permanent memorial to the Omagh bomb by the tenth anniversary on August 15, 2008."
Mr McSorley stated that Spanish and Irish Government representatives Felix Valdes and Sarah Mangan were given a full background and update on the project being undertaken.
He added that Billy Gamble from the Secretary of States office was already up to speed with the progress being made. Michael Gallagher and the Self Help group were present at the information meeting and according to Danny McSorley given an appraisal of the situation and facilitated with a 15 minute session to speak with the Government representatives.
Mr McSorley acknowledged the Self Help Victims group do have an issue regarding the wording adding that no form of wording has been agreed at this point.
He added, "Our focus is a fitting memorial by August 2008. We see the process of sorting out wording as describing the atrocity in a fitting way. It will be an integral part of the whole process being undertaken."
BY RONAN MCSHERRY
r.mcsherry@ulsterherald.com
REPRESENTATIVES of the Omagh Self Help group met with the Omagh Memorial Working Group and the Advisory Panel yesterday to discuss a memorial to the victims of the 1998 atrocity. A total of 31 people, among them two unborn children, died in the blast.
The Advisory Panel includes representatives of the British, Irish and Spanish governments as well as of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Visual Artists Ireland. The Panel was formed after a dispute between Omagh District Council and Omagh Self Help Group which is made up of relatives of those killed in the Real IRA massacre.
Chairman of the Omagh Working Group, Danny McSorley said that "The Working Group has moved to establish an Advisory Tier in recognition of the fact that the Omagh bomb had a huge impact not only locally, but also nationally and internationally.
"The Advisory Panel has been appointed to take a strategic overview of the process to provide a memorial as well as to afford an external perspective and to provide advice and expertise. The Panel will meet regularly with the Omagh Memorial Working Group to monitor progress."
Michael Gallagher, whose son Aidan was among those who died, has claimed the Omagh District Council would not accept the wording on the memorial. He said the words stated the facts of what happened during the blast.
The words proposed were to read, "To honour and remember 31 people murdered and hundreds injured from three nations by a dissident republican terrorist car bomb."
After their discussion with the relatives, the government representatives had a meeting with the Omagh Memorial Working Group. The Group was established in late 1999 to take forward the provision of a fitting permanent memorial to the victims of the Omagh bomb. Working Group members were originally drawn from the statutory, voluntary, community and private sectors together with representation from Omagh Churches Forum and of the bereaved and the injured.
Danny McSorley added, "It is part of a series of meetings which are being taken forward by the Omagh Memorial Working Group at which the advisory panel will attend. These people are part and parcel of a process aimed at developing a permanent memorial to the Omagh bomb by the tenth anniversary on August 15, 2008."
Mr McSorley stated that Spanish and Irish Government representatives Felix Valdes and Sarah Mangan were given a full background and update on the project being undertaken.
He added that Billy Gamble from the Secretary of States office was already up to speed with the progress being made. Michael Gallagher and the Self Help group were present at the information meeting and according to Danny McSorley given an appraisal of the situation and facilitated with a 15 minute session to speak with the Government representatives.
Mr McSorley acknowledged the Self Help Victims group do have an issue regarding the wording adding that no form of wording has been agreed at this point.
He added, "Our focus is a fitting memorial by August 2008. We see the process of sorting out wording as describing the atrocity in a fitting way. It will be an integral part of the whole process being undertaken."
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE HERALD
Ref: TYH/045
Published Date: 11-Jan-07
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