FACILITATION GROUP STROVE TO FIND FITTING WORDING FOR OMAGH BOMB MEMORIAL
Facilitation group strove to find fitting wording for Omagh bomb memorial
BY ADRIAN MULLAN
Whatever may be said of the Omagh bomb memorial in the future, there can be little doubt that the strenuous efforts by the facilitation group left no stone unturned in its efforts to find a solution that would meet with the approval of the families of those bereaved in the blast.
At a special meeting of Omagh District Council on Thursday evening, Rev Dr John Dunlop and his team, which included Olive Hobson of Quaker House, and Reverend Brian Lennon, revealed their proposal for taking the memorial issue forward.
Speaking to the council, Dr Dunlop said that having held over 80 confidential meetings - each lasting well over an hour - with most of those affected by the atrocity of August 15, 1998, "It was clear to the facilitators that no individual could have all they wanted in the wording without causing pain to others." He also said it was clear that no one group could speak on behalf of all of the bereaved, some of whom had never talked to any public body before they met the facilitators.
The facilitators recommended an extensive narrative that tells the story of the bombing and inscriptions at three locations; at the site of the bomb, on the wall at the garden and on a wall inside the garden.
They recommended that the wording at the bomb site should tell starkly what happened.
The recommended wording at the memorial garden should: Pay tribute to those who were killed, give the names and ages, towns, townlands or cities from which people came, and tell the story of the bomb. It should also give hope for the future.
Section one of the wording should read: 'Weather-wise, it was one of the best days that summer had seen. Ordinary people were doing ordinary things on an ordinary day. In one fateful moment all this was changed forever. Time stood still, futures were obliterated, lives were shattered, hearts were broken. In the carnage, emergency personnel and many ordinary people reached out, helped the injured, gave hope to the dying and held the dead. That evening a great silence descended on the town.'
It is also recommended that, in section two, the names and ages of those killed be listed in three columns each headed by the phrase, in English Irish and Spanish, 'Bear in mind these dead' (John Hewitt).
In section three the following will appear: 'In the week which followed, people walked with one another in the companionship of shared grief as funeral followed funeral. From all over the world came visits, messages of sympathy, condemnation solidarity, hope, and practical support.'
Section four will read: 'The Omagh bomb was the largest single atrocity in over 30 years of violence in which over 3,700people were killed. The bomb took place four months after the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement of 10 April, 1998, subsequently endorsed in referenda in both parts of Ireland on 22 May, 1998.'
In the final section the inscription will read: 'In the years that followed people in Omagh and elsewhere sought to rebuild their lives, their families, their community, and create a new future. Regardless of the past, every new day dawns as a gift laden with its own possibilities as the morning sun banishes the darkness of night.'"
Also, 'To honour and remember 31 people murdered and hundreds injured from three nations by a dissident republican terrorist car bomb.'
The final inscription will read: 'What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.' (Micah: 6:8)
Cllr Sean Clarke, who was council chairman at the time of the atrocity, proposed that the council accept the recommendations of Dr Dunlop's group. That proposal was seconded by Allan Rainey who had been vice-chairman at the time and received unanimous support.
BY ADRIAN MULLAN
Whatever may be said of the Omagh bomb memorial in the future, there can be little doubt that the strenuous efforts by the facilitation group left no stone unturned in its efforts to find a solution that would meet with the approval of the families of those bereaved in the blast.
At a special meeting of Omagh District Council on Thursday evening, Rev Dr John Dunlop and his team, which included Olive Hobson of Quaker House, and Reverend Brian Lennon, revealed their proposal for taking the memorial issue forward.
Speaking to the council, Dr Dunlop said that having held over 80 confidential meetings - each lasting well over an hour - with most of those affected by the atrocity of August 15, 1998, "It was clear to the facilitators that no individual could have all they wanted in the wording without causing pain to others." He also said it was clear that no one group could speak on behalf of all of the bereaved, some of whom had never talked to any public body before they met the facilitators.
The facilitators recommended an extensive narrative that tells the story of the bombing and inscriptions at three locations; at the site of the bomb, on the wall at the garden and on a wall inside the garden.
They recommended that the wording at the bomb site should tell starkly what happened.
The recommended wording at the memorial garden should: Pay tribute to those who were killed, give the names and ages, towns, townlands or cities from which people came, and tell the story of the bomb. It should also give hope for the future.
Section one of the wording should read: 'Weather-wise, it was one of the best days that summer had seen. Ordinary people were doing ordinary things on an ordinary day. In one fateful moment all this was changed forever. Time stood still, futures were obliterated, lives were shattered, hearts were broken. In the carnage, emergency personnel and many ordinary people reached out, helped the injured, gave hope to the dying and held the dead. That evening a great silence descended on the town.'
It is also recommended that, in section two, the names and ages of those killed be listed in three columns each headed by the phrase, in English Irish and Spanish, 'Bear in mind these dead' (John Hewitt).
In section three the following will appear: 'In the week which followed, people walked with one another in the companionship of shared grief as funeral followed funeral. From all over the world came visits, messages of sympathy, condemnation solidarity, hope, and practical support.'
Section four will read: 'The Omagh bomb was the largest single atrocity in over 30 years of violence in which over 3,700people were killed. The bomb took place four months after the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement of 10 April, 1998, subsequently endorsed in referenda in both parts of Ireland on 22 May, 1998.'
In the final section the inscription will read: 'In the years that followed people in Omagh and elsewhere sought to rebuild their lives, their families, their community, and create a new future. Regardless of the past, every new day dawns as a gift laden with its own possibilities as the morning sun banishes the darkness of night.'"
Also, 'To honour and remember 31 people murdered and hundreds injured from three nations by a dissident republican terrorist car bomb.'
The final inscription will read: 'What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.' (Micah: 6:8)
Cllr Sean Clarke, who was council chairman at the time of the atrocity, proposed that the council accept the recommendations of Dr Dunlop's group. That proposal was seconded by Allan Rainey who had been vice-chairman at the time and received unanimous support.
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE HERALD
Ref: TYH/067
Published Date: 10-Mar-08
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