FAMILY DAY OUT ENDED IN TRAGEDY
Family day out which ended in tragedy
"I FOUND MENA LYING AMONGST THE RUBBLE LIKE A RAGGY DOLL' - KEVIN SKELTON
A leading GAA referee from Drumquin has recalled the horrifying moment when he saw his wife lying face down amid the carnage in Kells' clothes store.
Kevin Skelton, the distraught father of four, has told of how a happy family day out shopping in the county town turned to despair and desolation as his wife was killed and his youngest daughter injured when the bombers struck.
Mr Skelton's wife Philomena (39) only ventured into Omagh twice a year from the family's McCrea Park home in Drumquin - to look for Christmas presents and to purchase the kids school uniforms.
With term time approaching the couple last Saturday journeyed the ten miles into Omagh with their three daughters Paula (18), Tracy (15) and Shauna (13). Their son Ray (16) was away on a fishing trip.
Mr Skelton, a quarry lorry driver, told reporters that his wife and daughters were in Kells getting fitted for school uniforms and he was in a nearby store when the car bomb exploded.
Seconds after the blast, the 43-year old explained how he came to find his wife lying motionless amid the rubble 'like a raggy doll'.
"We were only 3ft apart, with just a shop wall dividing us, yet she was killed and I came out of it with hardly a scratch," said the grieving husband who has sustained a cut forehead. "I can't understand how I am alive- I wasn't even knocked down.
'But when I went into Kells' shop through what used to be the front window I saw Philomena straight away. She was face down. Her clothes had been blown off her. I tried to get her pulse but I couldn't, then two policemen dragged me out."
Mr Skelton waited all night before he could go to the mortuary to identify his wife's body.
"She hadn't a mark on her face when I saw her," he said. When they had learned of the bomb scare, Mrs Skelton had told him, 'Come on we'll get out of town," he added.
"But they kept moving us further and further down the street and we could not get back to our car to get away. We had just gone into adjacent shops when the real bomb went off."
Mr Skelton told how he also feared for his daughters lives, especially after police warned that there might be a second bomb.
"Tracey, my second daughter was knelt down over her mother trying to find her pulse- a girl of 15 years of age.
"But there was no sign of Shauna. It was about an hour and a half later before I knew what had happened to Shauna. She was in the
hospital..she had been behind her mother when the bomb went off and someone had whipped her away. Paula, my other daughter, I found her about an hour after.
"She had been up the street with her boyfriend, if the bomb had gone off about five seconds later she would've been killed."
Mr Skelton said that the horrific sights he witnessed in Omagh that afternoon had left an indelible imprint on his mind.
"The carnage that was on the street was unbelievable-bodies washing down the street. I will never forget it as long as I live, if you lived to be 1,000 you couldn't get it out of your mind."
Shauna suffered a broken jaw as a result of the blast and had to have surgery to repair it with a metal plate.
"My wee daughter Shauna, she's down in Derry hospital with her mouth all wired..she has to get plastic surgery on her neck. She's going to be scarred for life, her such a lovely youngster.
"The bastards that done that, they call themselves Irish men. Words wouldn't explain what them boys are. How much more have we to suffer? We've suffered for thirty years. It's time to stop it. Say a prayer for us."
The Skeltons had met when Philomena was 14 and married four years later. They were about to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary at the end of this month and Mrs Skelton's 40th birthday in early September.
"She lived for her family and looked after not just our own youngsters but anyone else's that needed a bit of love and care.
"In July we had a Romanian orphan over for three weeks because Philomena loved helping people so much. This year was the first time in our marriage that she ever voted. She voted in favour of the agreement that she and I both hoped would bring us peace," added Mr Skelton.
"I FOUND MENA LYING AMONGST THE RUBBLE LIKE A RAGGY DOLL' - KEVIN SKELTON
A leading GAA referee from Drumquin has recalled the horrifying moment when he saw his wife lying face down amid the carnage in Kells' clothes store.
Kevin Skelton, the distraught father of four, has told of how a happy family day out shopping in the county town turned to despair and desolation as his wife was killed and his youngest daughter injured when the bombers struck.
Mr Skelton's wife Philomena (39) only ventured into Omagh twice a year from the family's McCrea Park home in Drumquin - to look for Christmas presents and to purchase the kids school uniforms.
With term time approaching the couple last Saturday journeyed the ten miles into Omagh with their three daughters Paula (18), Tracy (15) and Shauna (13). Their son Ray (16) was away on a fishing trip.
Mr Skelton, a quarry lorry driver, told reporters that his wife and daughters were in Kells getting fitted for school uniforms and he was in a nearby store when the car bomb exploded.
Seconds after the blast, the 43-year old explained how he came to find his wife lying motionless amid the rubble 'like a raggy doll'.
"We were only 3ft apart, with just a shop wall dividing us, yet she was killed and I came out of it with hardly a scratch," said the grieving husband who has sustained a cut forehead. "I can't understand how I am alive- I wasn't even knocked down.
'But when I went into Kells' shop through what used to be the front window I saw Philomena straight away. She was face down. Her clothes had been blown off her. I tried to get her pulse but I couldn't, then two policemen dragged me out."
Mr Skelton waited all night before he could go to the mortuary to identify his wife's body.
"She hadn't a mark on her face when I saw her," he said. When they had learned of the bomb scare, Mrs Skelton had told him, 'Come on we'll get out of town," he added.
"But they kept moving us further and further down the street and we could not get back to our car to get away. We had just gone into adjacent shops when the real bomb went off."
Mr Skelton told how he also feared for his daughters lives, especially after police warned that there might be a second bomb.
"Tracey, my second daughter was knelt down over her mother trying to find her pulse- a girl of 15 years of age.
"But there was no sign of Shauna. It was about an hour and a half later before I knew what had happened to Shauna. She was in the
hospital..she had been behind her mother when the bomb went off and someone had whipped her away. Paula, my other daughter, I found her about an hour after.
"She had been up the street with her boyfriend, if the bomb had gone off about five seconds later she would've been killed."
Mr Skelton said that the horrific sights he witnessed in Omagh that afternoon had left an indelible imprint on his mind.
"The carnage that was on the street was unbelievable-bodies washing down the street. I will never forget it as long as I live, if you lived to be 1,000 you couldn't get it out of your mind."
Shauna suffered a broken jaw as a result of the blast and had to have surgery to repair it with a metal plate.
"My wee daughter Shauna, she's down in Derry hospital with her mouth all wired..she has to get plastic surgery on her neck. She's going to be scarred for life, her such a lovely youngster.
"The bastards that done that, they call themselves Irish men. Words wouldn't explain what them boys are. How much more have we to suffer? We've suffered for thirty years. It's time to stop it. Say a prayer for us."
The Skeltons had met when Philomena was 14 and married four years later. They were about to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary at the end of this month and Mrs Skelton's 40th birthday in early September.
"She lived for her family and looked after not just our own youngsters but anyone else's that needed a bit of love and care.
"In July we had a Romanian orphan over for three weeks because Philomena loved helping people so much. This year was the first time in our marriage that she ever voted. She voted in favour of the agreement that she and I both hoped would bring us peace," added Mr Skelton.
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH/0025
Published Date: 20-Aug-98
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