FORMER OMAGH WOMAN PENS POEM TO EXPRESS HER HORROR
Former Omagh woman pens poem to express her horror
A FORMER OMAGH woman, now living in Yorkshire, registered her utter revulsion and disbelief at the massacre in her home town - a town still crying in anguish for its loved ones.
Mrs Frances Harniess, a member of the well known Hyland family which hailed from Cannondale, phoned the the "Herald" on Monday to extended her heartfelt sympathy to the families of all those caught up in one of the worst single civilian atrocities in Ireland's troubled history.
She said she could now believe what she was hearing on the news. She listened intently once she heard Omagh being mentioned as she drove along the road at 3.20 on Saturday - a day she will never forget..
"I was so shocked I had to pull over. I wanted to get home to contact my brothers to see if they were alright" said Mrs Harniess who still can't believe the extent of the horror which was to rip through her home town
"It hit me like a bomb and for hours I did not know if my family or friends had been involved. I was glued to the television set and listened to every News bulletin as I kept trying to get through on the phone".
Eventually, Frances managed to contact one of her close friends in Omagh who assured her that her family was all right.
"The sense of relief when I heard that news was unbelievable. I cried and cried again as news filtered through on the bombing of the beautiful town which I left 30 years ago and where my heart still belongs" said Frances.
She eventually got in contact with her brother Peter, from Brackenvale and immediately burst into tears when she heard his voice.
He quickly assured her that her two other brothers Paul who also lives locally and Jim in Dromore were safe. Her four sisters fortunately live out of town.
"This is a tragedy which has touched so many families in so many ways. It is unbelievable it could happen in a town which I have always held as a very special place. I return to Omagh every year but the pain of this carnage is too unbearable to bear. No one has escaped this horror and so many people have lost someone they love. They have destroyed my home town" added Frances.
Frances, a Relate councillor, told our reporter that she had planned to return to Omagh when she retired, but would have to rethink the whole situation.
"How can they justify these killing of their own people by their own people.
"This occurred in a small community where everyone knew everyone. For God sake, when is it going to stop? Can those people responsible sleep in their beds at night? I still feel cold when I think about what has happened and to see the awful coverage on television.
"This was pure evil at work and my heart goes out to the people of Omagh. I feel so sick, so angry and so bitter. How can you forgive those people who carried out such a cowardly act?. Those pictures will stay with me for ever as they will with hundreds of others" said Mrs Harniess.
POEM
Oh God, what has happened in Omagh
The town where my heart belongs
I left it 30 years ago
But my love for it is still strong
Yearly I return home to visit
For that's what it is to me
The memories of places I walked in
Are still I want to see
But a bomb when off this weekend
Killing 28 people or more
How can I return to this carnage
The pain in my heart is too sore
On return of my yearly visit
I don't think I can find
The image I have of Omagh
Which I have kept safely locked in my head
The beautiful town and its people
The streets are now running with blood
No one has escaped the horror
Of losing someone they love
The pain and the hurt and the sorrow
Of a place destroyed by a bomb
Who can bring back our loved ones
Who can undo the wrong
So no, I won't visit this summer
The image of destruction is too great
The road will run red with blood shed
Which the passing of time can't abate
The whole of the Omagh Community
A place filled with bloodshed and tears
The sorrow I feel for my home folk
Will remain in my heart for years.
Frances Harniess (17 August 1998)
A FORMER OMAGH woman, now living in Yorkshire, registered her utter revulsion and disbelief at the massacre in her home town - a town still crying in anguish for its loved ones.
Mrs Frances Harniess, a member of the well known Hyland family which hailed from Cannondale, phoned the the "Herald" on Monday to extended her heartfelt sympathy to the families of all those caught up in one of the worst single civilian atrocities in Ireland's troubled history.
She said she could now believe what she was hearing on the news. She listened intently once she heard Omagh being mentioned as she drove along the road at 3.20 on Saturday - a day she will never forget..
"I was so shocked I had to pull over. I wanted to get home to contact my brothers to see if they were alright" said Mrs Harniess who still can't believe the extent of the horror which was to rip through her home town
"It hit me like a bomb and for hours I did not know if my family or friends had been involved. I was glued to the television set and listened to every News bulletin as I kept trying to get through on the phone".
Eventually, Frances managed to contact one of her close friends in Omagh who assured her that her family was all right.
"The sense of relief when I heard that news was unbelievable. I cried and cried again as news filtered through on the bombing of the beautiful town which I left 30 years ago and where my heart still belongs" said Frances.
She eventually got in contact with her brother Peter, from Brackenvale and immediately burst into tears when she heard his voice.
He quickly assured her that her two other brothers Paul who also lives locally and Jim in Dromore were safe. Her four sisters fortunately live out of town.
"This is a tragedy which has touched so many families in so many ways. It is unbelievable it could happen in a town which I have always held as a very special place. I return to Omagh every year but the pain of this carnage is too unbearable to bear. No one has escaped this horror and so many people have lost someone they love. They have destroyed my home town" added Frances.
Frances, a Relate councillor, told our reporter that she had planned to return to Omagh when she retired, but would have to rethink the whole situation.
"How can they justify these killing of their own people by their own people.
"This occurred in a small community where everyone knew everyone. For God sake, when is it going to stop? Can those people responsible sleep in their beds at night? I still feel cold when I think about what has happened and to see the awful coverage on television.
"This was pure evil at work and my heart goes out to the people of Omagh. I feel so sick, so angry and so bitter. How can you forgive those people who carried out such a cowardly act?. Those pictures will stay with me for ever as they will with hundreds of others" said Mrs Harniess.
POEM
Oh God, what has happened in Omagh
The town where my heart belongs
I left it 30 years ago
But my love for it is still strong
Yearly I return home to visit
For that's what it is to me
The memories of places I walked in
Are still I want to see
But a bomb when off this weekend
Killing 28 people or more
How can I return to this carnage
The pain in my heart is too sore
On return of my yearly visit
I don't think I can find
The image I have of Omagh
Which I have kept safely locked in my head
The beautiful town and its people
The streets are now running with blood
No one has escaped the horror
Of losing someone they love
The pain and the hurt and the sorrow
Of a place destroyed by a bomb
Who can bring back our loved ones
Who can undo the wrong
So no, I won't visit this summer
The image of destruction is too great
The road will run red with blood shed
Which the passing of time can't abate
The whole of the Omagh Community
A place filled with bloodshed and tears
The sorrow I feel for my home folk
Will remain in my heart for years.
Frances Harniess (17 August 1998)
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH/0068
Published Date: 20-Aug-98
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