ONE OF THE LUCKY ONES - GRATEFUL TO BE ALIVE
One of the lucky ones - grateful to be alive
AN Omagh mother told this week of her close encounter with the bomb, which ripped through the town as she was shopping with her two children.
Like many another mothers on that fateful Saturday, she had gone into the town to buy uniforms and shoes for her children returning to school in two weeks time.
After parking her car in Supervalu, the family made their way up through the store and then went directly to Russells to buy shoes.
They were inside the shop only a few minutes when they were told there was believed to be a bomb at the courthouse.
Upon leaving the shop, the mother made her way back along Market Street and stopped along with many people, who had gathered at the junction of Scarffe's Entry, to watch the drama unfold.
She said there did not seem to be much consternation, and people were generally of the opinion that it was probably a hoax -and were treating it as an inconvenience.
Intending to head further along past Supervalu and eventually down to her car, the mother was distracted by her daughter wanting to go to Poundstretcher in Scarffe's Entry for a pencil case.
There were other shoppers in the store, so they proceeded to buy some items until a police officer came in and shouted "Would everyone please get out... why is no-one taking us seriously... there is a bomb".
All of the shoppers left the premises and made their way to the start of the carpark, where the woman met up with her niece who worked in the Tourist Information Centre.
A short time later the bomb exploded, and to everyone's amazement it was down in the Market Street area and not the courthouse.
Even at that stage, people did not realise the carnage only a few hundred yards away on Market Street, and some started to go up towards it.
The woman's niece also went back hoping to lock up the building, only then becoming aware of the devastating destruction. As she helped a young boy telephone his mother, she claims what looked like a bomb disposal expert came running into the Centre shouting - 'There's another bomb'.
The niece and her colleague ran out into the street and with everyone else, made for Scarffe's Entry.
At this stage the mother went to the public phone to to ring home and tell family members they were alright. But just that many of those who had gone up towards Market Street, began to run down Scarffe's Entry.
The mother said "I couldn't believe the speed at which the people were running. They were shouting that there was another bomb and it was like a stampede".
In the middle of the confusion, the mother turned round and her eight year old girl had let go of her hand and was nowhere to be seen.
Screaming out her name, the mother and eldest daughter searched frantically - petrified in case she would get trampled with the running crowd, or if there was indeed a bomb that she would be near it.
She later described the next minute or two as a sheer nightmare, until she eventually found the girl huddled against a wall crying.
Relieved that everyone was safe, the family waited along with everyone else until some people began coming down the Entry crying and shocked and some spattered with blood.
After some time, police cars and civilian vehicles drove at speed down Scarffe's Entry, bringing what they could see were injured people to hospital.
After that, it seemed like all hell broke loose with sirens screaming as firefighters and ambulance and police raced to the scene.
Traffic ground to a standstill within the town, and was made worse by parents who began making their way into Omagh after hearing of the bomb. They were frantically trying to find out what exactly had happened and if their loved ones either working or visiting the town, were alright.
When the enormity of what had happened so close by dawned on the mother, her immediate feelings were ones of sheer gratitude that her children had not been caught in the blast.
AN Omagh mother told this week of her close encounter with the bomb, which ripped through the town as she was shopping with her two children.
Like many another mothers on that fateful Saturday, she had gone into the town to buy uniforms and shoes for her children returning to school in two weeks time.
After parking her car in Supervalu, the family made their way up through the store and then went directly to Russells to buy shoes.
They were inside the shop only a few minutes when they were told there was believed to be a bomb at the courthouse.
Upon leaving the shop, the mother made her way back along Market Street and stopped along with many people, who had gathered at the junction of Scarffe's Entry, to watch the drama unfold.
She said there did not seem to be much consternation, and people were generally of the opinion that it was probably a hoax -and were treating it as an inconvenience.
Intending to head further along past Supervalu and eventually down to her car, the mother was distracted by her daughter wanting to go to Poundstretcher in Scarffe's Entry for a pencil case.
There were other shoppers in the store, so they proceeded to buy some items until a police officer came in and shouted "Would everyone please get out... why is no-one taking us seriously... there is a bomb".
All of the shoppers left the premises and made their way to the start of the carpark, where the woman met up with her niece who worked in the Tourist Information Centre.
A short time later the bomb exploded, and to everyone's amazement it was down in the Market Street area and not the courthouse.
Even at that stage, people did not realise the carnage only a few hundred yards away on Market Street, and some started to go up towards it.
The woman's niece also went back hoping to lock up the building, only then becoming aware of the devastating destruction. As she helped a young boy telephone his mother, she claims what looked like a bomb disposal expert came running into the Centre shouting - 'There's another bomb'.
The niece and her colleague ran out into the street and with everyone else, made for Scarffe's Entry.
At this stage the mother went to the public phone to to ring home and tell family members they were alright. But just that many of those who had gone up towards Market Street, began to run down Scarffe's Entry.
The mother said "I couldn't believe the speed at which the people were running. They were shouting that there was another bomb and it was like a stampede".
In the middle of the confusion, the mother turned round and her eight year old girl had let go of her hand and was nowhere to be seen.
Screaming out her name, the mother and eldest daughter searched frantically - petrified in case she would get trampled with the running crowd, or if there was indeed a bomb that she would be near it.
She later described the next minute or two as a sheer nightmare, until she eventually found the girl huddled against a wall crying.
Relieved that everyone was safe, the family waited along with everyone else until some people began coming down the Entry crying and shocked and some spattered with blood.
After some time, police cars and civilian vehicles drove at speed down Scarffe's Entry, bringing what they could see were injured people to hospital.
After that, it seemed like all hell broke loose with sirens screaming as firefighters and ambulance and police raced to the scene.
Traffic ground to a standstill within the town, and was made worse by parents who began making their way into Omagh after hearing of the bomb. They were frantically trying to find out what exactly had happened and if their loved ones either working or visiting the town, were alright.
When the enormity of what had happened so close by dawned on the mother, her immediate feelings were ones of sheer gratitude that her children had not been caught in the blast.
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH/0076
Published Date: 20-Aug-98
Related Images
There have been no images archived for this article.