TRAGEDY BROUGHT BACK MEMORIES OF 50 YEARS AGO
TRAGEDY BROUGHT BACK MEMORIES OF 50 YEARS AGO
MEMORIES of a tragedy which happened over 50 years ago were instantly brought back to the mind of Fr. Donal Gillespie as he helped administer the last rites to the people dying on the streets of Omagh.
The Omagh born priest had been home on a 10-day holiday from his parish in Cardiff to see his relations. He had been to see the local Parish Priest, Fr. Keavney when he first heard about the bomb and decided to go out to see his sister, Mary Gallagher at Dergmoney. There the talk was all about the bomb but at that stage no-one was aware of how serious it actually was.
Speaking outside the Tyrone County Hospital on Saturday evening, where he had been helping comfort the injured, Fr. Gillespie clutched his hand to his forehead and fought back his tears as he recalled the horrific scenes he had witnessed just a few hours earlier.
"I decided to go back into town and see what was happening and I arrived about 20 minutes after the bomb had gone off. As I approached the scene I saw people panicking and shocked rushing backwards away from the bomb. A pipe had burst and there was water and blood
everywhere, I counted six bodies around me," he said.
As he administered the last rites to the dying Fr. Gillespie met with a colleague, Fr. Eddy Deeny who was also home on a visit and like him had come down to see if he could help.
After helping at the scene, Fr. Gillespie went to the Tyrone County where he once again had to carry out the tragic task of administering the last rites to the people who had been brought there.
"It was just terrible to see so many people being brought in on cars and ambulances. The hospital staff found someone to look after the injured as quickly as they could and then transferred them to beds. The staff here and the ambulance staff have just acted magnificently to cope with this awful tragedy," he said.
As he went around the wards trying to comfort the injured, Fr. Gillespie said he was heartbroken to see the body of a dead baby.
"What made it worse was knowing that sooner or later someone would come looking to see where there little child was, it is just so sad. Since I have been here I have seen so many people coming in here looking to see where their relatives are, not knowing if they are dead or alive," he said.
As he stood outside the hospital talking about the terrible atrocity which had happened, Fr. Gillespie said it brought back so many memories of the Omagh Railway station disaster in the 1950s which killed five people. At that time, he had been a reporter for the 'Herald' group and had been first on the scene, and he said it was a dreadful irony that he should now be one of the first priests on the scene of yet another tragic incident.
MEMORIES of a tragedy which happened over 50 years ago were instantly brought back to the mind of Fr. Donal Gillespie as he helped administer the last rites to the people dying on the streets of Omagh.
The Omagh born priest had been home on a 10-day holiday from his parish in Cardiff to see his relations. He had been to see the local Parish Priest, Fr. Keavney when he first heard about the bomb and decided to go out to see his sister, Mary Gallagher at Dergmoney. There the talk was all about the bomb but at that stage no-one was aware of how serious it actually was.
Speaking outside the Tyrone County Hospital on Saturday evening, where he had been helping comfort the injured, Fr. Gillespie clutched his hand to his forehead and fought back his tears as he recalled the horrific scenes he had witnessed just a few hours earlier.
"I decided to go back into town and see what was happening and I arrived about 20 minutes after the bomb had gone off. As I approached the scene I saw people panicking and shocked rushing backwards away from the bomb. A pipe had burst and there was water and blood
everywhere, I counted six bodies around me," he said.
As he administered the last rites to the dying Fr. Gillespie met with a colleague, Fr. Eddy Deeny who was also home on a visit and like him had come down to see if he could help.
After helping at the scene, Fr. Gillespie went to the Tyrone County where he once again had to carry out the tragic task of administering the last rites to the people who had been brought there.
"It was just terrible to see so many people being brought in on cars and ambulances. The hospital staff found someone to look after the injured as quickly as they could and then transferred them to beds. The staff here and the ambulance staff have just acted magnificently to cope with this awful tragedy," he said.
As he went around the wards trying to comfort the injured, Fr. Gillespie said he was heartbroken to see the body of a dead baby.
"What made it worse was knowing that sooner or later someone would come looking to see where there little child was, it is just so sad. Since I have been here I have seen so many people coming in here looking to see where their relatives are, not knowing if they are dead or alive," he said.
As he stood outside the hospital talking about the terrible atrocity which had happened, Fr. Gillespie said it brought back so many memories of the Omagh Railway station disaster in the 1950s which killed five people. At that time, he had been a reporter for the 'Herald' group and had been first on the scene, and he said it was a dreadful irony that he should now be one of the first priests on the scene of yet another tragic incident.
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH/0279
Published Date: 03-Sep-98
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