FATHER VOWS TO GET TO THE TRUTH OF DAUGHTER'S DEATH
Father vows to get to the truth of daughter's death
BY JOHN McCUSKER
THE father of a young student killed in the Omagh bomb said that for his daughter's sake, he had to satisfy himself that every possible step had been taken to thwart the attack.
Gerry McFarland was speaking following exhaustive discussions between families and Chief Constable Ronnie Flanagan last Thursday.
Mr McFarland's only daughter, Samantha (17) was among those who died in the August 1998 explosion. An A-level student at Strabane Grammar School, she died alongside her friend, Lorraine Wilson (15). Both had been working together as volunteers in the town's Oxfam shop when they were evacuated following the misleading bomb warning.
In the wake of last week's meeting to discuss Police Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan's critical report into the police response, Mr McFarland challenged Ronnie Flanagan to explain what steps had been taken to prevent the huge death toll.
He said: "I asked the chief constable, in light of the Fulton claims and in light of the August 4 warnings about Omagh and the pattern of explosions which happened prior to Omagh, that if appropriate action had been taken, could they have prevented the huge loss of life.
"His response was anything but clear and he adopted a defensive role to the line of questioning.
"In memory of my daughter, I have to pursue the thing to get the truth so that perhaps we would have the knowledge that all was done that could have been done. It's three-and-a-half years down the line and very little has been achieved over that period."
Mr McFarland added that the chief constable "didn't get it easy" throughout the meeting. And in light of the continuing quarrels between the Ombudsman's office and the PSNI, he said relatives now had to question who they were to believe.
"At the moment we have a fairly open mind," He continued. "The chief constable seems to take such a defensive role all the time that it actually doesn't help his position at all.
"He has been wrong and he has admitted that there have been mistakes made. But he didn't explain what those mistakes were.
"This is something which has been thrust upon us.
"So many times we have had doors closed and a lack of information and there were conflicts of interest and the various leaks and snippets of information which have continually emerged have created even greater suspicion," he added.
BY JOHN McCUSKER
THE father of a young student killed in the Omagh bomb said that for his daughter's sake, he had to satisfy himself that every possible step had been taken to thwart the attack.
Gerry McFarland was speaking following exhaustive discussions between families and Chief Constable Ronnie Flanagan last Thursday.
Mr McFarland's only daughter, Samantha (17) was among those who died in the August 1998 explosion. An A-level student at Strabane Grammar School, she died alongside her friend, Lorraine Wilson (15). Both had been working together as volunteers in the town's Oxfam shop when they were evacuated following the misleading bomb warning.
In the wake of last week's meeting to discuss Police Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan's critical report into the police response, Mr McFarland challenged Ronnie Flanagan to explain what steps had been taken to prevent the huge death toll.
He said: "I asked the chief constable, in light of the Fulton claims and in light of the August 4 warnings about Omagh and the pattern of explosions which happened prior to Omagh, that if appropriate action had been taken, could they have prevented the huge loss of life.
"His response was anything but clear and he adopted a defensive role to the line of questioning.
"In memory of my daughter, I have to pursue the thing to get the truth so that perhaps we would have the knowledge that all was done that could have been done. It's three-and-a-half years down the line and very little has been achieved over that period."
Mr McFarland added that the chief constable "didn't get it easy" throughout the meeting. And in light of the continuing quarrels between the Ombudsman's office and the PSNI, he said relatives now had to question who they were to believe.
"At the moment we have a fairly open mind," He continued. "The chief constable seems to take such a defensive role all the time that it actually doesn't help his position at all.
"He has been wrong and he has admitted that there have been mistakes made. But he didn't explain what those mistakes were.
"This is something which has been thrust upon us.
"So many times we have had doors closed and a lack of information and there were conflicts of interest and the various leaks and snippets of information which have continually emerged have created even greater suspicion," he added.
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH/0943
Published Date: 31-Jan-02
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