ONLY OFFICIALDOM'S OVERSIGHT RAISES HACKLES AS QUEEN CALLS
Only officialdom's oversight raises hackles as Queen calls
BY ADRIAN MULLAN
THERE were police SWAT teams on the roof of the library, soldiers with sniffer dogs combed local buildings and other soldiers lingered in the background. The PSNI were out in force and some secret-service people in long brown raincoats meandered about the Dublin Road with meaningful or perplexed looks on their faces.
There was no breach of the peace when the Queen came to Omagh, no paramilitary incident, no anti-royalist protest and the only potential friction was between the journalists sent to cover the event and power-crazed NIO officials trying to corral them into cages or platforms.
Some 2,000 people drawn predominantly from the Unionist community, going by the number of Union and Ulster flags, turned up to catch a glimpse of the Queen.
Inside the library, luminaries from the local corporate and commercial worlds lined up to meet the royal couple. There a number of displays, one set up by the Public Records Office marking the bicentenary of the Act of Union. A small display of memorabilia recalled the Queen's coronation in 1953; and the library had a designated person on standby to secure (for posterity) the pens with which the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh would sign the Visitors Book.
Later, there was a panicked look on the faces of NIO officials when they realised that journalists were getting excited by the fact that the royal visitors were not going to meet relatives of those killed in the Omagh bomb, visit the site of the blast, or stop off at the Garden of Remembrance.
"Why won't the Queen be visiting the Garden of Remembrance?" barked a Sun journalist in a strong Scottish accent.
"She's not going to view anything at all to do with the bomb," came the reply.
"Why visit Omagh at all?", asked a journalist from another English daily.
Nobody knew, but as it became clear that a snub to the relatives of the North's worst atrocity was about to become a major PR faux pas, there were some hurried alterations to the royal itinerary. After the 20-minute visit to the library and the two-or three-minute walkabout on the Dublin Road, the Queen's Range Rover made an unscheduled stop at Market Street and the royal couple emerged and spent about 50 seconds surveying the bomb site. There was little or no discernible security there and, with news that the Queen had stopped, the eight deep crowd which stretched from the front gates of the Academy to McGinn's corner, surged forward in the hope of getting a second glimpse.
Few of them did and, by the time the throng had reached the site, the royal cortege was on its way again; this time for a stop off at Baronscourt where the Queen and Prince Philip were to have a private lunch with the Abercorns.
The Academy, County Primary, and Omagh High School were given time out for the visit. However, not all of the young onlookers were as awed by the royal presence as the flag waving suggested. Several of the youngsters confessed that they would have preferred to see Madonna or Posh and Beck.
BY ADRIAN MULLAN
THERE were police SWAT teams on the roof of the library, soldiers with sniffer dogs combed local buildings and other soldiers lingered in the background. The PSNI were out in force and some secret-service people in long brown raincoats meandered about the Dublin Road with meaningful or perplexed looks on their faces.
There was no breach of the peace when the Queen came to Omagh, no paramilitary incident, no anti-royalist protest and the only potential friction was between the journalists sent to cover the event and power-crazed NIO officials trying to corral them into cages or platforms.
Some 2,000 people drawn predominantly from the Unionist community, going by the number of Union and Ulster flags, turned up to catch a glimpse of the Queen.
Inside the library, luminaries from the local corporate and commercial worlds lined up to meet the royal couple. There a number of displays, one set up by the Public Records Office marking the bicentenary of the Act of Union. A small display of memorabilia recalled the Queen's coronation in 1953; and the library had a designated person on standby to secure (for posterity) the pens with which the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh would sign the Visitors Book.
Later, there was a panicked look on the faces of NIO officials when they realised that journalists were getting excited by the fact that the royal visitors were not going to meet relatives of those killed in the Omagh bomb, visit the site of the blast, or stop off at the Garden of Remembrance.
"Why won't the Queen be visiting the Garden of Remembrance?" barked a Sun journalist in a strong Scottish accent.
"She's not going to view anything at all to do with the bomb," came the reply.
"Why visit Omagh at all?", asked a journalist from another English daily.
Nobody knew, but as it became clear that a snub to the relatives of the North's worst atrocity was about to become a major PR faux pas, there were some hurried alterations to the royal itinerary. After the 20-minute visit to the library and the two-or three-minute walkabout on the Dublin Road, the Queen's Range Rover made an unscheduled stop at Market Street and the royal couple emerged and spent about 50 seconds surveying the bomb site. There was little or no discernible security there and, with news that the Queen had stopped, the eight deep crowd which stretched from the front gates of the Academy to McGinn's corner, surged forward in the hope of getting a second glimpse.
Few of them did and, by the time the throng had reached the site, the royal cortege was on its way again; this time for a stop off at Baronscourt where the Queen and Prince Philip were to have a private lunch with the Abercorns.
The Academy, County Primary, and Omagh High School were given time out for the visit. However, not all of the young onlookers were as awed by the royal presence as the flag waving suggested. Several of the youngsters confessed that they would have preferred to see Madonna or Posh and Beck.
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH/1015
Published Date: 16-May-02
Related Images
