DETOUR DOWN SCARFFE'S ENTRY SAVED MY FAMILY
Detour down Scarffe's Entry saved my family
ON the day of the bomb I had gone to Omagh with my two children to buy shoes for them going back to school. It was a beautiful afternoon and I was milling around chatting to acquaintances. I had not brought my reporter's notebook, oblivious to the fact that the biggest story of my life in journalism was about to unfold.
I often refer to my dual role as a mother and a reporter and how, when I walk across John Street, I put on my "mother hat" and think about meals and what is in the fridge.
And that same dilemma occurred on Saturday at 3.10pm. I was about 50 yards from the bomb down a side street with my children and niece who had been evacuated from the Tourist Information Centre.
I had been in Russells shop wrangling with the children over designer shoes when a policeman came in and said there was a bomb at the Courthouse. I left and set off for my car which was in the SuperValu car-park but I stopped at the top of Scarffe's Entry to speak to a friend.
My children then asked me to go down to the Poundstretcher shop to buy something. That is what saved our lives.
We were queuing at the till when again the police came in and put us out, so we gathered at the bottom of the Entry. It was then that the bomb exploded and I could see the flames and puff of black smoke directly above the sign. I thought it might be the car-park and was worried about the car. At no time did I realise that there was such carnage on the street above.
The reporter side of me wanted to go up to the street. I would have done so had I been on my own. I was rummaging in my bag to get our staff photographer's number as I went to the phone box at the bottom. At that stage there was a stampede of people down Scarffe's Entry saying there was a second bomb.
I took the children, went up towards the throughpass and walked along hoping that I would be able to retrieve my car. (I did not get it back for a week.) Then, as I waited for a lift home, I met a local dentist who spoke about the awful sight he had witnessed.
It was in the evening when the death toll came in that I realised how lucky I had been. I hugged my children extra tight that night.
The day after, I went to the Leisure Centre where the media was camped to cover the unfolding tragedy. I carried out interviews and joined the press briefings.
Next morning, I went into work where everyone was asking was everyone's families all right and I breathed a sigh of relief to know all my work colleagues were okay.
As I worked over the next few days, there was an eerie silence which had descended upon the town: everyone spoke in whispers. In contrast, inside our newsroom there was bedlam as we struggled with five reporters, one photographer and one telephone to keep up with the news stories that were unfolding by the hour.
The Omagh bomb certainly was a defining moment for the area and, in the following ten years, I have covered numerous stories from the Omagh Fund developments, the inquest and the investigation and the civil case. Each time, I recall that terrible day and I am back in Scarffe's Entry clinging to my children for their safety.
r.donnelly@ulsterherald.com
ON the day of the bomb I had gone to Omagh with my two children to buy shoes for them going back to school. It was a beautiful afternoon and I was milling around chatting to acquaintances. I had not brought my reporter's notebook, oblivious to the fact that the biggest story of my life in journalism was about to unfold.
I often refer to my dual role as a mother and a reporter and how, when I walk across John Street, I put on my "mother hat" and think about meals and what is in the fridge.
And that same dilemma occurred on Saturday at 3.10pm. I was about 50 yards from the bomb down a side street with my children and niece who had been evacuated from the Tourist Information Centre.
I had been in Russells shop wrangling with the children over designer shoes when a policeman came in and said there was a bomb at the Courthouse. I left and set off for my car which was in the SuperValu car-park but I stopped at the top of Scarffe's Entry to speak to a friend.
My children then asked me to go down to the Poundstretcher shop to buy something. That is what saved our lives.
We were queuing at the till when again the police came in and put us out, so we gathered at the bottom of the Entry. It was then that the bomb exploded and I could see the flames and puff of black smoke directly above the sign. I thought it might be the car-park and was worried about the car. At no time did I realise that there was such carnage on the street above.
The reporter side of me wanted to go up to the street. I would have done so had I been on my own. I was rummaging in my bag to get our staff photographer's number as I went to the phone box at the bottom. At that stage there was a stampede of people down Scarffe's Entry saying there was a second bomb.
I took the children, went up towards the throughpass and walked along hoping that I would be able to retrieve my car. (I did not get it back for a week.) Then, as I waited for a lift home, I met a local dentist who spoke about the awful sight he had witnessed.
It was in the evening when the death toll came in that I realised how lucky I had been. I hugged my children extra tight that night.
The day after, I went to the Leisure Centre where the media was camped to cover the unfolding tragedy. I carried out interviews and joined the press briefings.
Next morning, I went into work where everyone was asking was everyone's families all right and I breathed a sigh of relief to know all my work colleagues were okay.
As I worked over the next few days, there was an eerie silence which had descended upon the town: everyone spoke in whispers. In contrast, inside our newsroom there was bedlam as we struggled with five reporters, one photographer and one telephone to keep up with the news stories that were unfolding by the hour.
The Omagh bomb certainly was a defining moment for the area and, in the following ten years, I have covered numerous stories from the Omagh Fund developments, the inquest and the investigation and the civil case. Each time, I recall that terrible day and I am back in Scarffe's Entry clinging to my children for their safety.
r.donnelly@ulsterherald.com
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH10An/41
Published Date: 14-Aug-08
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