PUBLIC FACE OF OMAGH BOMB STAYS ON TRACK
Public face of Omagh bomb stays on task
BY MARK McKELVEY
m.mckelvey@ulsterherald. com
Although admitting that the campaign for justice over the past ten years has been detrimental to both his health and family life, Michael Gallagher's quest for the truth about his son Aiden's death remains as strong as ever.
The public face and voice for many of the victims of the Omagh bomb, Michael makes no apologies for the lengths he has gone to find the truth. He describes his work as a "survival mechanism" and as the only way he can "move on".
In the lead-up to the tenth anniversary, the details of that day remain as vivid as ever: the last conversation with his only son who told him, "I wont be long." Then the 19-year-old went into town to buy a pair of jeans. There is also the vision of pain and despair during his three trips to the Tyrone County Hospital in search of Aiden. and the 14-hour wait at Omagh Leisure Centre before being told the fateful news that Aiden wouldn't be coming home.
"The events of that day are burnt in the back of my mind," says Michael.
In the hazy aftermath, after laying Aiden to rest while hundreds of visitors paid their respects, Michael returned to work in his garage but his mind was continuously elsewhere.
"The only way I could deal with what happened in Omagh was basically to embrace Omagh," he says. Ten years on, the campaign continues.
"I remember sitting on the Sunday, August 16, and my thoughts were that the whole world knows the people that died and were injured in Omagh were ordinary innocent people going about their daily lives. There seemed to be that much goodwill across Britain and Ireland with the police telling us that they were getting a lot of co-operation and support. We thought that within months those responsible would be held to account and brought before the courts. Sadly, here we are now still campaigning for justice."
Reflecting on the events of the past decade, Michael says the campaign has probably monopolised more of his time than he ever could have imagined and more time than he would have liked. It has had a negative impact on his health and family life.
"I do try to keep some sort of balance and take plenty of time out to do other things, which does help," he says. "There is no question, however, that I have put in more time than I should have, which has probably been of the detriment of me and my family.
"My health has also suffered as a result. In the past ten years I have been admitted to hospital twice and am currently on a heavy dose of medication to control my blood pressure. These things do take an enormous toll on your health and sometimes I feel that I am not in control."
Michael has become a focal point for the world's media. For this, and his relentless efforts for the truth, he has received some criticism over the years. He makes no apologies for that.
"Probably because I did some interviews in the early days I have been stuck with the instant image of Omagh. I have to stress that I am only part of a team.
"I don't apologise in any way for what I have done in the past ten years. There are people who have been so overcome by the grief that they have decided to close the door and deal with it in their own way... very privately. I would say there is no one way of dealing with these extraordinary circumstances that we find ourselves in. We have to all respect how we each chose to deal with this."
He believes his son would wish him to take his more public role.
"Aiden did not have any hatred or bitterness. He was such a genuine, honest, hardworking person who would have helped anybody that I just can't walk away and say it was just one of those things and accept his death as one of the natural casualties of the Troubles.
"When the police and Garda were incapable of delivering what we all would expect, we felt we had to go out and challenge the people responsible. This is our survival mechanism to find justice and nobody should try and silence us. Those of us that have campaigned for justice should not be scorned or looked on as people who are mentally unstable. That is a very normal thing to do, yet we continue to be denied justice.
"The vast majority of the people killed during the Troubles never saw any justice and we just felt the lives of our children, wives, husbands, brothers and sisters were going to stand for something, even in death. They were not going to be just another casualty.
"I can't just walk away and leave it up to others. These are our families and if we don't speak out for them who else is going to? If it hadn't been for the courage of this group in standing up, we wouldn't know about the vast majority of events that have happened over the past ten years. That would have been brushed under the carpet like many other atrocities.
"We may still not have justice but at least we now of all the failings and more about the actual story of Omagh today than if we had not started the campaign."
Away from the media spotlight, Michael says the private grief is there and never goes away. He continues to talk about his son daily.
"Over the past ten years for me there has had to be two sides - the public and private. Aiden is someone that is loved and talked about everyday at home and we could never imagine him not being a part of our family. That difficulty is always compounded at birthdays, Christmas and anniversaries.
"We have struggled through our difficulties and God willing we will continue to keep our sanity and keep our focus in the right direction."
BY MARK McKELVEY
m.mckelvey@ulsterherald. com
Although admitting that the campaign for justice over the past ten years has been detrimental to both his health and family life, Michael Gallagher's quest for the truth about his son Aiden's death remains as strong as ever.
The public face and voice for many of the victims of the Omagh bomb, Michael makes no apologies for the lengths he has gone to find the truth. He describes his work as a "survival mechanism" and as the only way he can "move on".
In the lead-up to the tenth anniversary, the details of that day remain as vivid as ever: the last conversation with his only son who told him, "I wont be long." Then the 19-year-old went into town to buy a pair of jeans. There is also the vision of pain and despair during his three trips to the Tyrone County Hospital in search of Aiden. and the 14-hour wait at Omagh Leisure Centre before being told the fateful news that Aiden wouldn't be coming home.
"The events of that day are burnt in the back of my mind," says Michael.
In the hazy aftermath, after laying Aiden to rest while hundreds of visitors paid their respects, Michael returned to work in his garage but his mind was continuously elsewhere.
"The only way I could deal with what happened in Omagh was basically to embrace Omagh," he says. Ten years on, the campaign continues.
"I remember sitting on the Sunday, August 16, and my thoughts were that the whole world knows the people that died and were injured in Omagh were ordinary innocent people going about their daily lives. There seemed to be that much goodwill across Britain and Ireland with the police telling us that they were getting a lot of co-operation and support. We thought that within months those responsible would be held to account and brought before the courts. Sadly, here we are now still campaigning for justice."
Reflecting on the events of the past decade, Michael says the campaign has probably monopolised more of his time than he ever could have imagined and more time than he would have liked. It has had a negative impact on his health and family life.
"I do try to keep some sort of balance and take plenty of time out to do other things, which does help," he says. "There is no question, however, that I have put in more time than I should have, which has probably been of the detriment of me and my family.
"My health has also suffered as a result. In the past ten years I have been admitted to hospital twice and am currently on a heavy dose of medication to control my blood pressure. These things do take an enormous toll on your health and sometimes I feel that I am not in control."
Michael has become a focal point for the world's media. For this, and his relentless efforts for the truth, he has received some criticism over the years. He makes no apologies for that.
"Probably because I did some interviews in the early days I have been stuck with the instant image of Omagh. I have to stress that I am only part of a team.
"I don't apologise in any way for what I have done in the past ten years. There are people who have been so overcome by the grief that they have decided to close the door and deal with it in their own way... very privately. I would say there is no one way of dealing with these extraordinary circumstances that we find ourselves in. We have to all respect how we each chose to deal with this."
He believes his son would wish him to take his more public role.
"Aiden did not have any hatred or bitterness. He was such a genuine, honest, hardworking person who would have helped anybody that I just can't walk away and say it was just one of those things and accept his death as one of the natural casualties of the Troubles.
"When the police and Garda were incapable of delivering what we all would expect, we felt we had to go out and challenge the people responsible. This is our survival mechanism to find justice and nobody should try and silence us. Those of us that have campaigned for justice should not be scorned or looked on as people who are mentally unstable. That is a very normal thing to do, yet we continue to be denied justice.
"The vast majority of the people killed during the Troubles never saw any justice and we just felt the lives of our children, wives, husbands, brothers and sisters were going to stand for something, even in death. They were not going to be just another casualty.
"I can't just walk away and leave it up to others. These are our families and if we don't speak out for them who else is going to? If it hadn't been for the courage of this group in standing up, we wouldn't know about the vast majority of events that have happened over the past ten years. That would have been brushed under the carpet like many other atrocities.
"We may still not have justice but at least we now of all the failings and more about the actual story of Omagh today than if we had not started the campaign."
Away from the media spotlight, Michael says the private grief is there and never goes away. He continues to talk about his son daily.
"Over the past ten years for me there has had to be two sides - the public and private. Aiden is someone that is loved and talked about everyday at home and we could never imagine him not being a part of our family. That difficulty is always compounded at birthdays, Christmas and anniversaries.
"We have struggled through our difficulties and God willing we will continue to keep our sanity and keep our focus in the right direction."
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH10An/54
Published Date: 14-Aug-08
Related Images
