A CALL TO HEALING
A call to healing
The Thursday Interview
Tommy Nethery
GETTING caught up in the horror of the Omagh Bomb proved a defining moment in the young life of Omagh Academy schoolgirl Wendy McCay.
At 14, the Drumquin girl, older sister of Irish hockey international Shirley, was preparing to enter her fourth year at the Academy, when she, boyfriend Neil Sayers and friend Nora Spratt had their lives changed by the utter devastation and terror of the 1998 atrocity.
In her early days at primary school, Wendy once wrote in a school jotter that she wanted to become a "nurse so she could save people's lives". Her desire to enter the medical profession in some capacity stayed with her throughout her schooldays but after August 15 she was left in no doubt what career path she wanted to follow.
"I was toying with the idea of gearing my studies towards becoming a physio but seeing and experiencing first hand the sterling work of the doctors and nurses in the aftermath of the Omagh bomb convinced me I wanted to study medicine.
"The atrocity demonstrated the great need for qualified doctors. It was a difficult career choice; its physically, mentally and emotionally challenging but, as far as I'm concerned, the rewards outweigh the negative aspects."
On July 15, 2008 - exactly nine years and 11 months after that fateful day when 29 people including the mother of unborn twins lost their lives in the Real IRA massacre - Wendy graduated as a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery at the University of Bristol and immediately began life as a junior doctor at the Lister Hospital, Stevenage (north of London).
As the 10th anniversary fast approaches, Wendy, who still bears the scars from a broken arm and fragments of glass that became lodged in her leg, considers herself one of the fortunate ones who has been able to put that horrific time well and truly behind her.
"When I pause to think of the Omagh bomb, the memories and images are still fresh in the mind. However, it's much easier for me to deal with, given that I have spent the last six years in England," continued Wendy.
"I suppose it's a case of out of sight, out of mind. Being removed from the area certainly makes it easier: it must be so difficult for those who still live in or near the town. When I return for a visit I can't walk down Omagh's main street without thinking about that terrifying day."
Wendy vividly recalls the deafening noise of the explosion, the disorientation, the split second before the realisation set in what had actually happened, the smell, the debris falling from the sky, the dust and the complete pandemonium.
In the mayhem and carnage, Wendy and Neil became separated from Nora and she recalls sitting in the Tyrone County Hospital amid the causalities and reports of rising fatalities, worrying about their friend.
"We did fear the worst and it was only the following day that we found out Nora was in the Erne Hospital, although her injuries were extensive. "I was reacquainted with Nora some ten days later, although she was seriously injured and spent weeks in intensive care.
"As for myself, seven months of physio, 18 months of trauma counselling and a long time in England means I have learned to move on; I realise it's not quite so easy for many others."
Ten years on, the former Drumquin woman has a new job, recently moved house and has a steady boyfriend in Sam Openshaw. The junior doctor admits the images have become somewhat blurred but she will never forget.
And to this day she believes the atrocity of August 15, 1998, did more to bring the communities together than further the cause of the perpetrators.
"The blowing up of Omagh got the terrorists nowhere. It pulled communities together and galvanised the determination to beat them. The hurt was horrendous but there was so much positivity came out of it.
"It was post the Good Friday Agreement but I believe the Omagh bomb convinced the remaining doubters that the alternative was much much worse.
"It strengthened peoples' resolve. The Omagh bomb was indiscriminate, it hurt everyone and touched those way outside these borders."
The Thursday Interview
Tommy Nethery
GETTING caught up in the horror of the Omagh Bomb proved a defining moment in the young life of Omagh Academy schoolgirl Wendy McCay.
At 14, the Drumquin girl, older sister of Irish hockey international Shirley, was preparing to enter her fourth year at the Academy, when she, boyfriend Neil Sayers and friend Nora Spratt had their lives changed by the utter devastation and terror of the 1998 atrocity.
In her early days at primary school, Wendy once wrote in a school jotter that she wanted to become a "nurse so she could save people's lives". Her desire to enter the medical profession in some capacity stayed with her throughout her schooldays but after August 15 she was left in no doubt what career path she wanted to follow.
"I was toying with the idea of gearing my studies towards becoming a physio but seeing and experiencing first hand the sterling work of the doctors and nurses in the aftermath of the Omagh bomb convinced me I wanted to study medicine.
"The atrocity demonstrated the great need for qualified doctors. It was a difficult career choice; its physically, mentally and emotionally challenging but, as far as I'm concerned, the rewards outweigh the negative aspects."
On July 15, 2008 - exactly nine years and 11 months after that fateful day when 29 people including the mother of unborn twins lost their lives in the Real IRA massacre - Wendy graduated as a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery at the University of Bristol and immediately began life as a junior doctor at the Lister Hospital, Stevenage (north of London).
As the 10th anniversary fast approaches, Wendy, who still bears the scars from a broken arm and fragments of glass that became lodged in her leg, considers herself one of the fortunate ones who has been able to put that horrific time well and truly behind her.
"When I pause to think of the Omagh bomb, the memories and images are still fresh in the mind. However, it's much easier for me to deal with, given that I have spent the last six years in England," continued Wendy.
"I suppose it's a case of out of sight, out of mind. Being removed from the area certainly makes it easier: it must be so difficult for those who still live in or near the town. When I return for a visit I can't walk down Omagh's main street without thinking about that terrifying day."
Wendy vividly recalls the deafening noise of the explosion, the disorientation, the split second before the realisation set in what had actually happened, the smell, the debris falling from the sky, the dust and the complete pandemonium.
In the mayhem and carnage, Wendy and Neil became separated from Nora and she recalls sitting in the Tyrone County Hospital amid the causalities and reports of rising fatalities, worrying about their friend.
"We did fear the worst and it was only the following day that we found out Nora was in the Erne Hospital, although her injuries were extensive. "I was reacquainted with Nora some ten days later, although she was seriously injured and spent weeks in intensive care.
"As for myself, seven months of physio, 18 months of trauma counselling and a long time in England means I have learned to move on; I realise it's not quite so easy for many others."
Ten years on, the former Drumquin woman has a new job, recently moved house and has a steady boyfriend in Sam Openshaw. The junior doctor admits the images have become somewhat blurred but she will never forget.
And to this day she believes the atrocity of August 15, 1998, did more to bring the communities together than further the cause of the perpetrators.
"The blowing up of Omagh got the terrorists nowhere. It pulled communities together and galvanised the determination to beat them. The hurt was horrendous but there was so much positivity came out of it.
"It was post the Good Friday Agreement but I believe the Omagh bomb convinced the remaining doubters that the alternative was much much worse.
"It strengthened peoples' resolve. The Omagh bomb was indiscriminate, it hurt everyone and touched those way outside these borders."
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH10An/55
Published Date: 14-Aug-08
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