VICTIMS MOTHER STILL CONSIDERING LEAVING TOWN
Victims mother still considering leaving town
By JOHN McCUSKER
THE mother of one of the youngest victims of the Omagh atrocity says she harbours an emotional longing to move away from the town where her son died.
Two members of Marion Radford's family have already opted to leave the area since 16-year-old Alan died in the Market Street explosion two years ago.
This week, the young victim's mother revealed she is considering moving from the town she made her home for the past 20 years. However, she also realises that emotional ties with the area and the fact that younger members of her family prefer to remain here are tearing her apart.
On the afternoon of August 15,1998, young Alan left his Castleview Park home to accompany his mother on a shopping trip to town. The pair had been separated when the Omagh High School student caught the full force of the blast after the maroon coloured Vauxhall Cavalier exploded.
In the hours that followed, the victim's older brother Paul searched in vain to locate him. But hopes faded, and the teenager's body was among the last to be identified on the Sunday evening.
Shortly after the attack, Paul moved away from Omagh and found the memories too painful to even return for this week's anniversary memorial service. Mrs Radford's eldest daughter, Elaine also left Omagh along with her husband and two children.
"I find it very, very lonely here now," said Mrs Radford, who was born in Coatbridge near Glasgow before moving to Omagh with her family in 1980.
"I feel I'm divided between the part of my family which is still here and those who have moved away.
"The family now seems to be split. Those who have left don't want to live in a country with so much bitterness and hatred where they feel they are not safe.
"My youngest daughter doesn't want to go at the moment and my other daughter is not sure. I would like to leave Omagh myself, but I don't even know if I could bear to tear myself away from the town."
A member of the Church of Latter Day Saints, Mrs Radford has found comfort from many of those around her. But she feels that, two years further on, some people may expect too much from her and her family.
"There has been support, but when people get on with their own lives, they expect you to move on as well. But we are grieving. We can only move on at our own pace.
"Alan was a lovely, lovely lad. A person with a lovely, gentle nature who just loved to help people. He was my best friend. He was everything to me.
"Everyone grieves in different ways and for different lengths of time, but I feel I'm coping alright with my grief at this stage," she added.
To date, only one person has been charged in connection with the bombing. Wealthy Armagh businessman, Colm Murphy is accused of plotting to cause the explosion. But Mrs Radford feels the government should put more emphasis on tightening the net which allows those who murdered her son to still walk the streets.
"I still have my angry moments," she confessed. "Although I'm not a very bitter person, I get very angry at times at people walking free, those who have carried out this crime and who have never been caught.
"I find that very difficult to accept and I don't think the government laws are effective as they stand at the present time," she added.
By JOHN McCUSKER
THE mother of one of the youngest victims of the Omagh atrocity says she harbours an emotional longing to move away from the town where her son died.
Two members of Marion Radford's family have already opted to leave the area since 16-year-old Alan died in the Market Street explosion two years ago.
This week, the young victim's mother revealed she is considering moving from the town she made her home for the past 20 years. However, she also realises that emotional ties with the area and the fact that younger members of her family prefer to remain here are tearing her apart.
On the afternoon of August 15,1998, young Alan left his Castleview Park home to accompany his mother on a shopping trip to town. The pair had been separated when the Omagh High School student caught the full force of the blast after the maroon coloured Vauxhall Cavalier exploded.
In the hours that followed, the victim's older brother Paul searched in vain to locate him. But hopes faded, and the teenager's body was among the last to be identified on the Sunday evening.
Shortly after the attack, Paul moved away from Omagh and found the memories too painful to even return for this week's anniversary memorial service. Mrs Radford's eldest daughter, Elaine also left Omagh along with her husband and two children.
"I find it very, very lonely here now," said Mrs Radford, who was born in Coatbridge near Glasgow before moving to Omagh with her family in 1980.
"I feel I'm divided between the part of my family which is still here and those who have moved away.
"The family now seems to be split. Those who have left don't want to live in a country with so much bitterness and hatred where they feel they are not safe.
"My youngest daughter doesn't want to go at the moment and my other daughter is not sure. I would like to leave Omagh myself, but I don't even know if I could bear to tear myself away from the town."
A member of the Church of Latter Day Saints, Mrs Radford has found comfort from many of those around her. But she feels that, two years further on, some people may expect too much from her and her family.
"There has been support, but when people get on with their own lives, they expect you to move on as well. But we are grieving. We can only move on at our own pace.
"Alan was a lovely, lovely lad. A person with a lovely, gentle nature who just loved to help people. He was my best friend. He was everything to me.
"Everyone grieves in different ways and for different lengths of time, but I feel I'm coping alright with my grief at this stage," she added.
To date, only one person has been charged in connection with the bombing. Wealthy Armagh businessman, Colm Murphy is accused of plotting to cause the explosion. But Mrs Radford feels the government should put more emphasis on tightening the net which allows those who murdered her son to still walk the streets.
"I still have my angry moments," she confessed. "Although I'm not a very bitter person, I get very angry at times at people walking free, those who have carried out this crime and who have never been caught.
"I find that very difficult to accept and I don't think the government laws are effective as they stand at the present time," she added.
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH/1405
Published Date: 17-Aug-00
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