TEENAGERS REPRESENTED THE FUTURE OF OMAGH
Teenagers represented the future of Omagh - Coroner
TEENAGERS Brenda Logue and Alan Radford represented the future of Omagh but as a result of the bomb were cruelly prevented from continuing their lives, the inquests have heard.
Jonathan Lowry, counsel for the Radford family, told Friday's inquest that Brenda Logue and Alan Radford had been killed in identical circumstances.
"Both were hoping to continue with their studies, these two young people represented the future of Omagh but as result of the bomb were cruelly prevented from that."
He said the graphic accounts given at the inquests had illustrated how the Real IRA bomb affected the whole community.
"In their memory the whole community should stand together and ensure that nothing like this can ever happen again."
The inquest into Alan Radford's death heard that his mother felt uneasy in the moments before the explosion, and had tried to convince her son to leave the town centre.
Marion Radford said that she and her son had gone into town on August 15th to open a new bank account for him, when they were told that there was a bombscare.
Mrs Radford said she wanted to leave the town but her son told her to go ahead and pay the electricity bill.
"I remember saying that I wanted to leave this country as I was sick of it. You cannot go into town but there is a bombscare, but Alan said it was probably a hoax."
She told how after she entered a jewellery shop at Market Street she began to feel uneasy and asked her son to go to Dunnes with her.
On the way they stopped at the Salad Bowl and Mrs Radford went into the shop, her son said he would be back in a minute.
"I felt a bit nervous and thought I wanted to get Alan and get out of town. I was paying for the groceries when the bomb went off. I felt a large piece of glass in the back of my head."
"I walked to the door and asked people if she had seen her son.
A girl wrapped her cardigan around her head and told her she needed to go to hospital as she was bleeding badly. But she didn't want to leave the area without her son.
"She made me go in the ambulance, I still didn't want to go without Alan," said Mrs Radford.
She told the Coroner how she learned the following day (Sunday) that her son had died in the explosion.
"I didn't want to go to the Leisure Centre on Saturday because I was in a state of shock. I began to fear the worst but I was still hoping he was okay."
Mrs Radford said her son had just left school and was due to begin a catering course at Omagh College.
On the day of the explosion they had gone into town to open an account for Alan but couldn't get to the bank.
She added that she thought that she had seen girls closing the gift shop at Market Street and she had then begun to feel uneasy and thought they should leave town.
She told the Coroner: "I was never in a bombscare before, I just knew there had been ones all over the country. I can't understand why people don't let other people live in peace and let people of different religions worship the way they want to."
The Inquest heard from State Pathologist Dr Jack Crane that the teenager had died from multiple injuries due to the bomb explosion.
Mr Crane said during questioning by counsel for the Radford family that the teenager would have been conscious for, at the most, one minute after the blast.
Coroner John Leckey told Mrs Radford: "It must have been a nightmare for you waiting all those hours to discover the fate of Alan, no one would want to be placed in such a difficult position."
Mr Leckey made reference to inquests of young people who had died in the bomb that had preceded Alan Radford's.
He said: "They had worked hard to pass exams and were looking forward to a new chapter in their lives. Tragically that was not be, fate and the evil perpetrators of the atrocity decided otherwise."
Counsel said Marion Radford wished to thank all those who helped her, friends, family, neighbours and counsellors.
"She would also like to thank the police and the emergency services for their efforts at the scene and yourself Mr Coroner and your staff for the compassionate way the inquests have been carried out" he added.
TEENAGERS Brenda Logue and Alan Radford represented the future of Omagh but as a result of the bomb were cruelly prevented from continuing their lives, the inquests have heard.
Jonathan Lowry, counsel for the Radford family, told Friday's inquest that Brenda Logue and Alan Radford had been killed in identical circumstances.
"Both were hoping to continue with their studies, these two young people represented the future of Omagh but as result of the bomb were cruelly prevented from that."
He said the graphic accounts given at the inquests had illustrated how the Real IRA bomb affected the whole community.
"In their memory the whole community should stand together and ensure that nothing like this can ever happen again."
The inquest into Alan Radford's death heard that his mother felt uneasy in the moments before the explosion, and had tried to convince her son to leave the town centre.
Marion Radford said that she and her son had gone into town on August 15th to open a new bank account for him, when they were told that there was a bombscare.
Mrs Radford said she wanted to leave the town but her son told her to go ahead and pay the electricity bill.
"I remember saying that I wanted to leave this country as I was sick of it. You cannot go into town but there is a bombscare, but Alan said it was probably a hoax."
She told how after she entered a jewellery shop at Market Street she began to feel uneasy and asked her son to go to Dunnes with her.
On the way they stopped at the Salad Bowl and Mrs Radford went into the shop, her son said he would be back in a minute.
"I felt a bit nervous and thought I wanted to get Alan and get out of town. I was paying for the groceries when the bomb went off. I felt a large piece of glass in the back of my head."
"I walked to the door and asked people if she had seen her son.
A girl wrapped her cardigan around her head and told her she needed to go to hospital as she was bleeding badly. But she didn't want to leave the area without her son.
"She made me go in the ambulance, I still didn't want to go without Alan," said Mrs Radford.
She told the Coroner how she learned the following day (Sunday) that her son had died in the explosion.
"I didn't want to go to the Leisure Centre on Saturday because I was in a state of shock. I began to fear the worst but I was still hoping he was okay."
Mrs Radford said her son had just left school and was due to begin a catering course at Omagh College.
On the day of the explosion they had gone into town to open an account for Alan but couldn't get to the bank.
She added that she thought that she had seen girls closing the gift shop at Market Street and she had then begun to feel uneasy and thought they should leave town.
She told the Coroner: "I was never in a bombscare before, I just knew there had been ones all over the country. I can't understand why people don't let other people live in peace and let people of different religions worship the way they want to."
The Inquest heard from State Pathologist Dr Jack Crane that the teenager had died from multiple injuries due to the bomb explosion.
Mr Crane said during questioning by counsel for the Radford family that the teenager would have been conscious for, at the most, one minute after the blast.
Coroner John Leckey told Mrs Radford: "It must have been a nightmare for you waiting all those hours to discover the fate of Alan, no one would want to be placed in such a difficult position."
Mr Leckey made reference to inquests of young people who had died in the bomb that had preceded Alan Radford's.
He said: "They had worked hard to pass exams and were looking forward to a new chapter in their lives. Tragically that was not be, fate and the evil perpetrators of the atrocity decided otherwise."
Counsel said Marion Radford wished to thank all those who helped her, friends, family, neighbours and counsellors.
"She would also like to thank the police and the emergency services for their efforts at the scene and yourself Mr Coroner and your staff for the compassionate way the inquests have been carried out" he added.
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH/1489
Published Date: 28-Sep-00
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