AUTHOR PLANS TRIBUTE TO VICTIMS OF OMAGH BOMBING
Families to tell their stories in their own words
BY JACQUELINE COURTNEY
AN ENGLISH academic and writer was in Omagh last week preparing for his next book - a moving story in tribute to the victims of the Omagh bomb.
40-year-old Graham Spencer from Portsmouth hopes to have his unique book, which will tell the stories of families caught up in that day in Omagh, ready for publication in a year's time.
Members of the families involved will give their own accounts in their own words of how that murderous day changed their lives for ever.
Graham had initially contacted each of the families by letter giving them the opportunity to agree to be interviewed or not. He had been working on the book for about six months prior to coming to Omagh.
And he knows only to well that the Omagh story is a moving one although still recalled by the relatives with a lot of anger and a story which was waiting to be told.
Whilst in Ireland, the academic also interviewed families in Buncrana who lost loved ones in a tragedy which shocked the world.
Graham will write an introduction to the Omagh book, essentially explaining the clinical context of Northern Ireland at that time with the Good Friday Agreement and expectations being quite high.
"Then basically the book will be verbatim interviews of the people I will be speaking to. They will be basically telling their story of the day in their own words. It's basically going to be their story of how they saw the day unfold," he said.
When the UlsterHerald caught up with Graham in Omagh last week he was working his way through a busy schedule hoping to have interviwed all fourteen families who had agreed to feature in his book before leaving for Buncranna.
Graham explained "I though a gap of nearly five years was probably enough time for some people who had not come forward earlier might want to say something now. To make a substantive book it needed to be approximatey half the families and it looks like it has worked out about that."
"The survivors of the Omagh bomb have very moving stories to tell and of course still hold a lot of anger."
His book will appropriately be called "Omagh Reflections on Loss".
He has written other books, one entitled "Disturbing the Peace" and another "Politics Television News and the NI Peace Process" and a number of articles about the media in NI.
BY JACQUELINE COURTNEY
AN ENGLISH academic and writer was in Omagh last week preparing for his next book - a moving story in tribute to the victims of the Omagh bomb.
40-year-old Graham Spencer from Portsmouth hopes to have his unique book, which will tell the stories of families caught up in that day in Omagh, ready for publication in a year's time.
Members of the families involved will give their own accounts in their own words of how that murderous day changed their lives for ever.
Graham had initially contacted each of the families by letter giving them the opportunity to agree to be interviewed or not. He had been working on the book for about six months prior to coming to Omagh.
And he knows only to well that the Omagh story is a moving one although still recalled by the relatives with a lot of anger and a story which was waiting to be told.
Whilst in Ireland, the academic also interviewed families in Buncrana who lost loved ones in a tragedy which shocked the world.
Graham will write an introduction to the Omagh book, essentially explaining the clinical context of Northern Ireland at that time with the Good Friday Agreement and expectations being quite high.
"Then basically the book will be verbatim interviews of the people I will be speaking to. They will be basically telling their story of the day in their own words. It's basically going to be their story of how they saw the day unfold," he said.
When the UlsterHerald caught up with Graham in Omagh last week he was working his way through a busy schedule hoping to have interviwed all fourteen families who had agreed to feature in his book before leaving for Buncranna.
Graham explained "I though a gap of nearly five years was probably enough time for some people who had not come forward earlier might want to say something now. To make a substantive book it needed to be approximatey half the families and it looks like it has worked out about that."
"The survivors of the Omagh bomb have very moving stories to tell and of course still hold a lot of anger."
His book will appropriately be called "Omagh Reflections on Loss".
He has written other books, one entitled "Disturbing the Peace" and another "Politics Television News and the NI Peace Process" and a number of articles about the media in NI.
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH/1552
Published Date: 17-Jul-03
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