OMAGH FILM COULD HAVE A VERY POSITIVE IMPACT
Omagh film could have a very positive impact
As we (the good people of the parish and beyond) are all painfully aware, Omagh is, and will be for many years, synonymous with tragedy, whether we like it or not that's the way it is.
If the town refuses to shake of its crippling self-pity, we will forever, in the eyes of the on-looking world, remain 'those poor people'.
The letter from Wilfred Breen, expressing his opinion about the up coming 'Omagh' film, (UlsterHerald, February 5) drove home what a small step some members of the community have taken since 1998.
Every single person who decides to watch 'Omagh' the film will be aware of its harrowing content before hand, and those who don't believe that they will be able to cope with what they will see, will have the option to boycott it.
I don't feel that Mr Breen will exercise that right, I fully expect him to watch the film and then be vociferously outraged, believing himself to be the voice of the people.
Michael Gallagher has, throughout, carried himself with dignity, and I implicitly trust his judgement in allowing the story of his family's loss, and of a son he was (and still is) so evidently proud of, to be told.
To constantly bemoan Omagh's terrible lot in the grand scheme of things is an insult to the bereaved and maimed who have picked themselves up and got on with their lives.
There are still people on this Island who believe that what happened in Omagh was a justified episode in the story of Northern Ireland's 'struggle'. If just a handful of those deluded people can see how wrong an opinion like that is, through watching this film, it has to be a good thing.
If anyone believing themselves to be oppressed and considering violence as an answer, begins to understand the consequences of such actions, through watching this film, it has to be a good thing.
And, without sounding too American, if any one affected by the bomb can gain some closure, through watching this film, it has to be a good thing.
Catherine Scott
Newtownstewart
As we (the good people of the parish and beyond) are all painfully aware, Omagh is, and will be for many years, synonymous with tragedy, whether we like it or not that's the way it is.
If the town refuses to shake of its crippling self-pity, we will forever, in the eyes of the on-looking world, remain 'those poor people'.
The letter from Wilfred Breen, expressing his opinion about the up coming 'Omagh' film, (UlsterHerald, February 5) drove home what a small step some members of the community have taken since 1998.
Every single person who decides to watch 'Omagh' the film will be aware of its harrowing content before hand, and those who don't believe that they will be able to cope with what they will see, will have the option to boycott it.
I don't feel that Mr Breen will exercise that right, I fully expect him to watch the film and then be vociferously outraged, believing himself to be the voice of the people.
Michael Gallagher has, throughout, carried himself with dignity, and I implicitly trust his judgement in allowing the story of his family's loss, and of a son he was (and still is) so evidently proud of, to be told.
To constantly bemoan Omagh's terrible lot in the grand scheme of things is an insult to the bereaved and maimed who have picked themselves up and got on with their lives.
There are still people on this Island who believe that what happened in Omagh was a justified episode in the story of Northern Ireland's 'struggle'. If just a handful of those deluded people can see how wrong an opinion like that is, through watching this film, it has to be a good thing.
If anyone believing themselves to be oppressed and considering violence as an answer, begins to understand the consequences of such actions, through watching this film, it has to be a good thing.
And, without sounding too American, if any one affected by the bomb can gain some closure, through watching this film, it has to be a good thing.
Catherine Scott
Newtownstewart
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH/1634
Published Date: 12-Feb-04
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