WEDDING DELIGHT FOR OMAGH BOMB SURVIVOR
Wedding delight for Omagh bomb survivor
BY ROSETTA DONNELLY
IN JUST under a week Omagh bomb survivor, Kevin Skelton will marry the mother of a Romanian child he tried to adopt.
In what is undoubtedly a fairytale ending to years of heartbreak since his wife Mena was killed in the bomb, the tide seems to have finally turned for the 50-year-old Drumquin man.
The civil ceremony will take place at Omagh District Council's Registry Office next Wednesday with the reception afterwards at the Hunting Lodge, Baronscourt.
Speaking to the UlsterHerald, the delighted Kevin said the feelings he felt for Maria Nedelcu was something which he tried to hide from himself for a while, as he felt it was too soon following the death of his wife, Mena.
But he said, "In a funny kind of way, it is something about which Mena would be happy."
The couple's happiness has been blighted some-what by the barrage of red tape which they have
staying.
The former lorry driver and his late wife, 1 had been enchanted by the nine-year-old when she came to stay at their home in Drumquin, on a two week holiday in 1997.
Neither of them was aware that her moth< still alive and they had discussed the possibility of adopting her before the 1998 bomb attack, Kevin said.
But when he arrived at the orphanage after his wife's death, he discovered Maria waiting for him, frightened that he had come to take her child away.
The factory worker had put her children into temporary care because she could not afford to look after them.
Kevin said, "From the day I saw Maria for the first time something happened to me. I felt something for her the minute I saw her. But I didn't say anything."
"I battled with all sorts of guilt because of my late wife and I did not say anything to anyone about how I felt, not even to Maria. But the feelings did not go away."
Kevin said that over the last few years he has been travelling to Romania about twice a year.
BY ROSETTA DONNELLY
IN JUST under a week Omagh bomb survivor, Kevin Skelton will marry the mother of a Romanian child he tried to adopt.
In what is undoubtedly a fairytale ending to years of heartbreak since his wife Mena was killed in the bomb, the tide seems to have finally turned for the 50-year-old Drumquin man.
The civil ceremony will take place at Omagh District Council's Registry Office next Wednesday with the reception afterwards at the Hunting Lodge, Baronscourt.
Speaking to the UlsterHerald, the delighted Kevin said the feelings he felt for Maria Nedelcu was something which he tried to hide from himself for a while, as he felt it was too soon following the death of his wife, Mena.
But he said, "In a funny kind of way, it is something about which Mena would be happy."
The couple's happiness has been blighted some-what by the barrage of red tape which they have
staying.
The former lorry driver and his late wife, 1 had been enchanted by the nine-year-old when she came to stay at their home in Drumquin, on a two week holiday in 1997.
Neither of them was aware that her moth< still alive and they had discussed the possibility of adopting her before the 1998 bomb attack, Kevin said.
But when he arrived at the orphanage after his wife's death, he discovered Maria waiting for him, frightened that he had come to take her child away.
The factory worker had put her children into temporary care because she could not afford to look after them.
Kevin said, "From the day I saw Maria for the first time something happened to me. I felt something for her the minute I saw her. But I didn't say anything."
"I battled with all sorts of guilt because of my late wife and I did not say anything to anyone about how I felt, not even to Maria. But the feelings did not go away."
Kevin said that over the last few years he has been travelling to Romania about twice a year.
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH/1832
Published Date: 06-Oct-05
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