HUMANITARIAN TERRY WAITE LAUNCHES OMAGH'S WEBSITE
Humanitarian Terry Waite launches Omagh's website
BY ROSETTA DONNELLY
AS reported in the Tyrone Herald on Monday, former Beirut hostage Terry Waite visited Omagh to formally launch a new digital archive on the Omagh bomb.
Mr Waite, diplomat, humanitarian and world-renowned agent of peace, was in the town as a mark of solidarity with local people.
Just 15 years ago on, November 18, 1991, Mr Waite was released after five years captivity in Beirut. He was held by Islamic Jihad extremists who also captured other western hostages including Brian Keenan and journalist John McCarthy.
The larger than life but gentle Mr Waite addressed the gathering in Omagh Library which comprised victims' families and invited guests.
The website has a wealth of information gathered from newspapers across the world. It has been developed by the Western Education and Library Board's (WELB) Library Service in partnership with Omagh Support and Self Help Group (OSSHG) with funding from the Victims Strategy Implementation Fund.
Speaking at the launch, Terry Waite said, "It is important for any community to have a collection of events that may be happy or sad. These events enable us not only to remember the past but to have a more creative future for all. The Omagh archive will help people who have suffered much to do just that".
The website is based on the archive of material housed in the WELB Omagh Branch Library. It contains over 10,500 newspaper articles, 15,000 emails, 818 books of condolences and 3,000 floral tribute cards relating to the terrible atrocity that occurred in Omagh on August 15, 1998.
Speaking at the launch, Michael Gallagher, chairman of the Omagh victims' group, spoke of the role of the group and how it had evolved in the eight years since the bomb.
He said it was important to acknowledge the role of the media as if it had not been for the media there would be no material to put in the archive.
"Many of you will remember in the days following Omagh this area was turned into a media village. Our group has built relations with many of the world's media organisations as a result of their work in Omagh.
Some of the families recognised the importance of the opportunity to tell the world about the kind of people who died in Omagh and we believed that the families were the best placed to do this.
"The reporting of the Omagh atrocity was handled very sensitively by the media then and interest has not diminished over time."
You can access the Omagh bomb archive website by logging onto www.omagharchive.co.uk
BY ROSETTA DONNELLY
AS reported in the Tyrone Herald on Monday, former Beirut hostage Terry Waite visited Omagh to formally launch a new digital archive on the Omagh bomb.
Mr Waite, diplomat, humanitarian and world-renowned agent of peace, was in the town as a mark of solidarity with local people.
Just 15 years ago on, November 18, 1991, Mr Waite was released after five years captivity in Beirut. He was held by Islamic Jihad extremists who also captured other western hostages including Brian Keenan and journalist John McCarthy.
The larger than life but gentle Mr Waite addressed the gathering in Omagh Library which comprised victims' families and invited guests.
The website has a wealth of information gathered from newspapers across the world. It has been developed by the Western Education and Library Board's (WELB) Library Service in partnership with Omagh Support and Self Help Group (OSSHG) with funding from the Victims Strategy Implementation Fund.
Speaking at the launch, Terry Waite said, "It is important for any community to have a collection of events that may be happy or sad. These events enable us not only to remember the past but to have a more creative future for all. The Omagh archive will help people who have suffered much to do just that".
The website is based on the archive of material housed in the WELB Omagh Branch Library. It contains over 10,500 newspaper articles, 15,000 emails, 818 books of condolences and 3,000 floral tribute cards relating to the terrible atrocity that occurred in Omagh on August 15, 1998.
Speaking at the launch, Michael Gallagher, chairman of the Omagh victims' group, spoke of the role of the group and how it had evolved in the eight years since the bomb.
He said it was important to acknowledge the role of the media as if it had not been for the media there would be no material to put in the archive.
"Many of you will remember in the days following Omagh this area was turned into a media village. Our group has built relations with many of the world's media organisations as a result of their work in Omagh.
Some of the families recognised the importance of the opportunity to tell the world about the kind of people who died in Omagh and we believed that the families were the best placed to do this.
"The reporting of the Omagh atrocity was handled very sensitively by the media then and interest has not diminished over time."
You can access the Omagh bomb archive website by logging onto www.omagharchive.co.uk
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH/1877
Published Date: 23-Nov-06
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