SKELTON BOOK BRINGD MESSAGE OF HOPE FROM RUBBLE OF OMAGH BOMB
Skelton book brings 'message of hope' from rubble of Omagh bomb
BY ALAN RODGERS
a.rodqers@ulsterherald.com
DRUMQUIN man Kevin Skelton is confident that a message of hope from the despair of the Omagh bomh will emerge from his new book which has been published this week.
Mr Skelton, whose wife Mena was killed in the 1998 atrocity, which also claimed the lives of 30 other people, including unborn twins, provides a candid account of how his life has been transformed during the intervening 12 years.
Entitled 'Sent by An Angel' the book is being billed as 'an inspirational true story of love built out of the rubble of Omagh.' And, speaking to the Ulster Herald this week, the author tells of how he intends the publication to finally draw a line under the events of August 15 1998.
"This book is my way of saying goodbye to what happened in 1998. It has been a therapy for me to draw a line over those events," he said.
"There are a lot of people who have lost loved ones in tragic circumstances, from cancer, car accidents or some other cause. They may be staring into the abyss and perhaps reading this book will show them that if you look there is still hope.
"I made the mistake of not speaking out about the problems which I was facing and hopefully this book will encourage others who are in a similar position."
Mr Skelton goes on to say that he was inspired to write the book after working on the RTE 'Would You Believe' programme and then a subsequent meeting with one of those caught up in the Miami Showband tragedy of the 1970s.
The book is published by Poolbeg and provides moving accounts of the day of the Omagh Bomb, meeting Mena, over 30 years ago, their subsequent involvement in fundraising and helping the Romanian Orphanages and his 2005 marriage to Maria.
He also speaks candidly about the investigation into the bomb, his battle with alcohol and how his life has now changed.
"My parents and a number of other people, like Fr Kevin Mullan, have all read the book. Thankfully the response has been very positive," he continues.
"There were parts of this book which were extremely difficult because I was talking about things that I didn't want to dwell on again. It was hard enough at times.
"For instance, the pages in the book about my drinking are aimed at showing that alcohol is no answer to problems - it only makes things worse. But at the end of the day the book is out there for people to read and have their own views on. I have it completed now and hopefully it will help some people."
He also speaks out about a number of controversial issues still surrounding the Bomb, including the memorial garden and calls for a public inquiry.
"There were things which I felt that the public had a right to know about, including the bomb memorial and the fact that the decision on this was made by Omagh District Council. My strong belief as well is that there will never be a public inquiry into the bomb.
"The experience of the Bloody Sunday inquiry has shown the difficulties and the fact that the report is being severely restricted under the cloak of national security."
BY ALAN RODGERS
a.rodqers@ulsterherald.com
DRUMQUIN man Kevin Skelton is confident that a message of hope from the despair of the Omagh bomh will emerge from his new book which has been published this week.
Mr Skelton, whose wife Mena was killed in the 1998 atrocity, which also claimed the lives of 30 other people, including unborn twins, provides a candid account of how his life has been transformed during the intervening 12 years.
Entitled 'Sent by An Angel' the book is being billed as 'an inspirational true story of love built out of the rubble of Omagh.' And, speaking to the Ulster Herald this week, the author tells of how he intends the publication to finally draw a line under the events of August 15 1998.
"This book is my way of saying goodbye to what happened in 1998. It has been a therapy for me to draw a line over those events," he said.
"There are a lot of people who have lost loved ones in tragic circumstances, from cancer, car accidents or some other cause. They may be staring into the abyss and perhaps reading this book will show them that if you look there is still hope.
"I made the mistake of not speaking out about the problems which I was facing and hopefully this book will encourage others who are in a similar position."
Mr Skelton goes on to say that he was inspired to write the book after working on the RTE 'Would You Believe' programme and then a subsequent meeting with one of those caught up in the Miami Showband tragedy of the 1970s.
The book is published by Poolbeg and provides moving accounts of the day of the Omagh Bomb, meeting Mena, over 30 years ago, their subsequent involvement in fundraising and helping the Romanian Orphanages and his 2005 marriage to Maria.
He also speaks candidly about the investigation into the bomb, his battle with alcohol and how his life has now changed.
"My parents and a number of other people, like Fr Kevin Mullan, have all read the book. Thankfully the response has been very positive," he continues.
"There were parts of this book which were extremely difficult because I was talking about things that I didn't want to dwell on again. It was hard enough at times.
"For instance, the pages in the book about my drinking are aimed at showing that alcohol is no answer to problems - it only makes things worse. But at the end of the day the book is out there for people to read and have their own views on. I have it completed now and hopefully it will help some people."
He also speaks out about a number of controversial issues still surrounding the Bomb, including the memorial garden and calls for a public inquiry.
"There were things which I felt that the public had a right to know about, including the bomb memorial and the fact that the decision on this was made by Omagh District Council. My strong belief as well is that there will never be a public inquiry into the bomb.
"The experience of the Bloody Sunday inquiry has shown the difficulties and the fact that the report is being severely restricted under the cloak of national security."
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH/1993
Published Date: 01-Apr-10
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