POLITICIANS DIDNT DO ENOUGH FOR RELATIVES
Politicians didn't do enough for relatives'
BYALANRODGERS
a.rodgers@ulsterherald.com
LEADING politicians who visited Omagh in the immediate aftermath of the bomb have been criticised for not doing enough to help bring those responsible for the atrocity to justice.
The comments are included in Kevin Skelton's new book 'Sent by An Angel' in which he recounts the visits by Prime Minister, Tony Blair, Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, the Secretary of State, Mo Mowlam and US President, Bill Clinton.
In the book, Mr Skelton accused those who had the power of "getting to the bottom of things' of not really 'giving a damn about the rest of us.'
"They were only ever concerned about their appearances in the papers and on TV," he says in the book.
"We meant nothing to them at the end of the day. They chatted with us, had their pictures taken for the papers and went home to their cosy little beds and slept well.
'We, on the other hand, were left to live through the hurt and the heartache and no one seemed to give a damn."
Mr Skelton also recounts the background to a decision he made to stop attending any ceremonies or functions in relation to the atrocity because of his annoyance at the behaviour of a small number of people while on a trip to Dublin to meet President Mary McAleese in November 1998.
"The trip was supposed to be in memory of the people we had lost and yet these fellas (who Mr Skelton accuses of being 'pissed drunk') took no notice of how we were feeling.
"All they cared about was how much drink they could get through on the way back.
"They had bought drink in the North before they got on the buses and it was simple a 'booze cruise' for them."
Mr Skelton's book is published this week by Poolbeg.
BYALANRODGERS
a.rodgers@ulsterherald.com
LEADING politicians who visited Omagh in the immediate aftermath of the bomb have been criticised for not doing enough to help bring those responsible for the atrocity to justice.
The comments are included in Kevin Skelton's new book 'Sent by An Angel' in which he recounts the visits by Prime Minister, Tony Blair, Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, the Secretary of State, Mo Mowlam and US President, Bill Clinton.
In the book, Mr Skelton accused those who had the power of "getting to the bottom of things' of not really 'giving a damn about the rest of us.'
"They were only ever concerned about their appearances in the papers and on TV," he says in the book.
"We meant nothing to them at the end of the day. They chatted with us, had their pictures taken for the papers and went home to their cosy little beds and slept well.
'We, on the other hand, were left to live through the hurt and the heartache and no one seemed to give a damn."
Mr Skelton also recounts the background to a decision he made to stop attending any ceremonies or functions in relation to the atrocity because of his annoyance at the behaviour of a small number of people while on a trip to Dublin to meet President Mary McAleese in November 1998.
"The trip was supposed to be in memory of the people we had lost and yet these fellas (who Mr Skelton accuses of being 'pissed drunk') took no notice of how we were feeling.
"All they cared about was how much drink they could get through on the way back.
"They had bought drink in the North before they got on the buses and it was simple a 'booze cruise' for them."
Mr Skelton's book is published this week by Poolbeg.
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH/1994
Published Date: 01-Apr-10
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