Omagh bombing 25 years on: ‘They laid a rose for their granny that they never met’

In this part of Omagh library, it is always 25 years ago.

To walk through the door into the Omagh bomb archive is to step back in time, to August 15th 1998. A laminated copy of a photograph of the clock above the courthouse, stopped at 3.10pm – the time the bomb exploded – marks the moment everything changed.

Thirty-one people, including unborn twins, died when the Real IRA car bomb exploded in the town centre. Nobody has ever been charged with their murders.

In this cool, quiet room, everything has been kept, from artwork and newspaper clippings to Christmas cards and emails of support.

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After the bomb, the town council asked the library to gather everything together. It handed over 800 books of condolence, which range from thick volumes from councils on both sides of the Border – Coleraine and Dungannon, Cork and Kilkenny – to single sheets of paper.

There are messages from the United States and Canada, from businesses, sports clubs, and residents groups; from the staff at Tesco in Lisnagelvin in Derry, and more than 1,000 Aer Lingus employees and from Carlow rugby club to their compatriots at Omagh Academicals.

“This is the one that always catches my eye,” said Edwin Johnston, the district manager of Libraries NI in the Fermanagh and Omagh area. “It’s just an A4 sheet, five lines of text, sent by one of the social work departments in the Eastern Health Board.”

When you look at the people gathered here, what is very clear is the intergenerational nature of those affected by the bomb

He points out another, from the residents of Charlemont Street, Dublin 2. “To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die,” it reads.

“That’s thing about Omagh, it’s a typical Irish town, Northern Irish town, there’s nobody wasn’t affected by it.”

Perhaps more poignant are the cards from 3,000 bouquets of flowers which were left in the town in the aftermath of the bombing; each one has been laminated and safely stored.

“Expressing bottomless grief from Australia to Dundalk to Omagh,” reads one; another says simply, “There are no words. You will all be missed. God Bless.”

Maybe the archive “will bring some comfort to some of the people involved at the time,” said Johnston, “and maybe in the future it will be of use to them, and it will also be of use to people who are studying the conflict or Ireland. Maybe one day it will make sense to somebody.”

On Tuesday, people struggled to make sense of it all. Families gathered in the library for a private service organised by Families Moving On before walking the few hundred yards to Market Street, and the glass obelisk which stands at the spot the bomb detonated.

Each carried a single white rose which they laid them at the foot of the memorial before standing for a prayer; both sides of the street were filled with those who had come to pay their respects.

“There’s the same amount of people standing about as there were that afternoon,” said Richard Scott, a former police officer who was one of the first on the scene.

He helped recover bodies from the street and laid them in a nearby alleyway; he has brought a wreath to place there.

“I’m thinking of the waste, the carnage and the waste. This is a day for the families, and for the other people who were here, the police, ambulance, fire service. My heart goes out to all of them.”

Dominic McElholm, the former principal of Christ the King primary school in Omagh, who had come in honour of two past pupils who died in the blast, Aiden Gallagher and Brenda Logue. “It was just a terrible day.”

Speaking afterwards Kevin Skelton – whose wife Philomena was among the victims – explained he had come with his two grandchildren. “They laid a rose for their granny that they never met,” he said.

“I was so surprised when we came round the corner, and we saw so many people [waiting along the street] – it just shows people have not forgotten.”

“When you look at the people gathered here, what is very clear is the intergenerational nature of those affected by the bomb,” said Kenny Donaldson from victims and survivors group the South East Fermanagh Foundation.

Referring to the statutory inquiry which has been ordered by the UK government, he said what was now important is that there is “the fullest co-operation and disclosure from both nation states if we are to get the full picture of what happened.”

Mr Skelton appealed to the Irish government – which says it is awaiting the finalised terms of reference from the British inquiry before deciding on its “next steps” – to hold its own, separate inquiry.

“Unless the southern government is involved, it’s a waste of time,” he said. “This is time for them to step up to the plate.”

In a statement, Tánaiste Micheal Martin said that the State will co-operate fully with a UK inquiry into the Omagh bombing, which he described as “one of the most brutal atrocities ever witnessed on this island”.

Draft terms of reference for the inquiry have been shared with the Irish Government but Mr Martin said it is his understanding that chairman Lord Turnbull intends to seek the views of “those most affected” by the bombing before they are published.

Mr Martin, who is also Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence, added: “Officials stand ready to engage with members of the UK’s inquiry team as soon as they are appointed.”

“When we have further clarity on the nature of the UK inquiry, I will then consider, along with the Minister for Justice (Helen McEntee) and my Cabinet colleagues, the next steps in this jurisdiction.

“Justice for the victims and the families impacted by this atrocity will be at the heart of any action that the Government takes.”

In a message released to mark the 25th anniversary of the bombing, President Michael D Higgins offered “our support for the relatives’ quest for the truth” and said it was “so important for all involved that these truths be established fully and fairly, if we are to enable truly ethical remembrance as might assist reconciliation.”

Twenty-five years on, there are again flowers on the street in Omagh. As the crowd ebbed away, the white roses remained, heaped at the foot of the obelisk as people went about their afternoon.

“There is great dignity in Omagh, and there is great hurt as well,” said Robert Scott, the Lord Lieut of Co Tyrone. “It is going to take a long time.”

“Solidarity,” said Fr Eugene Hassan, is what is strongest in Omagh. He and his co-chair on the Omagh Churches Forum, Rev Canon Robert Clarke were both present on the day of the bomb. On Tuesday, they led the service and the walk to the memorial.

“We are still in unity,” said Rev Clarke. “It didn’t divide ... the community was together before the bomb, and maybe even more so afterwards. Love permeated everywhere, as opposed to hatred.”