The last thing Pauline Harte remembers from the afternoon of August 15th 1998 - in the moments before her life changed utterly - was reaching into her pocket to check for her bus fare home.
The 19-year-old art student was standing directly beside the car which exploded on Omagh’s busy shopping street that summer’s day in the late 1990s. Ms Harte spent months in hospital and suffered two amputations as a result of the injuries she sustained when a dissident republican bomb exploded in the Co Tyrone town.
Ms Harte is just one of survivors of the 1998 atrocity who has given evidence at the Omagh bombing Inquiry in recent weeks.
After describing her own horrific injuries, Ms Harte focused on the impact the bombing had on her family. “The fear and heartache of this period has never eased for them,” she said. “They have felt every bit of my pain, often they have felt it more as I had heavy pain relief for the physical injuries.
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“The bomb reverberated through everyone who has tended to me. It has left its mark on them inside. They absorbed my pain and I’m so grateful and sorry they did this for me.”
The inquiry which opened last month, has already heard from the families of those who died, survivors and from emergency service personnel who attended the scene.
It hopes to answer questions that have remained unanswered for more than 26 years - what happened on that day and could this atrocity have been prevented?
Today, on In The News, Irish Times Northern Editor Freya McClements reflects on the testimonies of the survivors of the single worst atrocity of the Northern Ireland Troubles.
Presented by Sorcha Pollak. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.
