Omagh bombing survivor recalls split-second devastation which killed his friends
Ronan McGrory was injured in the attack which claimed the lives of his friends Shaun McLaughlin and Oran Doherty.
A survivor of the Omagh bombing has described the split-second devastation that claimed the lives of two of his young friends.
Shaun McLaughlin, 12, and Oran Doherty, eight, from Buncrana, Co Donegal as well as bride-to-be Esther Gibson, 36, from Beragh, Co Tyrone were remembered at the Omagh Bombing Inquiry on Monday.
The probe also heard for the first time in the commemorative hearings from a survivor of the Real IRA attack on the Co Tyrone town on August 15 1998.
It came at the start of the second of four weeks of commemorative hearings to give the families of the 29 victims an opportunity to pay tribute to their lost loved ones.
Ronan McGrory was left with serious physical injuries but also with psychological injuries and said he felt like survivors were “just left behind”.
He had been among a group of Irish school boys on a day trip with a group of Spanish students who had been attending a summer programme in Buncrana.
Shaun and Oran, along with James Barker, 12, and two Spaniards, a group leader, Rocio Abad Ramos, 23, and student, Fernando Blasco Baselga, 12, were all killed in the outrage.
The outing was to the Ulster American Folk Park just outside Omagh, but the leaders had agreed to let the children finish off the day with a look around the shops in town.
Mr McGrory said he had been 14 years old at the time and recalled a beautiful sunny day before the bomb went off.
In his statement to the inquiry, he said the only way he could describe it was like “being dead without knowing I was dead”.
He said he did not remember any particular sounds, just that he woke up holding a holy medal tightly in his hand and the day had transformed from beautiful and sunny to smoke.
He also said he did not think the boys who died would have had “the faintest idea of what happened”.
Later, in hospital, he learned of the death of his friends on the television news which he described as the “worst moment of his life”.
In his statement he said he was “overcome by instant guilt”.
“We were the older ones and we were supposed to look after the younger ones, including Oran and James. I remember crying inconsolably. The funerals had already taken place,” he said, and replied yes when asked whether the moment changed his life.
“There was never any help. You were just left behind.”
Mr McGrory closed his statement to the inquiry saying memories continue to haunt him and that he “resents that fact” that he had the chance to live his life, while Shaun did not.
“Every day I think about the bomb and it never leaves me,” he said.
“I dearly miss my friend Shaun and I resent the fact his life was taken from him too soon.”
He also said he was never able to get the names of those who rescued him to say thank you, and would like to thank them.
Inquiry chairman Lord Turnbull thanked Mr McGrory for coming forward and being the first survivor of the bomb to give evidence to the public hearings.
Across the day at the Strule Arts Centre, the inquiry heard from the families of the two young boys and Miss Gibson.
A statement written by Shaun’s mother Patricia was read to the inquiry by her sister Marjorie McDaid, recalling her son as a happy boy who was excited to be going on the trip to Omagh with his friends.
His mother then described the harrowing hours after the blast and the devastating moment the bus arrived back in Buncrana and her son was not on it.
“I sat and watched all the other children get off the bus, but Shaun never got off the bus,” his mother said.
The statement recalled people lining the streets of towns on the journey to bring Shaun’s body back to Buncrana days after the bombing.
His mother also described his funeral as a “total farce”, as she expressed frustration that dignitaries appeared to be prioritised ahead of grieving families.
“There were too many important people there from the political parties, they all even had reserved seats, but there was no reserved seats for the three families who were burying their children,” she said.
Reflecting on the years since the bombing, Mrs McLaughlin described the long-lasting impact on the family, especially Shaun’s younger siblings Elaine and Christopher.
“It seems like a lifetime since I held him,” she added.
“If somebody had said to me before I lost a child that you will feel exactly the same 26 years later, I wouldn’t have believed them. I would have thought maybe a couple of years that you would be broken-hearted, but that you will still move on. It’s going to have to ease. But it just doesn’t.”
Mrs McLaughlin wrote of the “constant” and “relentless” battle to find answers as to what happened around the bombing.
“None of the families deserve what happened that day, but how each of us, in our own way, have had to fight for answers is just awful,” she said.
“It makes me angry at times. I hope that this inquiry will provide the answers as to what happened that day, and hopefully that the cost of Shaun’s life and all those other lives so tragically lost can provide some hope for us all.
“We have not gotten over things completely. We never will, but we have learned to live with it. Some days are, of course, harder than others. My firstborn baby will always be in our minds and in our hearts.”
Mrs McLaughlin said her son personified the “hope of peace” on the island of Ireland following the Good Friday Agreement of April 1998.
She said her son had written a poem about the peace accord that he presented to then-president of Ireland Mary McAleese.
The poem was read to the inquiry.
It reads: “Orange and green, it doesn’t matter;
“United now, don’t shatter our dream;
“Scatter the seeds of peace over our land;
“So we can travel hand in hand across the bridge of hope.”
A song that used Shaun’s poem for part of its lyrics, which was recorded by the Omagh Community Choir, was then played to the inquiry as images of Shaun were displayed.
Lord Turnbull paid tribute to the “strength” Mrs McLaughlin had demonstrated in writing her statement.
“In that statement, Mrs McLaughlin has described, in the clearest way, the lasting impact on a mother of the senseless loss of her firstborn son, a child who was killed before he even reached his teenage years,” he said.
“Mrs McLaughlin’s statement and the pictures which we’ve been shown bring to our attention the life of a happy young boy living in a supportive and loving family.
“Her statement also so vividly tells us of the harm and pain inflicted not just on Mrs McLaughlin, but on Shaun’s brother and sister as well.
“The experiences which Mrs McLaughlin has described and which other witnesses have spoken of in similar ways will be simply incomprehensible to those with no first-hand knowledge of the Omagh bombing.
“Listening to this evidence will make it abundantly clear why these sessions are so important.”
