Introduction to the Omagh bombing, 15 August 1998

Ironically, the worst single atrocity of thirty years of conflict in Ireland occurred at the point of highest hope during those years. The Good Friday Agreement had been signed just 13 weeks before. The massacre, caused by a 'Real' IRA car bomb, claimed the lives of 29 innocent civilians. Although the effects of the bomb on the victims and their families were catastrophic, the atrocity made politicans more determined than ever to make the process work: the opposite from what was intended by the murderers.

It is worth quoting a report from the time of the bomb: "The Omagh fatality list reads like a microcosm of troubles deaths, and left no section of Irish life untouched. The town they attacked is roughly 60-40 Catholic-Protestant, and the dead consisted of Protestants, Catholics, a Mormon and two Spanish visitors. They killed young, old and middle-aged, fathers, mothers, sons, daughters and grannies. They killed republicans and unionists, including a prominent local member of the Ulster Unionist Party. They killed people from the backbone of the Gaelic Athletic Association. They killed unborn twins, bright students, cheery shop assistants and many young people. They killed three children from the Irish Republic who were up north on a day trip. Everyone they killed was a civilian. The toll of death was thus both extraordinarily high and extraordinarily comprehensive."

This section of the site is dedicated to memory of those who perished in my home town. It is hoped that through these pages, others will come to recognise what happens to families when violence is used to solve political disputes.

We hope you have the time to read all of this section. However, if time is short, we recommend you at least read the sections "The event described by victims and witnesses" and "Those who died".

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