The father of one of those killed in the Omagh bomb attack has spoken of the toll that years of campaigning had on his life and family, saying he wanted to put faces to the victims.
Michael Gallagher’s son Aiden was killed in the 1998 dissident republican car bomb which exploded in the centre of the Co Tyrone town on a busy Saturday afternoon.
Aiden, a 21-year-old mechanic, was one of 29 people who lost their lives on the day.
Mr Gallagher became a “figurehead” for many of those affected by the Omagh bombing after he chaired a group set up to help grieving families.
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In the second week of commemorative hearings for the victims, Omagh Bombing Inquiry chairman Lord Turnbull told Mr Gallagher that he is known to governments around the world, as well as senior politicians, and was recently praised by Tánaiste Simon Harris due to his campaigning work.
Mr Gallagher told the inquiry that the work involved a lot of travel and time away from his family.
He also described how it was “heartbreaking” to watch everyone in his family grieve and that following Aiden’s death there was “no joy, no laughter” in their family home.
He said that Aiden’s chair remained empty, and “part of us empty too”.
Speaking about his campaigning work in the years after the bomb, he said it took over his life.
“If I have a regret, I would have to say that I would have liked to, and probably should have, spent more time with my own family and less campaigning,” he told the inquiry. “But, it seems to be the way that things worked out.
“If there’s a consolation in all of that, it’s the fact that we are here today, and I’ve sat through all of the testimonies that I’ve heard, and it has moved me enormously.
“I feel to put a human face to the person rather than a statistic, I think that’s been one of the consolations, even if we achieve no more than that. But I do hope that we will continue to answer some of the very difficult questions that we haven’t had answers to so far.”
Aiden had a wide group of friends who came from different backgrounds, which was particularly evident during his wake and funeral. “We live in a country that there’s a lot of division, bigotry on both sides, but we never allowed that to penetrate our family,” said Mr Gallagher.
He said that Aiden was the joker of his friendship group.
“There’s no question about it. He enjoyed fun. He enjoyed company, enjoyed being with people.
“He was fun to be with. He was sensitive to others.”
Aiden also shared a special bond with his mother, Patsy. The inquiry was told that she dealt with Aiden’s killing “inwardly”.
Mr Gallagher, whose brother was shot dead by republican paramilitaries, said that following the signing of the Belfast Agreement, he thought a new chapter was beginning in Irish history “where people could live together and play together and enjoy and appreciate each other’s company”.
Speaking about the day of the bomb, he said that he last saw his son at their family home hours before the blast.
He said that Aiden left to go into town to meet a friend to buy a pair of jeans.
Describing his last moments with his son, Mr Gallagher added: “We had what I would describe as a pleasant conversation. In fact, I remember telling him where to park the car that would be convenient to the shop he was going to.
“He turned around and he walked down the hall, and I remember he looked back for the last time and he said, ‘I won’t be long.’ And that was really the last time we seen Aiden.”
Hours later, Mr Gallagher was at a makeshift mortuary identifying his son’s body.
He said that telling his family that Aiden would not be coming home was “extremely painful and difficult” but that the response from the public to Aiden’s death helped restore their faith in human nature.
- PA
