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Omagh - The Legacy: Ten Years On
It's 10 years since the Real IRA car bomb exploded in the market
town of Omagh on Saturday 15 August 1998.
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It was the worst
single terrorist atrocity in the history of the conflict in
Northern Ireland, claiming the lives of 29 people and unborn
twins. More than 300 were injured.
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91Èȱ¬ Northern Ireland marks this anniversary with two special
documentaries over two nights.
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Omagh – The Legacy was first screened in 1999 and will be shown
again on Wednesday 13 August 2008 on 91Èȱ¬ One Northern Ireland at 10.45pm.
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Filmed over eight months and made by Iain Webster of Network
Media for 91Èȱ¬ Northern Ireland, the documentary followed the
courageous and often heartbreaking struggle back to health of two
of the many young people who were injured.
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Claire Gallagher (15) from Omagh lost her sight in the explosion
and nine-year-old Stephen Coyle from Strabane suffered massive
internal injuries and lost a major part of his shoulder. He faced
more than a dozen operations.
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The film catalogued the weeks of pain and the long road back to
health for both young people.
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Now, to mark the 10th anniversary of the bomb, Iain Webster has
revisited Claire and Stephen to see how they have coped over the
years.
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Omagh – The Legacy: Ten Years On is on Thursday 14ÌýAugust on 91Èȱ¬
One Northern Ireland at 10.35pm.
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Claire was in Omagh with her school friends on the day her life
changed forever.
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She now works as a counsellor with the Royal National Institute
for the Blind (RNIB), helping people whose sight is failing.
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She
talks openly about coming to terms with her loss of sight
following the explosion.
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Claire says: "I've tried to make the most of my life and I know
that other people have found it very difficult and are still
finding it very difficult to come to terms with everything.
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"Everybody just has their way of coping and my way of coping is to
get on with it."
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91Èȱ¬ Northern Ireland gained exclusive access to the biggest day
of Claire's life – her marriage to her fiance Ryan last October.
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Her father Seamus Gallagher says: "I think she copes brilliantly. There's
nothing gets in her way.
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"The way that she's going on and going
through college and now working, she's an unbelievable girl."
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Stephen Coyle and his girlfriend returned to the bomb scene last
month. His memories of the day remain as vivid as ever.
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He recalls: "I was just stepping off the kerb, the next minute
there was a flash and I was up in the air and it was like a flash
of heat. And I was thrown about the place. And I remember things
were coming into my body.
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"It was like someone shooting you with a
BB gun. You just feel like you're getting hit all over."
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After 10 years Stephen's injuries are mostly healed.
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He is now a
keen cyclist, competing regularly in competitions.
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He adds: "If I stop training for a while, I seem to get a sore
arm more often but when I'm training it seems to be fine. It does
help you.
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"It's like freedom, you can take yourself places. Just to feel
you can do something you feel proud that you were able to
achieve, something that other people might not be able to achieve
or won't try."
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Stephen is now learning to fly and has his heart set on becoming
a commercial pilot.
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He explains: "When I was out of hospital in
1999 the RAF flew me in a helicopter over Omagh. I was really
impressed and that's what made me think about flying as a career."
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Also featured in the documentary are moving interviews with the
families of Fernando Blasco Baselga (12) from Spain and James
Barker, also 12, whose family had moved from England to Buncrana
in search of a better quality of life.
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Manuel Blasco was hurt in a terrorist bomb attack in Madrid in
1992 but never thought his son Fernando faced any risk when he
sent him and his brother and sister to Ireland in 1998 to improve
their English.
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Fernando was one of two Spanish people killed in the Omagh
explosion.
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When asked, during an interview at their home in Spain, whether
he felt his son's death had played a part in the Peace Process,
Manuel Blasco replied: "Not Fernando's death itself.
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"But the fact
that there was a terrorist attack with that number of deaths, and
the amount of suffering and damage caused by it, made the two
sides in Ireland react.
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"As a result, everything has been calming down gradually and it
doesn't seem that Ireland is in a process of terror now, as it
was, not long ago."
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Fernando's mother Lucrecia Baselga recalls: "I read the
newspapers at the airport as I left for Belfast. They said a
Spanish person was missing and he was likely to be dead. I didn't
want to think it was my son.
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"When I arrived in Northern Ireland they took us to a room at the
airport and they told me Fernando was dead. It's like being
tortured, like someone ripping away a part of you.
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"My daughter
Lucrecia was injured and in hospital and we had to be strong for
her."
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Solicitor Victor Barker lost his son James in the explosion and
says: "The bomb had consequences for everyone. It certainly had
consequences for me and for my wife and for my children.
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"My
eldest daughter has perhaps learned to live with it. She of all
the three has probably dealt with it in the best way she can.
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"Human beings are different and if something affects them like a
bomb or a murder or a real tragedy in their lives people do react
differently.
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"My reaction was to come into work and put my head
down and get on with my life and try and deal with the other
aspects of what happened in terms of pursuing justice and looking
to the future."
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James's mother Donna-Maria Barker said: "I still think he is going to
walk in through that door. But no.
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"I've lost 10 years of my life
with the anger and the bitterness. I've lost 10 years of my
children growing up and I want to put that right for the next 10
years and I want to try and make good... somehow."
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Iain Webster of Holywood production company Network Media, who
produced, directed and filmed both documentaries, says: "Over
the 10 years I've kept in touch with Claire and Stephen.
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"They
faced terrible trauma and so did their families, but they have
both come through their ordeal with incredible bravery.
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"But both
Claire and Stephen realise that, despite their horrific injuries,
they were actually fortunate because so many other families lost
their loved ones.
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"It was important that this new documentary heard from some of
the bereaved relatives too.
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"Despite being from countries far
apart, Fernando and James had become firm friends that Summer.
Their deaths have tragically affected their families in different
ways and the 10th anniversary will have major significance for
them."
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Both documentaries are narrated by Liam Neeson.
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Omagh – The Legacy is on Wednesday 13 August on 91Èȱ¬ One Northern
Ireland at 10.45pm and Omagh – The Legacy: Ten Years On is on
Thursday 14 August on 91Èȱ¬ One Northern Ireland at 10.35pm.
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91Èȱ¬ Northern Ireland Press Office
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