Latest news with #PaddyQuinn
The Independent
17-02-2025
- The Independent
Omagh families ‘woefully let down' by police, father of victim tells inquiry
The families of those bereaved in the Omagh bombing were 'woefully let down' by a poor police investigation, the father of a boy killed in the explosion has said. Victor Barker told the Omagh Bombing Inquiry that his son James's life had been taken away from him in the most 'evil and barbaric fashion'. James Barker was 12 when he was killed in the bombing. Twenty-nine people, including a woman pregnant with twins, were killed when the Real IRA bombed the Co Tyrone town in August 1998. A public inquiry, being held at the Strule Arts Centre, has been hearing personal statements from those affected by the massacre. Appearing via a remote link, Mr Barker said: 'Like so many thousands of others who have lost loved ones in the Troubles, I have some very dark moments. 'But I have done all I can to bring some kind of justice for James and everyone else. 'We have been woefully let down by a very poorly conducted police investigation and, I might add, a chief constable in Sir Ronnie Flanagan who, in my view, fell well short of the mark. 'The civil case has taken a great deal out of so many families. 'James had his life taken away from him in the most evil and barbaric fashion and he was robbed of his bright and happy future. 'I sometimes doubt whether he has the same human rights as the terrorists. 'We should all remember that pain has no nationality and no borders, but neither does the love of the human heart.' Concluding the proceedings for Monday, counsel to the inquiry Paul Greaney KC said that Tracey Devine, who was severely injured in the explosion which killed her daughter Breda, had died on Saturday. He said the inquiry would not sit during her funeral on Tuesday. Earlier, the inquiry had heard from emergency service workers who had been in Omagh on the day of the explosion. Richard Quigley told the inquiry that he was a young paramedic and Omagh was the first explosion he had ever attended. He gave evidence that he had helped to transfer dead victims in body bags from the scene to a temporary mortuary. He said: 'I recall seeing the number of body bags laid out and each had its own area. All in rows. 'The size of the gym and the number of the body bags on the floor was something that should only have been seen in a movie.' People had died there, people were injured there. I couldn't walk over it, I couldn't drive over it Firefighter Paddy Quinn The inquiry also heard from firefighter Paddy Quinn, who said he has never forgotten his experiences from attending the bomb scene. Recalling for years how he had struggled to return to the site, he said: 'I couldn't drive it, I couldn't walk it. 'I would go right round the town, no matter where I was, and enter through George's Street and down past the courthouse to avoid it. ' People had died there, people were injured there. I couldn't walk over it, I couldn't drive over it.' Mr Greaney read statements from three survivors of the attack, Maeve O'Brien, her sister Dervlagh, and Damian Murphy. Maeve O'Brien was 13 and had been shopping in Omagh on the day of the attack. She said people were moved to Market Street, where the bomb exploded, but her grandmother said they should move to another location. She said this was the reason she and her family were not physically harmed. Even now, in 2024, I can viscerally remember the sound of the bomb - the strange electrical smell and the haze coming from Market Street Omagh bombing survivor Maeve O'Brien Her statement said: 'My life has been divided into a time of living before and after the Omagh bomb. 'It was the end of childhood and the final loss of innocence for me. 'Even now, in 2024, I can viscerally remember the sound of the bomb, the strange electrical smell and the haze coming from Market Street.' She added: 'I remember the panic and fear in everyone's movements after the initial blast. 'I have a true understanding of the saying your blood running cold.' Her sister, Dervlagh, was eight years old on the day the bomb exploded. She recalled the power of the blast causing her to fall to the ground and crawling underneath a car for safety. She said the subsequent scenes of devastation in the town have had a lifelong impact on her. She said: 'In my 20s I developed panic attacks. 'I took myself to Omagh minor injuries unit, as I believed I was having a heart attack.' She added: 'I feel my experience will have a lifelong negative impact on the quality of my life.' The screams and smells were overwhelming. I first saw people come past me with loads of bleeding Omagh bombing survivor Damian Murphy Mr Murphy was training to be a teacher in 1998 and had gone into Omagh to send some emails. He said the bomb exploded as he reached the town's library. 'I came back through the smoke and dust to Lower Market Street,' he said. 'The screams and smells were overwhelming. 'I first saw people come past me with loads of bleeding.' He said he met three Spanish girls who were bleeding and he gave them paper towels. 'I was somewhat dazed as I entered what looked like Market Street. My immediate thought was to get people out of here. 'I jumped in a window and grabbed a chair. I saw a policeman. I shouted at him and said 'Come on, let's get people out of here'. 'We put people on the chair and lifted them down for easier access to cars and ambulances. 'I can't remember how many times we did this.'
The Independent
17-02-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Firefighter says he has never witnessed anything like Omagh bomb in 30 years
One of the first firefighters to respond to the Omagh bombing said he has never witnessed anything in three decades which comes close to the scenes of devastation on the day. Paddy Quinn told the Omagh Bombing Inquiry that he has never revealed to his wife what he witnessed on the day, and for years avoided returning to the site. The inquiry at the Strule Arts Centre in the Co Tyrone town is continuing to hear personal statements from witnesses and people affected by the Real IRA bombing in August 1998. Until I wrote this personal statement, my wife had not known what that day was Paddy Quinn The public inquiry was set up by the Government to examine whether the explosion, which killed 29 people, including the mother of unborn twins, could have been prevented by the UK authorities. Mr Quinn was a part-time firefighter on the day of the bombing and is currently temporary district commander for the Omagh district in the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service. He told the inquiry that he and his colleagues did not speak much to each other after they had attended the explosion. He said: 'It seemed they just wanted to go back to their families, to be with their families.' Mr Quinn added: 'Until I wrote this personal statement, my wife had not known what that day was.' Referring to the impact on his colleagues, he said: 'Some of the firefighters had far worse experiences than me. 'A firefighter from another station lost a member of his family. 'Some to this day still need support for what they experienced.' Mr Quinn said he had avoided the Market Street area in the Co Tyrone town, where the car bomb exploded, for years. He said: 'I couldn't drive it, I couldn't walk it. 'I would go right round the town, no matter where I was and enter through George's Street and down past the courthouse to avoid it. 'People had died there, people were injured there. I couldn't walk over it, I couldn't drive over it.' He said his wife had eventually encouraged him to return to the scene. He said: 'One day she managed to get me to walk it. I imagined where we worked was a lot longer, it was very short, a short distance. That surprised me. 'I remembered that every time I avoided it, I remembered the day and the scene. 'But even now that I can drive and walk it, I still remember as I walk past it. My mind goes back to that day.' Mr Quinn told the inquiry that he has now trained as a critical incident stress management facilitator, to help other firefighters deal with trauma. He said: 'Now I regularly help others, so they can understand the emotional trauma and stress they have experienced and help them with that. 'I am using my experience to help them.' He said: 'My experience of the Omagh bomb, along with other incidents, helped me to support and understand others who may have been impacted by attending incidents that have the potential to cause emotional trauma.' I think that is obvious from the fact you have retained such vivid and upsetting memories, even after all the years that have passed Lord Turnbull Mr Quinn added: 'In these 29 years I have attended many tragic and horrendous incidents, but nothing I have responded to since the Omagh bomb has ever come anywhere close.' Inquiry chairman Lord Turnbull said: 'The tasks which you and your colleagues attended to on that day must have placed an intolerable strain on each of you. 'I think that is obvious from the fact you have retained such vivid and upsetting memories, even after all the years that have passed.'
The Independent
17-02-2025
- The Independent
Omagh first responders recall scenes which ‘should only be seen in a movie'
Emergency service workers have been giving evidence to the Omagh Bombing Inquiry, describing scenes which 'should only have been seen in a movie'. Twenty-nine people, including a woman pregnant with twins, were killed when the Real IRA bombed the Co Tyrone town in August 1998. A public inquiry, being held at the Strule Arts Centre, has been hearing personal statements from those affected by the massacre. Richard Quiqley told the inquiry that he was a young paramedic and Omagh was the first explosion he had ever attended. He gave evidence that he had helped to transfer dead victims in body bags from the scene to a temporary morgue. He said: 'I recall seeing the number of body bags laid out and each had its own area. All in rows. 'The size of the gym and the number of the body bags on the floor was something that should only have been seen in a movie.' People had died there, people were injured there. I couldn't walk over it, I couldn't drive over it Firefighter Paddy Quinn The inquiry also heard from firefighter Paddy Quinn, who said he has never forgotten his experiences from attending the bomb scene. Recalling for years how he had struggled to return to the site, he said: 'I couldn't drive it, I couldn't walk it. 'I would go right round the town, no matter where I was, and enter through George's Street and down past the courthouse to avoid it. ' People had died there, people were injured there. I couldn't walk over it, I couldn't drive over it.' Later, counsel to the inquiry Paul Greaney KC read statements from three survivors of the attack – Maeve O'Brien, her sister Dervlagh, and Damian Murphy. Maeve O'Brien was 13 and had been shopping in Omagh on the day of the attack. She said people were moved to Market Street, where the bomb exploded, but her grandmother said they should move to another location. She said this was the reason she and her family were not physically harmed. Even now, in 2024, I can viscerally remember the sound of the bomb - the strange electrical smell and the haze coming from Market Street Omagh bombing survivor Maeve O'Brien Her statement said: 'My life has been divided into a time of living before and after the Omagh bomb. 'It was the end of childhood and the final loss of innocence for me. 'Even now, in 2024, I can viscerally remember the sound of the bomb – the strange electrical smell and the haze coming from Market Street.' She added: 'I remember the panic and fear in everyone's movements after the initial blast. 'I have a true understanding of the saying your blood running cold.' Her sister, Dervlagh, was eight years old on the day the bomb exploded. She recalled the power of the blast causing her to fall to the ground and crawling underneath a car for safety. She said the subsequent scenes of devastation in the town have had a lifelong impact on her. She said: 'In my 20s I developed panic attacks. 'I took myself to Omagh minor injuries unit, as I believed I was having a heart attack.' She added: 'I feel my experience will have a lifelong negative impact on the quality of my life.' The screams and smells were overwhelming. I first saw people come past me with loads of bleeding Omagh bombing survivor Damian Murphy Mr Murphy was training to be a teacher in 1998 and had gone into Omagh to send some emails. He said the bomb exploded as he reached the town's library. 'I came back through the smoke and dust to Lower Market Street,' he said. 'The screams and smells were overwhelming. 'I first saw people come past me with loads of bleeding.' He said he met three Spanish girls who were bleeding and he gave them paper towels. 'I was somewhat dazed as I entered what looked like Market Street. My immediate thought was to get people out of here. 'I jumped in a window and grabbed a chair. I saw a policeman. I shouted at him and said 'Come on, let's get people out of here. 'We put people on the chair and lifted them down for easier access to cars and ambulances. 'I can't remember how many times we did this.'
Yahoo
17-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Firefighter describes 'chaos and devastation' after bomb
Warning: This story contains distressing details A firefighter who attended the scene of the Omagh bomb has likened its aftermath to an image from the Vietnam War. Paddy Quinn, who is a current commander for the Northern Ireland Fire Service in the Omagh district, was giving evidence to the inquiry into the 1998 Real IRA bombing. Twenty-nine people were killed, including nine children, a woman pregnant with twins, and three generations of one family when the explosion ripped through the County Tyrone town. Mr Quinn, an on-call officer at the time, told the inquiry that in his 29 years as a firefighter nothing he had responded to since the Omagh bomb has "ever come anywhere close". He heard the explosion while working at his carpet shop and was the first to arrive at the fire station. Mr Quinn said none of the firefighters were anxious as there was no mentions of casualties and they assumed the area had been cleared. He thought they were going to be dealing with damaged buildings and clearing debris or possibly a fire. He was on the first fire engine to go to Market Street and arrived at a scene of "total chaos, devastation, carnage". Referring to a famous photograph from the Vietnam War, he said: "There was a cloud dust and there was a young girl running across the road terrified, and that's just the image I have of people from Omagh." He described to the inquiry the look of "disbelief" and "concern" on the faces of his fire service colleagues. He said they were local firefighters working in their home town, who were worried their own family members had been caught up in the bomb. "They were asking where is my wife, my son, my daughter?" he said. "But they continued to do the job they were called to do and that was help others and search for others." He recalled helping an injured woman onto an Ulsterbus and the floor of the bus was red with blood rather than blue. Paddy Quinn referred to a saying within the fire service, which he said applies to his and others' experience at Omagh. "The saying is: "The firefighter may leave the incident, but the incident doesn't leave the firefighter'," he told the inquiry. He explained that he has now been trained to provide help and advice to his colleagues in critical incident stress management and emotional trauma. Paramedic Richard Quigley travelled to the scene from Altnagelvin Hospital. When he arrived he said it was "oddly quiet" as patients had already been moved to hospital. He remembered the smell of beer flowing down the street from the remains of a bar opposite the bomb site. He said it was the first explosion he had attended and he was involved in recovering bodies which had been moved into shops and an alleyway. "We had used all the bags we had," he said, and had to source more from the fire service and military." The bags were then placed onto stretchers. "I physically checked the body bags to see if I could identify which end was the head or legs. "What shocked me was not being able to clearly identify either the head or the feet of the patients." The remains were then transported to a temporary morgue at a nearby army camp. Mr Quigley said: "I recall seeing the number of body bags laid out and each had its own area, all in rows with a chair at the end. "The size of the gym and the number of the body bags on the floor was something that should only have been seen in a movie." Mr Quigley said he had not been able to return to Market Street or visit the memorial garden. "I can still remember the smell of beer from the street corner. "Will I ever walk through the alleyway were the bodies had been laid end to end? Probably never. "Should I? Maybe I would get closure. "I will never forget that day as it is my sister's birthday and will always trigger memories." Later on Monday, the inquiry will hear from the family of James Barker, a 12-year-old student at Buncrana Primary School, who was killed in the attack while on a school trip. His family previously described him as a "happy boy with an infectious smile". His mother, Donna Maria Barker, relocated to England 18 months after the explosion and James's body was then reburied at his former school in Weybridge in Surrey. She said she "never realised how green his eyes were" until she had to identify his body, adding: "That image will stay with me for the rest of my life." The bomb that devastated Omagh town centre in August 1998 was the biggest single atrocity in the history of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. It came less than three months after the people of Northern Ireland had voted yes to the Good Friday Agreement. Three days after the attack, the Real IRA released a statement claiming responsibility for the explosion. It apologised to "civilian" victims and said its targets had been commercial. Almost 27 years on, no-one has been convicted of carrying out the murders by a criminal court. In 2009, a judge ruled that four men - Michael McKevitt, Liam Campbell, Colm Murphy and Seamus Daly were all liable for the Omagh bomb. The four men were ordered to pay a total of £1.6m in damages to the relatives, but appeals against the ruling delayed the compensation process. A fifth man, Seamus McKenna, was acquitted in the civil action and later died in a roofing accident in 2013. Omagh bomb: The 29 victims Omagh bomb: Timeline of families' bid for justice Survivor says 'world stood still' after bomb went off
Yahoo
17-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Firefighter says he has never witnessed anything like Omagh bomb in 30 years
One of the first firefighters to respond to the Omagh bombing said he has never witnessed anything in three decades which comes close to the scenes of devastation on the day. Paddy Quinn told the Omagh Bombing Inquiry that he has never revealed to his wife what he witnessed on the day, and for years avoided returning to the site. The inquiry at the Strule Arts Centre in the Co Tyrone town is continuing to hear personal statements from witnesses and people affected by the Real IRA bombing in August 1998. The public inquiry was set up by the Government to examine whether the explosion, which killed 29 people, including the mother of unborn twins, could have been prevented by the UK authorities. Mr Quinn was a part-time firefighter on the day of the bombing and is currently temporary district commander for the Omagh district in the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service. He told the inquiry that he and his colleagues did not speak much to each other after they had attended the explosion. He said: 'It seemed they just wanted to go back to their families, to be with their families.' Mr Quinn added: 'Until I wrote this personal statement, my wife had not known what that day was.' Referring to the impact on his colleagues, he said: 'Some of the firefighters had far worse experiences than me. 'A firefighter from another station lost a member of his family. 'Some to this day still need support for what they experienced.' Mr Quinn said he had avoided the Market Street area in the Co Tyrone town, where the car bomb exploded, for years. He said: 'I couldn't drive it, I couldn't walk it. 'I would go right round the town, no matter where I was and enter through George's Street and down past the courthouse to avoid it. 'People had died there, people were injured there. I couldn't walk over it, I couldn't drive over it.' He said his wife had eventually encouraged him to return to the scene. He said: 'One day she managed to get me to walk it. I imagined where we worked was a lot longer, it was very short, a short distance. That surprised me. 'I remembered that every time I avoided it, I remembered the day and the scene. 'But even now that I can drive and walk it, I still remember as I walk past it. My mind goes back to that day.' Mr Quinn told the inquiry that he has now trained as a critical incident stress management facilitator, to help other firefighters deal with trauma. He said: 'Now I regularly help others, so they can understand the emotional trauma and stress they have experienced and help them with that. 'I am using my experience to help them.' He said: 'My experience of the Omagh bomb, along with other incidents, helped me to support and understand others who may have been impacted by attending incidents that have the potential to cause emotional trauma.' Mr Quinn added: 'In these 29 years I have attended many tragic and horrendous incidents, but nothing I have responded to since the Omagh bomb has ever come anywhere close.' Inquiry chairman Lord Turnbull said: 'The tasks which you and your colleagues attended to on that day must have placed an intolerable strain on each of you. 'I think that is obvious from the fact you have retained such vivid and upsetting memories, even after all the years that have passed.'
