Omagh Bombing Inquiry: Buncrana survivor tells how beautiful day changed to 'the darkest day ever'

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A Buncrana man who was severely injured in the Omagh bombing as a teenager has told an Inquiry how it ‘never leaves’ him.

Ronan McGrory was the first of the survivors of the August 15, 1998 bombing to speak at the Omagh Bombing Inquiry on Monday.

He was just 14 years old when he travelled from Buncrana to Omagh on a day trip with Spanish students and local young people.

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Ronan’s best friend was Shaun McLaughlin, who was tragically killed in the bombing and the two travelled on the trip together, along with Oran Doherty (8) who was also killed and another friend, Emmett McLaughlin, who was also eight at the time.

The then Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and the late John Hume sign the Book of Condolence in Buncrana following the Omagh bombing in 1998.The then Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and the late John Hume sign the Book of Condolence in Buncrana following the Omagh bombing in 1998.
The then Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and the late John Hume sign the Book of Condolence in Buncrana following the Omagh bombing in 1998.

Ronan’s statement told how they were ‘having the craic’ at the Ulster American Folk Park and the sun was shining.

They went into Omagh to do some shopping and Shaun wanted to buy something for his mammy.

As they were finishing up their shopping, the boys, including James Barker, were told by police to move from where they were. The boys were stood beside the car that was carrying the bomb when it went off.

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Ronan said: “The only way I am able to describe the impact is that it felt like I was dead without knowing I was dead.

The initial stage of the Omagh Bombing Inquiry has opened in the County Tyrone town. Picture By: Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press.The initial stage of the Omagh Bombing Inquiry has opened in the County Tyrone town. Picture By: Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press.
The initial stage of the Omagh Bombing Inquiry has opened in the County Tyrone town. Picture By: Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press.

He said he did not remember any particular sounds.

“All I remember is that I had woke up and all of a sudden it had gone from being a beautiful sunny day to the darkest day ever."

He remembers then shouting for help and was rescued by a policeman.

Ronan added: “There was a holy medal placed into my hand, but I don't know where it came from, and I was still holding it and they were trying to take it out of my hand, and they couldn't get my hand released to let go of it.”

To this day, he does not know where the medal came from.

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Ronan said he did not think the boys he was with, who died, would have known anything about what had happened.

Ronan suffered serious physical injuries as a result of the bomb.

He found out about his friends’ deaths while watching TV in hospital, which, he said, was the ‘worst moment’ of his life.

"I just remember crying inconsolably particularly because I knew the funerals had already taken place."

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Ronan was due to begin secondary school a few weeks after the bombing but this had to be delayed. He told how, when he did start, he found it hard to concentrate and the bombing had a deep effect on him for the rest of his life.

He said sport helped him during that period and in his teenage years.

The Inquiry heard that Ronan’s injuries have followed him into adult life and it took until 20 years after the bombing to start bereavement support and counselling for psychological injuries.

“And it was something that I had to do myself because there was, there was never any help since the day it happened from nobody; you were just left behind.”

Ronan said that he finds the anniversary of the bombing very difficult each year.

He also regularly thinks of the policeman who saved him, and his wife, who was a nurse in the hospital.

"I always thought of them but I never got their names or anything like that, really, to say thank you just.”

"Everyday I think about the bomb and it never leaves me. I do not think it will ever leave me.”

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"The trauma and injuries have continued to haunt me, and this can be very exhausting.

"I dearly miss my friend Shaun and I resent the fact that I had the chance to live my life and reach every life milestone that I have. I resent the fact that his life was taken from him too soon and that he did not get a chance to live his life fully."

Chairperson Lord Turnbull thanked Ronan for his ‘strength in being prepared to recount the events of that day’.

“It's very clear from your evidence that the effects of the bombing have been both powerful and long lasting, at times, they appear to have been overwhelming, so it was very generous of you to agree to explain the horrors of that day to the Inquiry and your fortitude in doing is most commendable.”

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