SOME of the Stardust families have travelled to Omagh to support the loved ones of the 1998 Real IRA bombing’s victims and help them prepare pen portraits at the public inquiry, the Irish Sun has learned.
A hearing started in the Co Tyrone town into the worst terrorist attack in the history of the Troubles, which claimed the lives of 29 people, including a woman pregnant with twins.
No one has been convicted of the atrocity, which took place on August 15, 1998.
The public inquiry will feature family members and friends delivering pen portraits about the victims over the coming weeks.
Pen portraits were a vital part of the year-long Stardust inquests, which concluded last year when a jury ruled that the 48 young people who lost their lives in the 1981 Artane nightclub fire were unlawfully killed.
Gertrude Barrett, who lost her 17-year-old Michael in the blaze, Terry Kavanagh, the sister of Stardust victim Murtagh Kavanagh, and Lorraine Sorahan, whose sister Teresa McDonnell lost her life in the St Valentine’s Day disaster 44 years ago, have travelled to Omagh to support the families and help them with the pen portrait process.
Gertrude told the Irish Sun: “It is a privilege to stand in solidarity with Omagh families as they proceed through their pen portraits.
“They have had the awfulness of a bomb and we had the awfulness of a fire, yet we share the same emotional turmoil, heartache, grief and unbearable loss, compounded by a fight for truth and justice. Something we should never have to do – fight for truth and justice.”
Her daughter Carole added: “It is very easy for victims to get lost in the number 29 (Omagh victims) and the words Omagh bombing, as it was for Stardust victims; they were lost in the number 48 and the word Stardust for 43 years.
“Pen Portraits are very important, they humanise victims and tell us about their individuality, personality and uniqueness.”
Michael Gallagher, who lost his 21-year-old son Aiden in the Omagh, has long campaigned for a public inquiry but says for the next three weeks it should be about remembering the victims of the horror attack 27 years ago.
He said: “We are having some the survivors of the Stardust tragedy, which happened in 1981 when 48 young people lost their lives on the 14th of February, St Valentine’s Day. They’re coming, without being asked.
“We supported them last year when they had their public inquiry and that took over 40 years and eventually the Irish Government reluctantly made an apology. It’s important for now that we remember those people who died in Omagh.”
