Omagh: voices of loss

In August 1998 life in Omagh, a country town in Tyrone, was changed for ever when a bomb planted by terrorists killing 29 people as well as unborn twins. Hopes and expectations had been riding high after The Good Friday Agreement and television images conveyed the possibilities of a new era based on dialogue and co-operation. Television images just four months later conveyed a very different atmosphere. Most will remember the dazed and crying people staggering around in the dust and debris of Omagh trying to comprehend what had happened. Politicians and world leaders flew into Northern Ireland to offer condolences and made promises of justice and bringing those responsible to court. Some six years later and the victims and their families still search for justice. his moving and powerful book features 14 interviews with those who lost loved ones as they describe the people they lost, their memories of the day of the bomb, the aftermath and their thoughts and experiences six years later. The book also outlines the current situation faced by the Omagh victims and reflects how the material presented in this book might be used to advance the cause of peace and tolerance in Northern Ireland.