Church has no objection to memorial, parishioners told
THE Catholic diocese in Enniskillen which has yet to give its permission for the permanent siting of a memorial to victims of the Poppy Day bomb have insisted they have not ruled it out.
Monsignor Joseph McGuinness, administrator for the Diocese of Clogher, said in a letter which was read out to masses in the parish of St Michael’s over the weekend that the church had “no objection whatsoever to a permanent memorial being erected to the victims”, and that it would carefully consider an application to site it on church land.
It is understood that parishioners applauded the statement.
But while Stephen Gault, whose father, Samuel, was killed in the atrocity, welcomed the church saying that it had no objections to the memorial, he added it didn’t get them any further forward.
The statement came after relatives of the Enniskillen victims spoke out about how hurt they felt to watch the memorial, which was dedicated at a service on the 30th anniversary of the bomb on Wednesday, being taken away for storage.
Fermanagh and Omagh District Council approved planning permission for the memorial near the Clinton Centre, but the Catholic church that owns the land said it was only informed of the application in September.
Mgr McGuinness claimed the issue has been the subject of much “ill-informed” speculation and comment in the media and elsewhere.
“I want to state firmly that the Diocesan Trust has no objection whatsoever to a permanent me- morial being erected to the victims of the Enniskillen bombing,” he said.
He said that the Trust was “not trying to be in any way obstructive, but rather has had to begin to address complex issues which have only recently been posed to it”, and added: “None of us wish to add in any way to the pain of all who have suffered so dreadfully over the last 30 years.”
Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph last night Mr Gault said: “Truthfully, we are not further forward.
“Some people were coming up to me yesterday saying ‘Isn’t it great you got permission’ but the statement was not consent, we are still left waiting 30 years after the bomb.”