Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Omagh bomb relative snubbed by parties over election bid
Husband wanted ‘clear run at Sinn Fein’
THE widower of an Omagh bomb victim has said he was snubbed by parties over his proposal to stand against Sinn Fein in a by-election.
Kevin Skelton, whose wife Philomena died in the blast almost 20 years ago, asked them to step aside to give him “a clear run” in the West Tyrone poll.
The 63-year-old said he wanted to put himself forward for the Westminster seat, which came about after Barry Mcelduff resigned over a Twitter video posted on the anniversary of a Troubles atrocity.
An outcry broke out after he posed with a Kingsmill loaf on his head 41 years after the killings, which saw 10 Protestant workmen gunned down by republicans in 1976.
Mr Skelton said he wanted to run in the poll as an Independent representing victims’ issues, as well as campaigning for better healthcare, education and jobs.
But the grandfather of seven said he is yet to hear back from the DUP, UUP and SDLP in response to the letter he sent a month ago. He said: “It hasn’t surprised me one bit, not one bit, that I’m being ignored.”
Mr Skelton, whose daughter Shauna was injured in the 1998 Omagh bomb, added a response from the Alliance Party indicated it was likely to contest the traditionally safe republican seat. He said: “With no correspondence coming from any of them [other than Alliance] I take it that they are going to be running candidates.”
Asked if he would still consider running in the by-election, Mr Skelton added: “There’s no sense if any of the rest of them are standing because you’re only wasting your time. “If I got a clear run at it, yes, I would give it a go.
“I was putting my name forward as an Independent. It’s the only possibility of shifting Sinn Fein out of a seat they are not prepared to take.”
Solicitor Orfhlaith Begley has been announced by the abstentionist party as its candidate.
The 26-year-old, from Carrickmore, who is the daughter of a former party councillor, was chosen at a selection convention held on Sunday in Omagh.