HORRIFIED OVER ARENA ATTACK
LOCAL REACTION TO BOMBING AT CONCERT
A Book of Condolence has been opened at County Hall in Riverside for the people of Sligo to convey their sorrow at the Manchester bombing last week.
Twenty- two people including children were killed in the atrocity while a further 64 were injured after a suicide bomber Salman Abedi detonated a homemade device at Manchester Arena last Monday.
The Book of Condolence was opened by the Cathaoirleach Cllr. Hubert Keaney on Wednesday at 2pm. Since then, many people have come to remember the victims of the Manchester attack by signing the book with some heartfelt messages of sympathy.
Cllr Hubert Keaney said: “The people of Sligo will be anxious to convey their sympathies to the families of the people who lost their lives in the terrorist attack. We have opened Books of Condolence in our main offices at County Hall, Riverside and our offices at Teach Laighne, Tubbercurry.
“Many Sligo people have family connections in Manchester, and our thoughts and prayers are with the people of that city as they try to come to terms with appalling tragedy.”
Many of those killed and maimed were children attending the US teen idol Arianne Grande concert. At least 20 of those injured are still in a critical condition.
Fianna Fail TD for Sligo Leitrim Eamonn Scanlon has family connections in Manchester.
He said: “It’s a terrible tragedy to happen. I have a lot of relations in Manchester myself. My father worked in Manchester years ago. I have cousins still there and I was talking to them since it happened and they are distraught to think that something like that could happen at an event with innocent young children.”
Fine Gael TD Tony McLoughlin said: “I’ve a close association with Manchester, my daughter was in college in Salford a few years back and I’m a very strong supporter of Manchester United so I know Manchester very well.
“This is a devastating tragedy for the families and the wider community there. We want to stand in solidarity with the people of Manchester.
“The youngest victim was 8 years old. These were people going out to enjoy themselves for the night. Some of those kids got the tickets as Christmas presents. It is so very tragic and shocking. It would not put me off going to see games, I will be travelling to Manchester in the future.”
Fianna Fail TD Marc MacSharry condemned the attacks.
“There is no justification for this type of attack. It is just the worst atrocity. They specifically targeted this concert given the popularity of this artist among young people,” he said.
“Sadly now we may all be thinking twice about going to concerts or events like this. With ISIS there is no identifiable cause and no justification for these attacks on our most innocent in society.”