Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
It’s 25 years since I held you, Tim, but you have touched so many lives... I’m proud of you, son
Warrington bomb dad’s moving tribute
THE father of IRA bombing victim Tim Parry paid an emotional tribute on the 25th anniversary of the atrocity yesterday.
Tim was 12 when he and Johnathan Ball, three, were caught in blasts from two devices planted in bins on a busy Warrington shopping street in 1993.
The Princess Royal joined hundreds in the Cheshire town for a minute’s silence in their memory.
And Tim’s dad Colin, who was there with wife Wendy, had written a moving letter to his beloved boy.
It said: “It is 25 long years since the very last time I gazed upon your smiling face. It is 25 long years since I last heard you speak.
“It is 25 long years since I last held you. It has been 25 long years of the pain of missing you. You have touched the lives of many people, most of whom you never met, but they have met you and they thank you for what you have given them.
“It is 25 long years since I last saw you, heard you and held you, my son, but you are never far.
“You will be with us all until the time comes for us to join you and see you, hear you and hold you once again.
“With eternal love, your Dad, who is proud that you are his Son x.”
Johnathan died at the scene of the blast and Tim lost his fight for life five days later. A further 54 people were injured in the explosions.
The IRA claimed responsibility but no one has ever faced justice and the police file remains open.
Princess Anne was joined by the Irish ambassador to the UK, Adrian
O’neill, at the service on Bridge Street close to where the bombs went off within a minute of each other in the cast iron litter bins.
Speaking at the commemoration, Colin told the crowd: “This is a poignant day for the victims of the bombing.
“It’s also a day that we can reflect with great pride on how we responded.
“Neither Tim nor Johnathan died in vain. Over time, ceasefire was agreed and the Good Friday agreement was signed.
“My son has become a symbol for peace over the past 25 years. It means a great deal to the families that you have turned out in such great numbers, thank you all.”
Before the service, Johnathan’s brother Paul Comerford, 41, said: “March 20, 1993, is a day none of us will ever forget. It affected many people, none more so than our family.” Following the horror, Colin and Wendy set up the Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Foundation for Peace.
It works to support victims of terrorism and help young people and communities whose lives have been blighted by extremism.
Speaking of the project in his letter to Tim, Colin said: “Seven years after we lost you we opened a unique building named after you and Johnathan. It is a Peace Centre.
“No, it is THE Peace Centre. It is the only Peace Centre in this country and, so far as we know, it is the ONLY Peace Centre anywhere in the whole world, and it is your Peace Centre, Tim.
“It is a living memorial to you, Tim, and to Johnathan.”