A touching moment, 35 years on from bomb atrocity
IN A simple but poignant moment, Keith Gault reaches out and gently touches the engraved name of his father, Samuel – who was killed in the Enniskillen Bomb in 1987 – on the victims’ memorial by the Clinton Centre. Keith’s quiet gesture was one of many moving moments marking the 35th anniversary of the atrocity, with survivors and victims’ family members attending the memorial, with wreath-laying and a Service of Remembrance and Thanksgiving also paying tribute to the victims.
AT 10.43AM on November 8, the families of the victims of the Enniskillen Bomb gathered together to lay wreaths at the site where 35 years ago, on that date, at that time, an IRA bomb exploded, stealing the lives of their loved ones as they attended the Remembrance Sunday service in Enniskillen.
For many, the loss is still painfully raw as they mark the 35th anniversary of the atrocity.
“The important thing is we don’t want history to be erased. We don’t want history to be changed.
“We want the truth, and kids have to learn the truth – there is no way to excuse the acts of the IRA. They are nothing but a crowd of unhappy, nasty, bad thugs.
“All the killing, and what did it lead to? They said it was justified. One death is one too many,” said Joan Anderson, one of the daughters of William and Agnes Mullan, who were killed by the bomb.
Joan was joined by her sisters, Margaret Veitch and Ruth Blair, as they paid tribute to their parents by laying a wreath at the Enniskillen Bomb memorial that was only recently erected at its permanent site at the Clinton Centre in the town.
“Margaret, Ruth and I are close in every way. I live in the States, and every time there has been anything to do with my mum and dad’s death, I’ll be there [back in Enniskillen].
“I’ve been over for quite a few of the Remembrance Day services. It was something we always did as a family. We always came on Sunday morning, and stood at the cenotaph.
“It was the right thing to do as children; we learned our history. We knew all about World War I and II, and how they kept the world free.
“It affects every member of society, not just for Protestants in Northern Ireland because they died for everybody – the people of World War I and II. They just didn’t die for a certain group of people,” Joan told The Impartial Reporter.
Other representatives of victims’ families laid wreaths and flowers at the site of the memorial, including Julian Armstrong, the son of Wesley and Bertha Armstrong, on behalf of his siblings, Stella Robinson, Pam Whitley and Moyna Nesbitt.
Julian had been attending the Remembrance Sunday service in Enniskillen in 1987 with his parents when the bomb detonated, killing them both, and injuring him.
He spoke to The Impartial Reporter following the wreath laying on Tuesday morning, commenting that he was glad to see the bomb memorial at its permanent site for the bombing’s 35th anniversary.
“It’s good to see the memorial up in memory of my parents, and to remember the atrocity that happened here. It’s for my parents, but it’s also to stop the violence from the past from happening ever again.
“It always hurts. It’s always in the back of your mind, but it helps to have this memorial to remember my parents,” he said.
As Keith Gault laid flowers at the site, in a poignant tribute to his father, Samuel Gault, he reached out to the memorial and touched his Samuel’s name, which is engraved in gold lettering alongside the other 11 victims of the Enniskillen Bomb.
Aileen Quinton, the daughter of Alberta Quinton, had travelled home to mark the 35th anniversary.
She told this newspaper: “It’s very hard to believe that it’s 35 years ago. To be on the spot where my mother was murdered, doing what she’d been doing every year, remembering, particularly those she’d served with in World War II ... But it’s lovely to finally have a proper, fitting memorial to her.
‘It’s right that it’s up’
“It’s been a long time in coming and it’s just right that it’s up.”
At 11am, a short service was held at the memorial, which was attended by those who were injured in the Enniskillen Bomb.
Jim Dixon, the most seriously injured person to survive the bomb was one of those who laid a wreath at the site, paying tribute to all those who continue to be impacted by the atrocity.