The Art of Elaine

Elaine Gallagher's artwork deploys the same methods and processes she learnt from the Petals of Hope Project, in which tons of flowers left at the site of the bomb were turned by schoolchildren into symbols of hope and presented to the families of the dead.

Where Were You On That Day?

Stop people at random on the streets of Omagh and many will talk about the bomb, recalling the day and the friends they lost.

The Omagh Bomb Archive

The library in Omagh has collated letters and news reports and books of condolences and diverse artefacts related to the day of the bomb. Julie Gibson, who works in the library, wishes more people would visit the archive and yet envies those young people for whom the troubles have little meaning.

The Day of the Bomb

Julie Gibson was working in the local library when the bomb exploded. At first people were shaken and bewildered, then they began to learn who, among their friends, neighbours and relations, was safe and who was dead.

She Had Lovely Hands

One of those who died in the Omagh bomb was Mary Grimes, remembered here by her friends Bridie and Molly who knew her through a shared interest in patchwork stitching. Mary Grimes is also remembered by Gabrielle McAleer.

Condolences

After the bomb in Omagh on August 15 1998, in which 31 died and hundreds were injured, relatives of the dead started to receive letters from strangers. Patsy Gallagher lost her son Aidan. She has kept the hundred of letters but has answered only a few of them.