A “one in a million” mother fatally injured by the Omagh bomb apologised to her husband moments before she died, a public inquiry has heard.
Geraldine Breslin’s son Gareth McCrystal told the inquiry into the August 15th, 1998 attack that his mother was “authentic, genuine, kind and loved”.
She was working in drapery in the Co Tyrone town at the time of the Real IRA bombing, which killed 31 people, including unborn twins.
Mr McCrystal recalled the moment his stepfather Mark told him his mother (43), whom he always believed to be “immortal”, had died in hospital from the injuries she suffered in the Real IRA bombing.
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Then aged 15, the family had decided it was best that Mr McCrystal did not see his mother in the hours after the bombing as hospital staff attempted to save her life.
Her coffin was brought back to the family home in Omagh for a wake, but remained closed due to the extent of her injuries.
Mr McCrystal, now 42, told inquiry chairman Lord Turnbull that at the time it was “torture” not being able to see his mother.
But he said he has since made peace with the fact, as his final memory of her is as she was before the atrocity.
“I adored her,” he said. “I loved her unconditionally, and she loved me unconditionally. I worshipped her.”
The inquiry into the bombing was ordered by the UK government to examine whether the atrocity could reasonably have been prevented by British state authorities.
Mr McCrystal told Thursday’s sitting that what happened to his mother was “absolutely despicable and appalling”.
“My mother was treated by the terrorists like she was rubbish, like she was total garbage, and I’d no desire to see my mother battered and bloodied and bruised,” he said.
“But my father, he did get comfort out of it. He saw her and, by all accounts, he told me that she – again, this is typical of the sort of person that my mother was – that she apologised when she was lying on the stretcher, moments from death.
“She apologised that she was even there. She apologised to my father, and God only knows what he thought of that.”
Separately, the sister of a teenager killed in the bombing told the inquiry his death left a wound in the family that will never heal.
Gareth Conway (18) went to Omagh town centre on the day of the explosion to buy jeans and collect contact lenses ahead of a date with his girlfriend.
Shawneen Conway said Gareth was the “angel” of the family and his loss had left a “permanent void” in all their lives.
Addressing Lord Turnbull with her sister Michaela at her side, Ms Conway said their brother had left behind a “legacy of love, hard work and quiet strength that continues to be felt by those who knew him”.
She said Gareth loved animals, especially dogs, and also enjoyed playing soccer and Gaelic football.
“At 18, he had all a young man would want,” she said.
“He was very happy and looking forward to the next stage in his life. He had his driving licence, a job in Omagh Meats, he was playing the game he loved.
“He had a girlfriend and had recently been accepted into university to study engineering. The fact he was going on to third level education was a reflection of his intelligence, determination and the bright future that lay ahead of him.
“Sadly, that future was cut short. But his memory remains as a beacon of what he could have achieved.”
The third day of commemorative hearings for the victims of the bombing began on Thursday with a tribute to Debra-Anne Cartwright (20).
Ms Cartwright, a former pupil of Omagh High School, had been hoping to go to Manchester University to study textile design.
“Her results, which arrived on the day of her funeral, confirmed that she had been successful,” inquiry barrister John Rafferty said, reading a statement on behalf of the family.
On the day of the attack, Ms Cartwright, from Birchwood in Omagh, was working in a beauty salon in the town centre.
She evacuated the business during the security alert prompted by the bomb warning and was walking down Market Street when the device exploded.
Mr Rafferty told the inquiry that Ms Cartwright’s funeral at St Columba’s Church, Omagh, heard that she was a woman “full of life and energy”.
Inquiry chairman Lord Turnbull said she was one of several young people killed in the bombing.
“All of these were children or young people whose lives were taken from them before they had any chance to grow and live as adults and to experience any of the joys and tribulations of a full and independent life,” he said.
The inquiry continues. – PA
