Famous faces support pupils caught up in Omagh shooting

AS John Caldwell’s bullet-ridden body fell to the ground after being gunned down outside Youth Sport on Feburary 22, he was surrounded by a number of teenagers, many of whom attend Omagh High School.

These students are youth footballers for Beragh Swifts, who, after having finished another training session under the tutelage of their coach, John Caldwell, were helping the detective chief inspector return training equipment to the boot of his car.

Some of the pupils who became eye-witnesses that night have been traumatised by what they seen.

Natasha Eccles (pictured below) is a local primary school teacher who empathised with the impact the shooting had on the Omagh High School community. So she decided to reach out to a number of celebrities to try and bring some ‘light and hope’ to the pupils of Omagh High School.

This culiminated in a line-up of famous faces expressing words of inspration and encouragement through video messages before Omagh High School’s much-anticipated production of ‘Matilda’ on Tuesday night.

Speaking with the UH earlier this week, Natasha explained why she felt compelled to help bring some positive messages for the school. “It was a day or two after the shooting and I seen the principal of Omagh High School, Christos Gaitatzis on the news,” she said.

“He was talking about the inhumanity of the would-be killers, the callousness of carrying out such an attack in the presence of children, and the impact on his school community.

“I know how much a message of hope can mean when you really need it, so I thought I would try to do what I could to get that for the pupils.”

In the days that followed the shooting, Natasha began contacting celebrities, telling them about what had happened in Omagh, and explaining what a message of hope or encouragement might mean to the pupils of Omagh High School.

“I knocked the doors,” said Natasha, “but it was the story of Omagh High School that opened them for me.”

The upshot of Natasha’s hard work was seen by pupils, parents and staff on Tuesday and Wednesday night, when a compilation of the videos she received was played before Omagh High’s school production of Matilda The Musical got underway.

“It was incredible to see the videos appear on the big screen, and, as I sat watching it, I was heartened by how receptive the celebrities had been to what the school community had been through.” said Natasha.

The line-up of famous faces that appeared on the projector included Tim Minchin, the writer, director and star of the film, Matilda the Musical, as well as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Chris Heaton-Harris, YouTube star, Adam B, Ireland-capped, Ulster Rugby sensation, Michael Lowry, former Blue Peter presenter turned sports presenter, Simon Thomas, and a few others.

“The world needs more Ms Honeys,” said Natasha, referring to the benevolent, kind, bright-eyed teacher at the heart of the film, based on the Roald Dahl classic, “there are far too many Ms Trunchballs,” she added.

“Each person who sent a video done their bit to let the pupils and staff – as well people of Omagh generally – know that they were thinking about them.

“We should never underestimate the power of these small but important gestures. They can make all the difference,” concluded Natasha.