Priest highlights the ‘resilience’ of Omagh community on American radio

A LOCAL priest has praised the ‘resilience’ of the Omagh community which has continued to suffer despite the signing of the Good Friday Agreement.

Speaking to a radio station in Boston, Fr Kevin Mullan, Drumquin parish priest, applauded the figures responsible for the 1998 peace deal, and also for restoring ‘a sense of calm’ to the North.

However, Fr Mullan also said peace in the local area has been ‘overshadowed’ by the Omagh bomb attack, the killing of PC Ronan Kerr in 2011 and the shooting of DCI John Caldwell in February.

In a discussion with ‘Here and Now’ presenter, Deepa Fernandes on Monday, Fr Mullan said, “Omagh has been unfortunate in the sense that it was the site of the bombing in August of 1998,” said Fr Mullan, “and a policeman was killed and another policeman wounded here in the last few months, also.

“It seemed as though people were picking on Omagh, and we felt like we were being forced to go through so much again.

“But we are very resilient people here in Omagh, and we will come through this,” asserted Fr Mullan, who comforted bereaved families after the Omagh bomb attack.

The local priest also had words of praise for those who helped bring the Good Friday Agreement to fruition.

“I’m feeling so proud of the giants who signed the Agreement and I just think we owe them so much – to live out what they risked everything for,” he said.

Following MI5’s recent assertion that a terrorist attack was ‘highly likely’ – raising the threat level from substantial to severe – the presenter asked Fr Mullan, ‘Are people on edge there (Northern Ireland) Father?’

“I think no, we’re not on edge,” Fr Mullan responded, “we do hope it will be quiet and that the security forces will contain any outbreak of difficulty.”

‘Here and Now’ presenter, Deepa Fernandes then prompted Fr Mullan to share what he told his congregation at Mass on Easter Sunday.

“I felt I had to draw a comparison between the trust that people put in one another 25 years ago and the trust that God extended toward us in sending us his own son.

“And even though that son was brutally killed, God’s trust in us continued and we owe it to God to do our best to live as he wants us to.”

Ending the interview with a light-hearted remark, Fr Mullan concluded, “We will give President Joe a warm welcome in the coming days.”