THE chairman of the Omagh Bombing Inquiry today said the evidence of a woman seriously injured in the atrocity had provided the ‘clearest understanding’ of the lifelong pain and physical suffering inflected by the explosion.
Lord Turnbull was speaking following the evidence of Pauline Harte.
She suffered extensive burns and spent four months in the Royal Victoria Hospital after the engine of the car in which the bomb was planted fell on top of her.
She told the inquiry at the Strule Arts Centre that six to eight men had rocked the engine backwards and forwards to release her.
Mrs Harte said the impact of her injuries was still evident now 26 years later.
Her leg had to be amputated as a result and at the inquiry she expressed her deepest gratitude to all those who had helped her during the past 26 years.
She currently works with WAVE, which supports victims of the Troubles.
Speaking following her evidence, Lord Turnbull, said one could only hope that those responsible for or those who condoned the atrocity would learn from the evidence at the inquiry of the real nature and effects of their acts on that day.
“In listening to your evidence, just as I have been, I am sure that others will have been humbled by the extent to which in the midst of your own suffering and pain, you have so frequently expressed concern for those who came to your rescue and for those who cared for and looked after you both at the time and in the years since.
“It is a real tribute to you that you have so consistently thought of the ways in which the effdct of the bombing on you have also rippled out to impact on others.
“I doubt whether I have ever heard of such an attitude of kindness and generosity being expressed in the face of barbaric violence of the sort which was inflicted on you.”
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