Omagh: The victim's story

The aftermath of the Omagh bomb, which killed 29 people

In this story: Lasting effects of the blast Looking ahead RELATED STORIES, SITES

By Paul Sussman, CNN.com writer

OMAGH, Northern Ireland (CNN) -- For someone who survived Northern Ireland's worst bombing atrocity, Una McGurk describes her experiences at Omagh in a relaxed, almost-matter-of-fact tone -- but one that somehow seems to accentuate the trauma she suffered.

A quiet schoolgirl who, by her own admission, "just stayed in the background and didn't like to be noticed," Una had gone into Omagh at 3.09 p.m. on the afternoon of Saturday August 15, 1998 with a friend for lunch.

There had been a bomb scare and her companion had gone to telephone her parents to assure them she was safe, leaving Una to continue towards the town centre alone. When the bomb went off she was just a few yards away from it.

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"There was a huge explosion and everything went black," she recalled. "I was knocked over, but got up again and began walking down the street. There were dead bodies lying all over the place. I didn't feel any pain."

Drenched in blood and numb with shock she eventually collapsed into the arms of a passer-by. The man helped her into a nearby bar and she was rushed to hospital.

"It was in the ambulance that the pain really started," she said. "It was so bad I could hardly breath. I've never known anything like it. The journey seemed to take ages."

She was 14 at the time, a Roman Catholic, like those who'd planted the bomb.

Lasting effects of the blast

She was in hospital for eight weeks after the explosion, recovering from severe lacerations to her feet, arms, legs and torso. So bad was the scarring to her face that two years later she is still wearing a special plastic mask to help calm the tissue.

"I have to wear the mask for 23 out of 24 hours. I find it very hard, very restrictive, particularly as a teenager."

The legacy is not only physical. She suffered clinical depression for almost two years after the explosion, and has recurring nightmares about it. She doesn't go out as much as she used to because she is afraid of another bomb going off.

"I've been caught up in three bomb scares since Omagh," she said. "And each time I lost control. It was like it was all happening again. I couldn't stop crying. I was so scared."

Looking ahead

Despite the lasting effects of the blast, however, Una has refused to let her injuries hold her back. "I always keep my head up high whenever I go out. Sometimes I might not feel very good in myself, but it's the only way I can deal with what's happened and what I look like. If I'm not comfortable with my scars no one else will be."

Her anger towards those who planted the bomb has subsided. "I don't really feel anything for them any more," she said. "Except pity that they get enjoyment from killing and injuring so many people."

In a curious way, indeed, she feels she has actually benefited from the whole experience. "Before the bomb I was very quiet and self-conscious. Now I'm actually a lot more confident and outgoing. I've realised that looks and image aren't everything and that whatever has happened to my face I'm still the same person underneath."

She has just finished her school exams and wants to go into a career in computers. One day she hopes to start a family.

"I can never forget what happened on August 15, 1998," she said. "But you can't always be looking to the past. You have to look to the future. I just hope that we can have peace in Northern Ireland so that my children, when they come, never have to experience anything like this."

IRA splinter group claims responsibility for N. Ireland bomb
August 18, 1998
N. Ireland deeply shaken by car bombing
August 15, 1998

Omagh bomb information
Omagh District Council

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