The friend of a murdered schoolboy has recalled the pain of seeing his pal’s unopened GCSE results following in the wake of the Omagh bomb.
Alan Radford (16) was shopping with his mother in the Co Tyrone town when the Real IRA exploded a 500lb bomb in the town centre on August 15 1998.
He was one of 29 people, including a mother pregnant with twins, who perished in the blast as a result of shrapnel wounds sustained while shopping in town.
At the ongoing inquiry, Alan’s sister Claire Hayes read a statement from a school friend who, along with Alan, had been bullied at high school.
In it she described seeing the unopened envelope containing the teenager’s GCSE results just weeks after the atrocity as “awful”.
“I think about him often; he was such a kind soul,” she said.
“Between being bullied and treated like crap by so-called popular people, my life was hell. Alan never took part, there was always a hello and a smile; he was so funny and kind.
“He knew what I was going through and he was so nice to me.
“I think Alan hated school as much as I did, and it always makes me so sad to think his last few months on this earth at school were horrible because of the bullying.
Read more
Scene of Omagh bomb blast on August 15, 1998
“The day of our GCSE results I remember seeing Alan’s GCSE results envelope sitting to one side at the office window. It’s awful what you remember.”
Ms Hayes became emotional as she recalled her own memory of the last moment she had with her “other half” and described their “very close” relationship.
“I remember vividly Alan sitting at the far end of mum’s living room, putting on his white socks and Nike trainers, the sun was just so glorious coming in that window,” she said.
“The two of them were walking out the back hall and I said to Alan about getting his hair cut. He had thick, unruly hair at the top.
“He said “Okay Sissa, I love you; I’ll see you later or I’ll see you some time”.
“With that Alan walked out the back door and up the garden path. I watched them walking up the path.”
“He ran back down and knocked the window and shouted a name to me that was a personal joke. He went to the top of the garden, they locked the gate and in that moment it seemed like it lasted forever.
“That was the last time I ever saw him alive.”
Alan’s older brother Paul had gone into town on the day of the blast and helped to carry casualties and the deceased to the hospital.
He and his sister Elaine had to go to the temporary morgue set up at the Army barracks the following day to identify his body.
“When my brother saw his hair, without the blanket being pulled back, he said “that’s Alan”. He knew it was him by his hair,” Ms Hayes told the inquiry.
“They had to look at our beautiful brother lying with harrowing injuries. Those injuries have never been able to be erased from their minds.
“Alan was my other half, there are no words for the immense grief that I feel now my life has been shattered without him.
“Alan would only have wanted justice, peace and for human kindness to prevail.
“He would have wanted for those whose actions have caused our mother to have been put through this hell and suffering to be held accountable for those who caused this carnage to be made to face the consequences. “
The inquiry also heard a statement from Alan’s former primary school teacher Mrs Porter who recalled seeing emergency bringing patients to Altnagelvin Area Hospital on the day of the bombing.
“On the afternoon of the bomb, I was in Newtownstewart and saw two ambulances flying past. I thought it was serious but it wasn’t until later in the afternoon that I realised the enormity of what had happened,” she said.
“On Sunday evening, I became aware that Alan had been murdered. The absolute shock was horrendous and was a feeling that lasted days.
“It turned into total sadness and anger. What did Alan and all the other innocent victims do to deserve that?
“Alan had a fear of the sight of blood was unnerving. He could have fainted at the sight of blood which caused me concern as accidents happen in school and I had to be aware.
“After the bomb, I wondered frequently if he had seen the horror of the bloodshed all around him. I would like to believe he didn’t.
“I will never forget going back to school ten days after the bomb. I walked into my classroom and just broke down in tears.
“It was something that haunts me and will live with me forever.”
The inquiry, which will ultimately examine whether the bombing could have been prevented, will hear from youngest victims as a second day of commemorative hearings takes place in the Strule Arts Centre.
Speaking ahead of proceedings, Alan’s sister said she is “very sceptical” about the outcome of the probe.
“When the Irish Government isn’t partaking in it, it is not a full inquiry, so … there is already a flaw,” Ms Hayes told BBC Radio Ulster’s Good Morning Ulster programme.
“That doesn’t give me great comfort knowing that given the fact that this bomb was made in the south (of Ireland), the car was stolen in the south.
“The southern Government have said that they will help but they are not compelled to do so, and for me, for Alan, I wanted it to be completely robust, completely transparent, so we know absolutely everything.”
Earlier this week Irish premier Micheal Martin said his Government will co-operate “fully” with the inquiry, while Tanaiste Simon Harris said they “will not be found wanting”.
The stories of 18-month-old Breda Devine and 20-month-old Maura Monaghan will be heard on Wednesday.
Both were in town with their families shopping on the day of the blast, with Breda getting shoes for a family wedding.
Maura’s mother Avril (30) will also be commemorated along with Breda’s grandmother Mary Grimes (66).