A mother said she was living a nightmare every day after her teenage daughter was killed in the Omagh bombing, an inquiry into the blast has been told.
Brenda Logue, a talented Gaelic footballer, was 17 when she died in the 1998 atrocity.
The Omagh Bombing Inquiry was told on Wednesday that her mother Mary Logue had been diagnosed with cancer eight months ago, and died on November 10.
In the months leading up to her death, she told her sons what she would like to include in her commemorative statement that she would be unable to deliver in person to the inquiry.
Her oldest son Cathal, accompanied by his brother Carl, read out her statement on Wednesday.
The statement from Mary Logue said: “On August 15 1998, like any normal Saturday, we took my mother into the town – myself and Brenda.
“Any other day, Carl, her little brother, would have come with us, but she had got him a job with the local ice cream man, and that was his first day. He was delighted. She was always looking out for him.
“Brenda had walked out of the shop to see what was happening, and I know for a fact if Carl had been there, he would have walked with her, and we would have lost him too.
“The last thing I remember of Brenda was her ponytail swishing as she walked out the door. The blast would throw me back into a wall, and I would be knocked unconscious, or so I was told.
“When I came around, I knew in my heart she was gone, but I got up, went out to look for her. It was like a scene from a disaster movie. I won’t go into detail, but the things I saw that day are the things that haunt my dreams, the sounds, the screams.
“The bomb was Saturday. It would be five days before her body was brought home, and she was buried on Friday.”
The hearing room at the Strule Arts Centre in Omagh, Co Tyrone, ahead of the first substantive hearing in the Omagh Bombing Inquiry (Michael Cullen/Ulster Herald/PA)
Mary Logue’s statement also describes how she was “blessed” to have a mother-daughter bond with Brenda.
She said that the family had a difficult time after the breakdown of her marriage and would rely on “hand-me-downs”.
“At her First Holy Communion, she wore her cousin’s dress. It was perfect, and she was just beautiful in it. Little did I know it would be the closest thing I would have to her in a wedding dress.”
The family had settled in Loughmacrory, where Brenda “would go on to make lifelong friends” who still keep in contact with her relatives.
Brenda was remembered as a sweet-natured girl who naturally took charge: “She never went with the crowd, always a shepherd, never the sheep.”
The statement added: “She loved the craic, being surrounded by people, being at something. She was a leader in the local youth club, leaving a lasting impression on young children and leaders alike.”
The inquiry also heard that Brenda successfully fought for the right for girls at Dean Maguirc Secondary School to wear trousers, arguing that it was unfair that they should be cold in skirts.
The inquiry was also told of Brenda’s “love of football”, which stemmed from her brothers.
Brenda’s height, strength and fearless attitude made her a “natural goalkeeper”, the inquiry heard.
She would represent her club at many age levels and go on to be selected for the Tyrone minor and senior panels.
“She had great potential, as I was told by many, and I often wonder just how far she would have went.
“Tyrone ladies would go on to win the All-Ireland in 2018, having been defeated the year before.
“Would she have been part of that set-up? Would she have walked the Hogan Stand steps to lift the All-Ireland trophy?”
The Tyrone County Board has also named the Junior Championship Cup after Brenda, which has been presented by the family since.
The year after Brenda died, it was won by Loughmacrory Ladies.
“I proudly presented it to one of Brenda’s teammates. A bittersweet moment that will live with me forever.”
In addition, Brenda’s niece and namesake Brenda Marie Logue won a tournament dedicated to her memory at Loughmacrory GAA.
However, Mary Logue was not well enough to see the team take the cup to Brenda’s graveside because of her chemotherapy treatment.
Reading his mother’s statement, Cathal Logue said she had been “robbed of so many things”, including “seeing her grow up and become a woman”.
“I’ve missed the chance to see her meet that special someone, fall in love, see her walk down an aisle, go wedding dress shopping with my only daughter, see her have children – become a maternal grandmother.
“My sons have lived their lives trying to cope with the murder of their sister, of their mother who was trying to come to terms with the loss.
“It caused irreversible emotional damages to each of them and to me.”
Mary Logue, who had relayed her words to her sons while being treated for cancer, said Brenda “would know what to do, what to say, how to comfort my boys”.
“She could be their mother figure when I go.”
Brenda’s mother also questioned if her cancer would have been discovered earlier, or if she would have been in as poor health if her daughter had not been killed.
“They say stress feeds cancer. Is this the cause of years of stress, having had to bury my child and her at such a young age because of an event completely out of my control.”
She added: “I was haunted by nightmares for years after. That, along with panic attacks, it would cripple me.
“I was prescribed sleeping tablets, but that did not stop the nightmares. From that fateful day, I have never been able to set foot in the middle of Omagh town.”
She added: “We tried to make it through the motions of the shock, the sheer darkness of depression, the rage and anger, the consistent grief.
“It would come in waves. Some days you could keep your head above water, other days you were drowning.
“Each of my boys fell apart in different ways, struggling to cope, and I was no help, because I was falling apart myself.”
Mary Logue said the family’s “world fell apart” following the Omagh bombing, adding: “Losing a child is every parent’s worst nightmare, and I have lived that nightmare every day for the last 26 years.”