A father killed in the Omagh bombing was in town to drop off photos he had taken that morning to be developed, his family told the inquiry into the atrocity.
Brian McCrory (54) was among the 29 people – including a mother pregnant with unborn twins – who were murdered when the Real IRA detonated a 500lb bomb in the town on August 15, 1998.
The inquiry heard on Wednesday how Brian was a keen amateur photographer, often being called to take photos at family events.
A statement from his daughter Louise was read by solicitor Emma Fox.
“He had taken photos that morning at granny’s and had dropped them into the chemist to get developed while collecting his prescription,” she said.
“This was the reason he had been in Omagh town that day.
“He loved taking photos and was generally called in for christenings, communions, confirmations and everything in between as the designated photographer.
“I think there are very few family members or friends who do not possess a photo he had lovingly taken over the years.”
Louise said Brian’s family had been deeply affected by the events of that day when they lost a “loving husband, an amazing father, brother, uncle, colleague, neighbour and a good friend to many”.
“The feeling of fear and panic from that day that never really leaves,” she said.
“He had a kindness and a gentle spirit that anyone who knew him experienced and a beautiful, warm, open smile that made you feel comfortable and safe.
“We experienced life much differently with not having dad in it. We have missed out on so many things.”
“We are so very lucky to have had the chance to share our lives with someone so very special and we should have been given so much longer to experience and share our lives with this unassuming, good-natured, quiet and much-loved man.
“My mum lost her one-in-a-million husband, best friend, confidant and father of her children and all her future life plans with her life companion.
“My brothers, Colin, Brian and I lost our father and friend, an amazing man who we all looked up to.”
Louise’s statement described how her and her siblings had visited his grave on their wedding days as a way of including their father.
“My dad never had the chance to meet or get to know his daughters-in-law Tina and Roisín, or his son-in-law James,” she said.
“Our partners did not get a chance to experience our personalities prior to the bomb and all that entailed.
The aftermath of the bomb on August 15, 1998
“Each of us began our wedding day with an early morning visit to our dad’s grave, to be able to share even a part of the day with him. Our mum had to survive another major family event alone, without her best friend by her side.
“He was missed so very much at our weddings. Instead of him being by our side, we had a picture of him at our wedding receptions. It was the closest thing we had to having our father even play a small part in it all.
“It is heartbreaking that he never had the chance to meet or enjoy life with his own grandchildren who all missed out on meeting their grandad who would have so loved to be a part of their lives.”
Louise said her father was a hard worker and recalled Saturday mornings spent in the cab of his crane, which he had nicknamed ‘Crafty Catherine’.
“My dad was not just a name on a list or an image in a collage of beautiful faces that were lost that day,” she said.
“He was a hard worker, and following a short stint in the fire service next to his childhood home, he worked in the family business for the rest of his life, driving his beloved Crafty Catherine crane, which he joked that he spent more time fixing than driving.
Strule Arts Centre in Omagh where the inquiry is taking place. Pic: Pacemaker Press
“He enjoyed a weekly weekend routine, where Friday nights were spent in granny’s in Turquin. She had allocated him his own private chair in the corner; Brian McCrory’s chair.
“Saturday nights were spent in the old Mountfield Road, and they had one or two beers in Biddy Pa’s pub in Mountfield and a Sunday evening was always spent in Greencastle.
“We experienced life much differently with not having dad in it. We have missed out on so many things.
“Our family events are overshadowed by an immeasurable loss and always a constant awareness of our missing husband, father and friend – our gentle giant.”
Inquiry chair Lord Alan Turnbull said it was a “cruel tragedy” that it was the photography hobby enjoyed by so many of his relatives that took Brian into Omagh on the day he died.
“As a consequence of the Omagh bomb, his own children have now been left with a feeling of great loss,” he added.
“The statement sets out with real warmth and depth of feeling just how close her family had been and the strength of the love and guidance her father brought to his wife and his children.”