An “exemplary student” murdered in the Omagh bombing had helped her GAA club win their first ever county title just a week before the blast, the inquiry into the atrocity has heard.
Jolene Marlow (17) had been enjoying lunch in a café with her sister and grandmother when they were evacuated onto the street where a 500lb Real IRA bomb had exploded on August 15, 1998.
A statement read to the inquiry by solicitor John Rafferty on behalf of Jolene’s mother Bridie described her as a “special child” who had reached “all her milestones much earlier than expected”.
“When she was a little over six years old, she read out the headlines of our local newspaper,” her mum recalled.
“She went through her seven years at Loreto Convent in Omagh a year younger than most other pupils in her class. She excelled in playing Gaelic football and camogie, where she represented both her school and parish teams.
“On August 8, 1998, just a week before the bomb, she was a key player on the winning team for St Macartan’s, who won their first ever county final.
“Jolene’s future was so bright. With her desire to become a sports physiotherapist, she had a zest for life and to do well.”
The inquiry was told how Jolene’s mum and dad had been worried about her heading off to study in Belfast due to the risk of Troubles-related violence.
“Before her death, Jolene had begun taking driving lessons. She was a very popular member of staff at her part-time summer job,” Bridie explained.
“She was an exemplary student through her school days and I remember feeling so emotional at her leaving Mass.
“I couldn’t help but think, ‘this is it’. Our eldest child was now ready to start the next chapter in her education and life, only now she would be doing it in Belfast.
“We always secretly dreaded the thought of Jolene being in Belfast in case the Troubles would flare up.
“Little did we know then that our home town of Omagh, where Jolene attended school, had a part-time job, socialised and shopped, would be the actual place she would be denied all of her hopes and dreams.”
Bridie said her daughter had been robbed of the opportunity to achieve all that she was capable of.
“She was a role model. A great team player, a responsible employee, a special friend to her then-boyfriend of 10 months,” she said.
“A much-loved granddaughter, niece, cousin, friend to all who knew her. While Jolene achieved so much in her short life, she was denied the chance to accomplish her life’s full potential.”
Concluding the emotional evidence session, inquiry chair Lord Alan Turnbull said it was clear Jolene would have enjoyed a successful life.
“Jolene was on the cusp of a whole new and exciting life and had so much ahead of her,” he said.
“It seems clear she would have found success and achieved her ambition for a rewarding career as a sports physiotherapist.
“Her loss will have weighed heavily on her parents, her younger sister and brothers.”