A kind-hearted teenager killed in the Omagh bomb has been remembered as having “passed life with flying colours”, the inquiry into the atrocity has heard.
Samantha McFarland (17) was working as a volunteer in the Oxfam charity shop when the Real IRA exploded a 500lb bomb in the town on August 15, 1998.
She was a former pupil of Omagh High School and had been studying for her A-levels at Strabane College.
A statement on behalf of her family was read to the inquiry by Paul Greaney KC on Thursday, which described Samantha as a “wonderful young girl”.
Read more
“She had a lovely personality, a kind heart and a genuine kindness people were drawn to,” he said.
“She could instil confidence in others and she got on with people. She was learning to drive, she loved music and books and she had a pet pony that she looked after.
“Samantha enjoyed geography and had a curiosity about other parts of the world.”
The inquiry also heard how Samantha had been evacuated from the shop on the afternoon of the blast.
“Both girls were evacuated in response to the so-called bomb warning. It’s believed she did not want to go too far because she had the keys to the shop,” said Mr Greaney.
“Her funeral took place on August 19, 1998, four days after the bombing at the Church of the Holy Trinity, four miles outside Omagh.
“She was described as popular, diligent and a person who passed with flying colours the test of life despite being denied the opportunity to pass milestones like her A-levels and her driving test as many teenagers her age would aspire to do.
“She was said to be friends with and have the love of people from all religions and all ages. She was a very private person, but also a very sociable person who touched the lives of so many others. So many people attended the funeral that mourners had to stand outside.”
Aftermath of the Omagh bombing
Inquiry chair, Lord Alan Turnbull, said Samantha’s kindness was in stark contrast to those who cruelly took her life.
“On each day so far, we have heard of the senseless killing of children and young people about to embark on the adventure of adult life,” he said.
“Samantha’s death came about because she was working as a volunteer in the vicinity of the explosion.
“One really has to wonder whether there could be any greater contrast between the generous and socially minded attitude of a teenager who chose to spend the precious spare time of her young years trying to help those with less advantages than herself, and on the other hand, the morality of those who would walk away from a car, loaded with explosives in the middle of the main street on a sunny Saturday afternoon in the sure knowledge that devastation would ensue shortly thereafter.
“Unlike those responsible for the bombing, Samantha really did pass the test of life with flying colours.”