Omagh is remembered in short service

300 people gathered in the centre of Omagh for a short service of remembrance today.

Northern Ireland Secretary John Reid was among those who paid their respects in a low-key but poignant event.

William Harper, the principal of Omagh High School, which lost three pupils in the explosion, spoke of ‘‘that darkest August day’’ and how those present were there to support the people, ‘‘torn apart in this place by history’s voracious hatred, to be joined with one another, as we were then, in kindness and compassion, to draw near in God to those who we have lost and to know in our hearts that peace depends in part on each of us.’’

Sinn Fein’s Pat Doherty, the MP for the area, and Democratic Unionist Assembly man, Oliver Gibson - who lost a niece, Esther - also attended the service, which started with a minute’s silence.

Afterwards wreaths were laid on behalf of those from the Omagh area who were bereaved by the atrocity and families of the three boys from Buncrana, Co Donegal and two Spaniards who were killed.

A tree was also planted by families of the 33 people killed in the Dublin and Monaghan bombing atrocity of 1974.