Pain of loss never eases, says mother whose 12-year-old son died in Omagh bomb

Shaun McLaughlin was on a school trip on the day of the bombing (McLaughlin family/PA)

A mother whose 12-year-old son died in the Omagh bomb believes the pain of his loss will never ease, a public inquiry has heard.

Shaun McLaughlin was one of three schoolboys who lived in Buncrana in Co Donegal who were killed in the bombing. James Barker, 12, and Oran Doherty, 8, also died.

They had been on a day trip with a group of Spanish students who had been attending a summer programme in the Donegal town.

Two Spaniards, a group leader, Rocio Abad Ramos, 23, and one student, Fernando Blasco Baselga, 12, were also killed in the Real IRA attack in August 1998.

The outing was to the Ulster American Folk Park just outside Omagh, but the leaders had agreed to let the children finish off the day with a look around the shops in town.

Shaun McLaughlin (centre) with sister Elaine and brother Christopher (McLaughlin family/PA)

A statement written by Shaun’s mother Patricia was read to the Omagh Bombing Inquiry on Monday by her sister Marjorie McDaid.

At the outset of its programme of work, the inquiry is holding four weeks of commemorative hearings to give the families of the 29 victims an opportunity to pay tribute to their lost loved ones.

The statement read on Mrs McLaughlin’s behalf recalled her son as a happy boy who was so excited to be going on the trip to Omagh with his friends.

His mother then described the harrowing hours after the blast and the devastating moment the bus arrived back in Buncrana and her son was not on it.

“I sat and watched all the other children get off the bus, but Shaun never got off the bus,” his mother stated.

The statement recalled people lining the streets of towns on the journey to bring Shaun’s body back to Buncrana days after the bombing.

His mother also described his funeral as a “total farce”, as she expressed frustration that dignitaries appeared to be prioritised ahead of grieving families.

“There were too many important people there from the political parties, they all even had reserved seats, but there was no reserved seats for the three families who were burying their children,” she said.

Reflecting on the years since the bombing, Mrs McLaughlin described the long-lasting impact on the family, especially Shaun’s younger siblings Elaine and Christopher.

“It seems like a lifetime since I held him,” she added.

“If somebody had said to me before I lost a child that you will feel exactly the same 26 years later, I wouldn’t have believed them. I would have thought maybe a couple of years that you would be brokenhearted, but that you will still move on. It’s going to have to ease. But it just doesn’t.”

Mrs McLaughlin wrote of the “constant” and “relentless” battle to find answers as to what happened around the bombing.

“None of the families deserve what happened that day, but how each of us, in our own way, have had to fight for answers is just awful,” she stated.

“It makes me angry at times. I hope that this inquiry will provide the answers as to what happened that day, and hopefully that the cost of Shaun’s life and all those other lives so tragically lost can provide some hope for us all.

“We have not gotten over things completely. We never will, but we have learned to live with it. Some days are, of course, harder than others. My firstborn baby will always be in our minds and in our hearts.”

Shaun McLaughlin with then President of Ireland Mary McAleese (right) (McLaughlin family/PA)

Mrs McLaughlin said her son personified the “hope of peace” on the island of Ireland following the Good Friday Agreement of April 1998.

She said her son had written a poem about the peace accord that he presented to then-president of Ireland Mary McAleese.

The poem was read to the inquiry.

It reads: “Orange and green, it doesn’t matter;

“United now, don’t shatter our dream;

“Scatter the seeds of peace over our land;

“So we can travel hand in hand across the bridge of hope.”

A song that used Shaun’s poem for part of its lyrics, which was recorded by the Omagh Community Choir, was then played to the inquiry as images of Shaun were displayed.

Inquiry chairman Lord Turnbull paid tribute to the “strength” Mrs McLaughlin had demonstrated in writing her statement.

“In that statement, Mrs McLaughlin has described, in the clearest way, the lasting impact on a mother of the senseless loss of her firstborn son, a child who was killed before he even reached his teenage years,” he said.

“Mrs McLaughlin’s statement and the pictures which we’ve been shown bring to our attention the life of a happy young boy living in a supportive and loving family.

“Her statement also so vividly tells us of the harm and pain inflicted not just on Mrs McLaughlin, but on Shaun’s brother and sister as well.

“The experiences which Mrs McLaughlin has described and which other witnesses have spoken of in similar ways will be simply incomprehensible to those with no first-hand knowledge of the Omagh bombing.

“Listening to this evidence will make it abundantly clear why these sessions are so important.”