Omagh Remembers

Saturday 15 August 1998 was a bright sunny day.  Many local people and visitors from surrounding districts had come to Omagh town to shop, watch the carnival procession and enjoy themselves.

That afternoon, at 3.10 pm, a bomb exploded in Lower Market Street, Omagh.  The consequences were devastating.  Including unborn twins, 31 people were killed, hundreds were injured and upwards of 1,000 people were traumatised.  Many buildings were destroyed and parts of the town were closed for weeks.

Garden of Light memorial

In April 2007, Omagh District Council launched a major public art design competition to appoint a design team who would be able to deliver a permanent, fitting memorial in time for the 10^th Anniversary of the Omagh bomb on 15 August 2008.  It was recognised that to commission a memorial which was not significant in scale would be tantamount to understating the significance of the event.

At the conclusion of the competition, the commission was awarded to a Dublin based design team of Desmond Fitzgerald, Landscape Architect and Sean Hillen, Artist, supported by White Young Green on the basis of the ‘Garden of Light’ design proposal.

Further information on the Memorial is provided in the attached brochure. Please click here to view it.

The Report of the Independent Facilitiation Team on narrative can be accessed by clicking on the link below.  Please click here to view this report.

10th Anniversary

The ‘Garden of Light’ memorial was officially opened and dedicated at a Civic Commemorative Ceremony marking the 10^th Anniversary of the Omagh bomb on 15 August 2008.  The event was attended by many of the victims and the wider community together with senior representatives of the Northern Ireland Administration together with the representatives of the British, Irish and Spanish governments.

The Omagh Fund

The Omagh Fund completed its work on 30 June 2008.  A copy of its final report can be accessed via the link below.

Please click here if you would like to view the Omagh Memorial Fund - Final Report, in PDF format.