Son of victim ‘delighted’ over planning permission for Enniskillen memorial
A man whose father was killed in the Enniskillen bomb attack has said he is delighted by news that planning permission has been granted for a memorial.
Eleven people were killed and more than 60 injured after an IRA bomb devastated a Remembrance Sunday event in the Co Fermanagh town on November 8, 1987.
A 12th victim, Ronnie Hill, died from his injuries after spending 13 years in a coma.
Two years ago, a new memorial marking the 30th anniversary of the attack was unveiled.
However, it had to be taken down and put into storage after a Catholic church on whose land it had been erected said it had not been consulted.
This week, Fermanagh and Omagh District Council approved a new application to site the memorial.
A spokeswoman for the council said: “The decision notice and drawings will be issued to the applicant in the near future”.
Stephen Gault, whose father Samuel was killed by the blast, welcomed the move.
He described the delays to the memorial as depressing and hurtful.
“I am absolutely delighted that finally the Enniskillen families will get the memorial our murdered loved ones deserve,” he said.
“It’s been a long, depressing and hurtful 18 months not knowing if our loved ones would get the recognition they deserve.
“With this memorial the memory of what happened that fateful day will never ever be allowed to rewritten out of history of what the IRA did and the cold blooded murder of 12 innocent civilians on Remembrance Sunday 1987.”
New Memorial Granted Planning Permission The Ely Centre are delighted to have received the news from FUPB Architect…
Posted by Ely Centre on Tuesday, June 4, 2019
DUP leader Arlene Foster also welcomed the development.
“There has been a great deal of work put in over a long period of time to achieve this outcome and I would like to pay tribute to all those involved. I would particularly thank Dean Kenny Hall from Enniskillen Cathedral who has led the process,” she said.
“It would obviously have been preferable that this memorial could have been in place for the 30th anniversary commemorations last November, but this news marks a positive way forward and will be welcomed by everyone.”
The Ely Centre said the project will see the existing memorial integrated into a larger memorial which will “visually connect the Enniskillen War Memorial to Enniskillen Memorial”.
