A ceremony has been held in the Co Fermanagh town of Enniskillen to mark the 25th anniversary of the IRA Remembrance Day bombing which killed 11 people and injured 63 others.
A twelfth victim, Ronnie Hill, a school principal, spent 13 years in a coma and died in 2000.
A memorial service held at St Macartin’s Church of Ireland Cathedral this morning was followed by a wreath-laying ceremony at a war memorial in the town.
The names of the dead have since been added to the memorial for war casualties from the Enniskillen-based Inniskilling fusiliers and dragoons, who fought in both world wars.
Lord Maurice Morrow told a crowd of veterans and relatives today: “They were not soldiers answering for battle. They were not armed. They were not at the cenotaph to harm or do anyone harm.
“They were deemed however to be legitimate targets because they wanted to honour those of all faiths.”
A minute’s silence was held exactly 25 years after the explosion on November 8th 1987.
An emotional Stephen Gault laid a floral tribute to his retired police officer father who died in the attack. Mr Gault, who turned 18 a few days before the bombing, had been standing beside his father, Sammy Gault, a retired RUC officer who survived an IRA gun attack 26 years previously. His father was killed instantly.
He climbed the steps today using a stick for his injuries to lay a red wreath.
“It was one of the darkest days of the Troubles, we have to remember that,” he said.
“I want people to remember the agony and torment the families have been through, the injured as well, we cannot go back to those bad old days, we have to move forward.”
The anniversary comes just days after it emerged that police have launched a new investigation into the 1987 IRA bombing.
Stormont First Minister Peter Robinson laid a wreath and called on those with information to come forward.
“They are keen to have reconciliation in Northern Ireland, they want people to have the truth yet they remain silent about what happened on this occasion,” he said.
“Let those who want to have the truth speak the truth. I would be very keen that there would be some justice given to the families after such a long period of suffering and torment.”
Fermanagh Assembly member Arlene Foster appealed last weekend to people with information about the bombing to examine their consciences and come forward to the PSNI.
The DUP Minister for Enterprise made her appeal after it was disclosed that the Historical Enquiries Team has handed over a new file on the bombing to the PSNI.
Ms Foster said that following the HET investigation, an “active line of inquiry is being pursued” by police into the bombing.