Vigil for Enniskillen bomb victims

Hundreds of people last night joined a vigil in memory of the 11 people murdered in the IRA's Poppy Day bombing at Enniskillen…

Hundreds of people last night joined a vigil in memory of the 11 people murdered in the IRA's Poppy Day bombing at Enniskillen 10 years ago. The town came to a standstill as Catholics and Protestants held candles to remember those who died beside the town's war memorial on November 8th, 1987.

More than 200 men, women and children stood silently as church bells tolled for 10 minutes. A daughter of one of those murdered at the cenotaph is planning a protest outside Sinn Fein's Dublin headquarters.

The largest crowd gathered in the town centre where businesses closed at 5.25 p.m. and workers joined the vigil. Churches were open all day for people to reflect on one of the worst atrocities of the Troubles.

Later last night, another vigil organised by the peace group Enniskillen Together took place at the cenotaph. Some 250 people gathered to honour the dead.

READ MORE

Today, relatives of those killed are holding a private service in Enniskillen Presbyterian Church. It lost six members of its congregation in the Remembrance Sunday attack.

Outside the church yesterday evening, the minister, the Rev David Cupples, said it gave people a chance to look back at how the town had progressed since the bomb.

Meanwhile, the daughter of one of the victims plans to hold a onehour protest outside Sinn Fein headquarters in Dublin instead of attending the Enniskillen service.

Ms Aileen Quinton's 72-yearold mother, Alberta, had served in the Women's RAF nursing section during the second World War. During the one-hour protest, she will wear her mother's war medals and listen to a tape recording of her funeral service.

Speaking about the protest, Ms Quinton said: "To me it's a gesture more about the future than the past. I feel we do owe more to the potential victims of the future than those of the past."