'Without Charlie Warmington, those words may never have been heard': TV's Paul Clark remembers how News Letter's Roamer brought a message of peace that changed hearts after 1987's Enniskillen bomb to the world
Best known to News Letter readers for his much-loved Roamer column featuring tales of colourful people and quirky tradition, the late Charlie Warmington also had an enviable career in hard news.
And as TV’s Paul Clark remembers, Charlie was instrumental in bringing a message of peace that changed hearts and minds across the globe to millions after the 1987 Enniskillen Remembrance Day bomb.
The most famous words in the aftermath of the IRA atrocity were those of Gordon Wilson; an ordinary man caught up in the bomb with his daughter, he comforted her as she lay dying while they were trapped under rubble. In an emotional interview with the BBC hours later, he said “I bear no ill will. I bear no grudge” – words that were repeated worldwide, and became among the best known quotes of the Troubles.
That interview happened because of Charlie. Born in Enniskillen, he was widely known as a son of the town and was able to go places other members of the descending media couldn’t. As old colleague Paul told the News Letter, however, he was in two minds about doing so; with so many local connections, the grieving father first assumed Charlie was at his door to offer his condolences.
“Although on one level he was, he was also there on a professional basis,” Paul said. “But that interview changed things; all across the world, the power of Gordon Wilson’s words changed people’s minds about the Troubles and about this society.
“It was Charlie who arranged that. I truly believe that without Charlie Warmington, that interview may never have happened, and those words that were so important may never have been heard.”
Paul describes Charlie as “a three-dimensional journalist”, as opposed a two-dimensional journalist constantly seeking the next big story.
“For a two-dimensional journalist, the story is king,” he explained. “It’s hard news; you chase the story, get it out and then you’re onto another. I could be like that, especially when I was younger.
“But Charlie was different. He always thought we hadn’t fully told the story; that there was something more, something deeper, a human side that we needed to look at. That’s how I remember him, always looking for that human side.”