Council should say sorry for its failures around the plaque in Coleraine over IRA bomb atrocity

But it was organised in a manner where minimum focus was given to the initiative and limited opportunity for those directly impacted to be present at the unveiling of the plaque yesterday evening (‘Bomb families furious at council,’ May 31, see link below).

Government and other authorities and institutions continually peddle the language ‘victim centred,’ giving the impression that the focus of efforts always have victims/survivors at the heart of the process.

This is not the case within the Coleraine situation. We have spoken to a number of those directly impacted by that atrocity and they are hurt and disappointed by the handling of the issue.

Some within the families had to bite down hard on their tongue in consenting with the very languages included on the plaque, again they had to give something which in any functioning democracy would not have been asked of them. But to advise them of the dedication/unveiling of the plaque, being installed at the place where their loved ones perished, a mere two to four days ahead of the event is contemptuous particularly given the realities of the demographic of the victims/survivors concerned and their location across these islands.

The council must make an unambiguous apology to the families for the shambolic way in which this issue has been handled. Going forward lessons must also be learnt around the priority concern in these issues, it is not those deemed the great and the good (whoever they are in any given situation) nor must it ever be political expediency.

Rather it must be those who have already endured the grievous injustice of having loved ones stolen from them or who have lost limbs and/or their wits.

As a group we will be making ourselves available to those directly impacted by the events of 1973 in Coleraine, to support them in any way we can be of assistance.

There was no justification for the horror of that day when Provisional IRA terrorists attacked the people and infrastructure of the town.

• Kenny Donaldson is spokesman for Innocent Victims United and Director of Services for South East Fermanagh Foundation

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