Survivor welcomes memorial for 1973 Coleraine bombing

David Gilmour, who was aged just 10 when he and his parents were caught up in the deadly blast on Railway Road on June 12, has long campaigned for some form of memorial to those who lost their lives in the bombings.

Ahead of the 45th anniversary of the bombing, the DUP will bring a motion to the Causeway Coast and Glens Council tonight calling for a “solidarity” with the bereaved families, a memorial event to mark the occasion, and the erection of a permanent memorial.

The man who planted the bomb at Railway Road, Sean McGlinchey, served 18 years in prison for the atrocity. He is now a serving Sinn Fein councillor in the Causeway Coast and Glens.

He told the News Letter on Friday he would not oppose the motion.

Mr Gilmour, who works in the DUP constituency office in Limavady, said he hopes the motion can pass “unopposed”.

He said: “The six innocent civilians who lost their lives in this car bomb atrocity deserve the respect a service accords them. It is five years since a service by our civic leaders has been held so this is an opportunity for those of us who survived to publicly pay our respects.

“I hope that all Sinn Fein councillors on Causeway Coast and Glens will let this motion pass unopposed, so those of us who survived, can pay our respects to those who were murdered that day.

“For me, remembrance is a daily occurrence, not only for the dead but giving thanks that family members and I lived through the carnage.”

He added: “The service, and possible memorial, is all about the murdered and nothing or nobody else.”