Jim Sharkey, who owned a shop near the site of the Omagh bombing, gave evidence at the inquiry. He described the terrifying moment the bomb exploded, the confusion and the aftermath. He also spoke about the loss of his friends and neighbors, and the lasting impact the bombing has had on him and his family.
Omagh bombing inquiry: Jim Sharkey, accompanied by daughter Karen, gives evidence at the Strule Arts Centre in Omagh, Co Tyrone. Screengrab: Omagh Bombing Inquiry/PA Wire, Jim Sharkey said members of his family were told he had been killed in the confusion that followed the explosion that blew in the front window of his shop and knocked his wife out of her shoes.
He added: “I went back to the newsagents and all I could see in the street was bodies lying everywhere, a lot of people screaming, ambulances arriving. “His wife, Philomena, was found dead in the S D Kells shop on the opposite side of the road from my newsagents.” He said: “I had been talking to Geraldine and Ann outside my shop. If they had stopped where they were outside my shop, which was only yards away from the bomb, maybe they might have been safe.
OMAGH BOMBING INQUIRY JIM SHARKEY SURVIVING VICTIM TERRORISM
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