Church rejects Enniskillen bombing memorial plan

The Catholic Church has rejected plans to place a memorial to victims of the IRA bombing in Enniskillen on its land.

The device exploded during a Remembrance Sunday ceremony in the town in 1987.

Eleven people, many of them old-age pensioners, were killed and 63 were injured.

A 12th victim died after spending 13 years in a coma.

A monument was unveiled last year to mark the 30th anniversary of the attack and has since been in storage.

The development was proposed for land owned by St Michael's Diocesan Trust, but the trust has rejected the plans.

A spokesperson said: "The trust is not in a position to sanction the siting of this memorial as proposed.

"We are happy that the re-developed Clinton Centre will include a memorial to the victims of the Enniskillen bombing, and the Trust hopes that a suitable location for the Ely Centre memorial will be found."

The trust added that it was sensitive to legacy issues surrounding the bomb and had given careful consideration to key questions like public access, obligations to its tenants (the Fermanagh University Partnership Board), the ongoing upkeep, security and sustainability of the memorial and potential future public works in the area.

An alternative monument is due to be completed in a year, but victims said they had been left "distraught" by the church's decision.

Steven Gault, whose father Samuel died, said: "Hurt does not scrape the surface of how we are feeling."

He asked: "Why can't we have a simple, innocent memorial to remember our loved ones murdered by terrorists 30 years ago?"

Mr Gault said he had not been consulted on the Trust's decision, but the church said it had not been given details before the memorial was commissioned, resulting in it being unsuited to the site.