Lifelong friends severely injured in the Omagh bomb complete skydive 25 years on

• Video report by UTV Correspondent Gareth Wilkinson

An Omagh bomb survivor has recounted how "everything stopped" on that sunny summer's day 25 years ago in the moments after the terrorist atrocity.

Kate Walls and her friend Rachel Galbriath were among the public evacuated toward the bomb after a false warning of its location.

Speaking to UTV to mark the 25th anniversary of the devastating Real IRA attack, Kate recalled how a beautiful summer's day, with high spirits among the crowds in the town centre were shattered within moments.

"Everyone was in good mood," Kate said, "there was laughter, children there, it was a lovely day, sun was shining, then that was it – everything stopped.

“Whenever it happened and I came round I was confused. I knew I was on the ground, but there was still confusion. But what struck me at the very start was that it was so quiet and that everything was moving in slow motion.

“Then bang – then the chaos came, the screams, the smells, sirens, alarms going off from shops."

The two lifelong friends who were badly injured in the attack had planned to to complete a sky dive, however, the bombing put paid to their plans. Twenty-five years on they have just done it, to raise money for a charity which helps victims of the Troubles and their families.

“We were both in our 20s when this happened and were only starting to live our lives and we had so many things planned to do, but because the two of us were going through so many surgeries it just put a dampener on it for us all,” said Rachel.

“But then Kate decided this mad idea to jump”.

Kate added: “As young girls living back then you turn round and what to do so many things, you want to travel, you want to do this, you want to do that, you want to do crazy things and the parachute jump was one of those things.

“We’d discussed it that year, but then '98 happened and with everything that was going on just mentally and physically.”

The pair recounted how relaxed the atmosphere was in the town despite the security alert.

“I was working and Kate had an appointment and came into my work to wait on me to finish,” said Rachel.

Kate continued: “The police came into Rachel’s work and said there was another bomb scare. Back then there was always bomb scares so it was just like ‘here’s another one’.

"I had an appointment for 3pm that day, but we were told move down to the bottom of the town, it’s at the courthouse. So we moved down to the middle and the police came again and said ‘you need to go further down’.

"So we went further down and Rachel and myself we were actually the ones that were at the front…and obviously it wasn’t a scare that day.”

Rachel said: “We just thought another bomb scare. No one was too anxious, having the chat and a laugh.”

The telephone warning said the bomb had been placed outside the courthouse and the public were evacuated in the opposite direction. However, the warning was wrong and the people were being evacuated toward the bomb.

“We would have been standing a good 15 or 20 minutes before,” said Rachel.

Kate continued “There was a festival going on that day, everyone was in good mood, there was laughter, children there, it was a lovely day, sun was shining, then that was it – everything stopped.

“Whenever it happened and I came round I was confused. I knew I was on the ground, but there was still confusion. But what struck me at the very start was that it was so quiet and that everything was moving in slow motion.

“Then bang – then the chaos came, the screams, the smells, sirens, alarms going off from shops.

"And then it took me a few minutes to realise Rachel wasn’t beside me. We were standing together and whenever I looked round she had been blown right across the road. Facing me but right across. And we just looked at each other.”

Rachel continued: “And we just sat and stared at each other. We were in that much shock.

“Then I remember a police officer coming running down and one of them stopped with me and checked on me and I said ‘please help me’ and he said ‘I’m sorry I can’t, I have to see to the people that aren’t moving’.

“So I just sat there and waited and I think we both wished we’d been knocked out as we just had to lie there because we couldn’t get up and walk.”

And the images they saw will always stick with them.

“I was wearing a long dress that day. Whenever it happened my first thought was I want to go home and I went to get up, I would have run, I would have run straight home, but whenever I went to get up on my right leg I fell back down,” said Kate.

“So I lifted my dress up and it was up above the knee, lower part of the thigh, there was a big metal bar and I realised it had gone from the front to the back.

“But I just thought ‘right I’m not seriously injured, I’m not seriously injured’. I noticed burns at the bottom of the leg, and when I looked round and I saw sights that no one should see and I thought I’m not the worst off and I thought I can’t look at this anymore.

“And that was when I took my handbag, and there was a wee child’s shoe that was beside me, and I just thought no and I just pulled my dress down, lay down and put my head in my handbag and thought I’ll wait until someone gets me”.

Rachel added: “No one should have witness or see what they seen.

“Every single day, you don’t even have to try and imagine it, it’s just there, you close your eyes and you can see every image from the minute and hour you opened your eyes.”

After suffering such trauma, it was their friendship that helped them through the dark times.

“We wish that we hadn’t been in it, or that one of us wasn’t in it, but we’re actually glad we were in it together, and when we have our off days we can rely on each other, we kind of pick each other up,” said Rachel.

Kate added: “Our families it affected just as much also, but you’d find and I’d find that I didn’t want to upset them anymore, I didn’t want them think what they daughter or sister had gone through. But Rachel knew, she knew because she was there.

Rachel continued: “So we knew when one of the other wasn’t feeling. And we knew when to give space or to actually be there.

“It’s bonded us, we were good friends beforehand, but what has happened has bonded us both.”

Their sky dive raised money for Wave Trauma – the biggest cross community victims’ group in Northern Ireland.

“It’s very important. Wave Trauma help people who have been injured in the Troubles and also their families,” said Kate.

“What’s more important they don’t care what religion you are, they don’t care what your political views are, they’re there to support you in the community and your home life and whatever you need whether it’s counselling, therapy or anything, they are advocates for welfare.

“They help you with everything. They are the ones that will help you to start living again if you’re having problems.

“They are government funded and unfortunately they don’t always get the funding that they need.

“So they need this money to help us and we need them to be there.”

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