https://k8s-accounts-01.ulster.ac.uk/repo24/files/original/a9cb0216c981e65e5cb9def2307f1864.pdf f8e3c9e32f8797b5251e9ef86f2d8a55 PDF Text Text Remembering: “Petals of Hope” Artistic responses to the Omagh Bomb Conversations with Carole Kane and Malachi O’Doherty 1 �Elaine Gallagher “I’m obviously very, very thankful to still have her alive and it was tough, because as an eight year old, you do want the attention of your mum and dad…” My sister lost her eyesight at the Omagh bomb when she was 15. I was 8 turning 9. I remember a lot about that day and about the follow up and even though I was young, I had to grow up quickly as a result of it all. Claire was just going into town with her friends on a Saturday and you could say, was in the wrong place at the wrong time. A piece of shrapnel from the car that the bomb was in, sliced behind her eyes and she lost her sight and, for a while, her senses of smell and taste; these gradually came back. I was supposed to be going into town and got a phone call last minute to go with my cousins to their holiday home in Mullaghmore. So off I went with them. I remember driving down the road in the car and all of a sudden, my auntie Anne who was driving the car, being very cross with us and telling us to be quiet. When we got to the caravan we were told to go outside and play and later I was told that Claire was in an accident. About two or three weeks later, we went up to Belfast and I thought it was great getting to go shopping for the day and as soon as I walked into the room, I knew that Claire had lost her sight. She had two white patches over her eyes and I knew that our family would never be the same again. I’m obviously very, very thankful to still have her alive and it was tough, because as an eight year old, you do want the attention of your mum and dad; obviously their number one was Claire. As a family, we learned that it would be easier for us to get on with things and to learn to forgive. As a family, we decided that. It has made things easier. Individually we have good days and bad days and Claire has good days and bad days. She has gone on to do her degree. She was only 15 but she went back to school, did her GCSEs, her A Levels, went and did a degree in Belfast, got married, has two beautiful children which is very hard because they are so beautiful and she will never see them. This drawing by Oran Bowes, shows his mummy, Claire. 14 �Elaine Gallagher “Being a student in England is quite refreshing in that not a lot of people know about the troubles in Ireland.” Being involved in the Petals of Hope certainly provided me with a lot of healing. I went on to study art and focused my project on textiles, hand-made papers, which is what the Petals of Hope project was. I’m now doing a degree with the hope of becoming an art therapist which I deﬁnitely wouldn’t have chosen to do if it hadn’t been for the Omagh bomb and I then went to art therapy sessions and gained an interest in that and wanted to help other people. Being a student in England is quite refreshing in that not a lot of people know about the troubles in Ireland. If they know what happened, not a lot of people know what happened in Omagh, especially people my age in England. They wouldn’t know unless they had a relative involved or something, but I ﬁnd it quite healing to talk about the Omagh bomb with people that don’t know. I ﬁnd it helpful to me to be able to talk about it and I never have a problem talking about it. Yes, there are times when I get upset which is normal. That’s a given. But having a boyfriend from England who doesn’t have any clue about the Troubles is refreshing too because he hadn’t heard of the Omagh bomb. His parents had, obviously from the news but teaching him about the Troubles has helped me deal with what happened and I think it has somewhat opened his eyes to how the world is and what goes on in other people’s lives and made him realise that no matter what’s going on in your life, there’s always someone else with something else going on that could be worse, could be similar. We were always brought up as children to know that. Yes, what happened to Claire was horriﬁc and horrendous but there were people that day who lost their relatives and we just have to be thankful that we still have Claire, as hard as it is every day to accept that she will never see again. We have her and we are the lucky ones really. 15 �This publication has received support from the Victims Support Programme for Groups Working with Victims and Survivors, which is administered by VSS on behalf of the Ofﬁce of the First and Deputy First Minister. The views expressed do not necessarily reﬂect those of the Victims and Survivors Service. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Remembering 'Petals of Hope' (collection) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Some of the recorded stories can be found at the 'Petals of Hope Revisited' blog: <a href="http://www.omaghpetals.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">www.omaghpetals.blogspot.co.uk/</a> See also: Information about the original Petals of Hope project on Carole Kane's website: <a href="http://www.carolekane.com/index.php?/petals-of-hope/" target="_blank">www.carolekane.com/</a> Stories Collected Non DC - Number of stories recorded as part of the project. 15 video; 23 text Stories Deposited Non DC - Number of stories deposited with Accounts of the Conflict. 11 video; 15 text Collection Permission Form Non DC - Collection permission form signed and returned. Yes (signed 29 March 2014) Description An account of the resource The Remembering 'Petals of Hope' project (2013-14) produced a collection of 15 audio visual and 23 written stories related to the Omagh Bomb (15 August 1998). The work involved in conducting the interviews and producing the recordings was carried out by Carole Kane and Malachi O'Doherty. Carole Kane, a freelance artist / community arts facilitator, was involved in the original 'Petals of Hope' project (1998-99) in association with Omagh District Council, which, with the assistance of children from Omagh, transformed floral tributes left at the scene of the bomb into handmade paper and art work. This resulted in an exhibition in the spring and summer of 1999 and the publication of the exhibition catalogue entitled 'Petals of Hope' (1999). Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Carole Kane, and Malachi O'Doherty Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014 Language A language of the resource English Relation A related resource See also: The booklet: Kane, Carole., and O'Doherty, Malachi. (2014). Remembering: "Petals of Hope" - Artistic responses to the Omagh Bomb. Omagh: VSS and Omagh District Council. Web sites: <a href="http://www.carolekane.com" target="_blank">www.carolekane.com</a> <a href="http://www.omagh.gov.uk/" target="_blank">www.omagh.gov.uk</a> <a href="http://www.omagh.gov.uk/district_of_omagh/omagh_remembers/petals_of_hope/" target="_blank">www.omagh.gov.uk/district_of_omagh/omagh_remembers/petals_of_hope/</a> The original exhibition catalogue: Kane, Carole. (1999). Petals of Hope. Omagh: Omagh District Council. The catalogue is available to purchase at this Web page: <a href="http://www.omagh.gov.uk/culture_leisure_and_tourism/visitor_services/online_book_store/?bookID=31" target="_blank">www.omagh.gov.uk/culture_leisure_and_tourism/visitor_services/online_book_store/?bookID=31</a> Permission Form Scanned Non DC - Scan of permission form uploaded to archive. Yes Delayed Access Non DC - Yes/No on request for delayed access. No Availability Online Non DC - Availabilty Status (deposited, delayed, external, cain) deposited Contact Non DC - Contact person within the organisation. Carole Kane (carolekane@btinternet.com) Jean Brennan, Arts Manager, Omagh District Council (jean.brennan@omagh.gov.uk) Publication A book, article, monograph etc. Author Author of the publication Gallagher, Elaine Date Type Publication, Submission, Completion date etc. 2014 Publication Title Full title of publication, as it appears on item. 'I'm obviously very, very thankful ...', in, Kane, Carole., and O'Doherty, Malachi. (2014). Remebering: "Petals of Hope" - Artistic responses to the Omagh Bomb. Omagh: VSS and Omagh District Council. Publisher Location Place of publication: city / town Omagh Publisher VSS and Omagh District Council. Publication Type Report, Book, Manual etc. Booklet Publication Status Published, in Press, Unpublished, etc. Published ISBN 978-1-86-991922-1 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 'I'm obviously very, very thankful ...', by Elaine Gallagher (story text) Description An account of the resource The text, in PDF (Portable Document Format), of one of 20 personal accounts related to the Omagh Bomb (15 August 1998). The accounts were published in the booklet Remembering: "Petals of Hope". Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Kane, Carole., and O'Doherty, Malachi. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available VSS and Omagh District Council. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Text; PDF; 271KB Availability Online Non DC - Availabilty Status (deposited, delayed, external, cain) deposited Catalogue ID Non DC - ID for the Catalogue entry that relates to this entry 2289 Collection ID Non DC - ID for the Collection that relates to this entry 155 Organisation ID Non DC - ID for the Organisation that relates to this entry 154 Remembering 'Petals of Hope' Workers' Educational Association (WEA)