At 3.10 p.m. on Saturday 15th August 1998 the worst atrocity of the Northern Ireland 'troubles' occurred when a terrorist bomb ripped through the centre of Omagh. This horrific event left 29 people dead and more than 200 injured. It touched not just Omagh but also Buncrana in Co. Donegal and Spain.
At that time we at Globalgateway felt that people all over the world would want some way to express their own heartfelt thoughts on this terrible tragedy.
We opened an Online Book of Condolence to facilitate them and were genuinely overwhelmed by the enormous response from people using the Internet across the globe.
The messages of sympathy we received were not well rehearsed comments from seasoned political commentators.
They were messages from the heart by people struggling to find the right words.
Messages from people whose native language was not English in many instances.
We didn't correct their spelling mistakes or 'broken English' phrases. The errors, in their own simple way, confirmed the vulnerability of ordinary people trying desperately to communicate feelings of genuine sympathy for their fellow human beings.
Messages from young and old who just wanted the people of Omagh to know that their unbearable pain was being felt far away from home.
We eventually put all the messages we received in bound printed book form and provided copies to Omagh District Council as well as other appropriate dignitaries.
We hoped the messages would provide some small comfort to all those who suffered so terribly and lost their loved ones.
We also decided to suspend the Online messages from our Internet site as a mark of respect to the people of Omagh who we felt needed their privacy.
However in response to requests from various people, including the Chief Executive of Omagh District Council, Mr. John McKinney, we have put these original messages back on view.
Hopefully the people who took the trouble to send these messages of condolence will realise their simple words of sympathy were appreciated and did bring some comfort to those who were hurt so much.
We also reproduce a number of the letters we have received from leading political figures.
We know that words are never enough. Time does not diminish the pain.
Time for some can simply make the situation bearable. For others time itself can become unbearable and the emptiness can make each day more difficult to face.
The people of Omagh and all those who have suffered in this bloody conflict must never be forgotten.
We dedicate the following messages to their memory. George Larmour Globalgateway Email: george@globalgateway.com