Suzanne Travis, a woman forever etched by the Omagh bombing, has bravely recounted her harrowing experience at the inquiry into this horrific atrocity. Describing August 15, 1998, as the “worst day of our lives,” Ms. Travis shared the harrowing moments that unfolded on that sunny afternoon in Omagh, Northern Ireland when a devastating bomb ripped through the town center.
Ms. Travis, then a 20-year-old student, had been enjoying a day of shopping with her mother. Little did they know their outing would turn into a nightmare. The blast, orchestrated by a Republican splinter group known as the Real IRA, caused unimaginable devastation, claiming the lives of 29 innocent people including a woman heavily pregnant with twins.
Despite suffering a head injury that blurred her vision and being buried beneath rubble, Ms. Travis remained conscious. She vividly remembers seeing two lifeless bodies beside her as she struggled to free herself from the debris. In a desperate search for her mother, she was relieved to find her sitting upright in the midst of the chaos.
“I remember the word amputation”
It was only after meeting a friend that the horrifying reality of her own injuries dawned upon Ms. Travis. Her left foot, completely severed by the blast, was missing. A stranger, witnessing her distress, brought her to the hospital in Omagh, where she was later transferred to Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry. There, doctors delivered the grim news that they had to amputate her lower left leg. Ms. Travis, unable to locate her parents, had to sign her own consent form authorizing the procedure.
“I remember the word amputation,” she recalled. “I remember them giving me the pen and the clipboard and then I remember signing it, scribbling on it.”
In addition to the loss of her leg, Ms. Travis endured a multitude of other injuries. Her recovery was long and arduous. While initially relieved to learn that her mother survived, she was devastated to discover she was in a coma and had been airlifted to Altnagelvin. Due to her own severe injuries, Ms. Travis couldn’t see her mother for a week.
“I was wheeled up to see her and I remember her being in ICU and she was trying to reassure me that she was okay and I was trying to reassure her that I was ok,” she recalled as her mother sat close by in the inquiry hearing room.
Undeterred by the bomb, Ms. Travis bravely continued her teaching degree at Liverpool University. Completing her studies remotely, she graduated in 2001. She found work as a teacher in Liverpool but was forced to reduce her hours to two days a week due to ongoing pain, infections, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Ms. Travis, despite her profound physical and emotional scars, continues to inspire with her resilience. In her closing comments at the inquiry, she delivered a powerful message: “I will never forgive those who left behind carnage, devastation and suffering by their cowardly wicked act.”
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