Made to mark the twentieth anniversary of the bomb, this documentary revisits the events of the day of the bomb, and the legacy of one of the worst incidents of the Troubles.
Through intimate and compelling interviews, The Poppy Day Bomb, reveals the remarkable and inspiring human stories of courage and resilience that lie behind the tragedy of the Enniskillen bombing, such as those of Julian Armstrong who lost both his parents,Wesley and Bertha Armstrong; Joan Wilson, whose daughter Marie was the youngest victim of the bomb, and Noreen Hill, whose husband
Ronnie Hill remained in a coma for thirteen years after the bomb.
Director Jonathan Golden grew up a few miles outside Enniskillen, and was 14 years old in 1987. He says: “I remember the morning of the bomb, and the huge sense of shock that people felt. I was always struck by the courage of the relatives of those who died, and the resilience of the injured to overcome and live with the tragedy. They are inspiring stories.”
The documentary also explores how the town has dealt with tragedy and grief. Jonathan Golden says: “Out of the tragedy of Enniskillen came the story of how a community came together. The immediate aftermath of the bomb plunged the town into fear and unease, yet the days after the bomb saw both the Protestant and Catholic communities united in their grief at the funerals of the victims.”
Denzil McDaniel, editor of The Impartial Reporter and author of Enniskillen: The Remembrance Sunday Bombing, was consultant on the programme. He remembers the impact of the bomb on the town: “Television, radio, the world’s press were here for two weeks, and the individual families had to deal with their grief in that spotlight.
Very quickly everyone went away, and Enniskillen and the families had to deal with that private grief. I don’t think there was any template for that, but certainly I think Enniskillen has dealt very well with it.”
Jonathan Golden says:“Twenty years on and with the end of the Troubles, the story of the Enniskillen bomb reminds us of the personal stories of loss and pain as Northern Ireland now faces the challenge of how it deals with its violent past.”
David Bolton is director of the Northern Ireland Centre for Trauma and Transformation.At the time of the bomb he was a social worker in Enniskillen, and a counsellor with the relatives of victims of the bomb.
He says: “The way the town coped with the tragedy stands there for those who want to see it as a metaphor for how the wider community can deal with the Troubles, of the tragedy that has befallen us all.”
The Poppy Day Bomb is a Double Band Films production for BBC Northern Ireland.