FAMILIES of the Omagh bombing victims came together yesterday for a special remembrance ceremony as the 16th anniversary approaches.
Almost 300 people attended the inter-faith service in the town's Memorial Garden of Light located close to the bombing site.
Despite poor weather across the north, the sun shone during the event which included poetry recitals, music and prayer.
Parts of the ceremony were delivered in Irish and Spanish in memory of three boys from Buncrana, Co Donegal and two boys from Madrid in Spain who died in the blast. Michael Gallagher, whose son Aiden was killed, is part of the group that organises the anniversary ceremony. He said it was a difficult but important service to attend. "There is something powerful about families coming together who have shared a common suffering," he said.
"I think in doing this each year there is a certain benefit - it is the only time that we see each other properly. We always say we hope people feel better coming out of that garden than they do going in. "We are also really pleased that the weather held up."
Mr Gallagher said the strong inter-faith relationships demonstrated in the ceremony were something they wanted to "promote and build on".