A MAN who lost his father after the IRA Enniskillen Poppy Day bomb 25 years ago marked the 25th anniversary of the attack by appealing for no return to violence.
Days after the shooting dead of a prison officer, an emotional Stephen Gault laid a floral tribute to his retired police officer parent at a special service remembering attack on November 8 1987.
Eleven people including three married couples and pensioners died at a commemoration for the dead of two world wars. A twelfth death was recorded later.
Their names have since been added to the Cenotaph in the Co Fermanagh town.
"They were not soldiers answering for battle," Lord Maurice Morrow told a crowd of veterans and relatives yesterday.
"They were not armed. They were not at the Cenotaph to harm or do anyone harm.
"They were deemed however to be legitimate targets because they wanted to honour those of all faiths."
A minute's silence was held exactly 25 years after the explosion.
Relatives laid wreaths at the war memorial.
Mr Gault turned 18 a few days before the bombing.
He had been standing beside his father, Sammy Gault, a retired RUC officer who survived an IRA gun attack 26 years previously. His father was killed instantly.
He climbed the steps yesterday using a stick for his injuries to lay a red wreath.
"It was one of the darkest days of the Troubles, we have to remember that," he said.
"I want people to remember the agony and torment the families have been through, the injured as well, we cannot go back to those bad old days, we have to move forward."
Eleven people died in the blast after a wall collapsed beside the Cenotaph.
Another 63 people were injured when the no-warning bomb ripped through the town.
A 12th victim, school principal Ronnie Hill, spent 13 years in a coma and died in 2000.
No-one has been convicted in connection with the Poppy Day explosion. A new file on the bombing is to be handed to police.
The report from the Historical Enquiries Team will be examined by senior detectives to determine whether any fresh criminal proceedings can be taken against the perpetrators.
First Minister Peter Robinson laid a wreath and had a message for republicans.
Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers also attended and laid a wreath.
"They are keen to have reconciliation in Northern Ireland, they want people to have the truth yet they remain silent about what happened on this occasion," Mr Robinson said.
"Let those who want to have the truth speak the truth.
"I would be very keen that there would be some justice given to the families after such a long period of suffering and torment."
A peace centre was opened in 2002 by former US president Bill Clinton near the site of the bombing. The queen visited Enniskillen earlier this year and met victims.