The father of a young man killed in the Omagh bombing has spoken of his sadness that he did not get the chance to thank singer Sinead O’Connor for her efforts for victims of the 1998 blast.
O’Connor recorded a cover of Abba’s hit Chiquitita for the compilation album Across The Bridge Of Hope, released in 1999 to support the families of the bomb victims.
The album also featured a reading of the Seamus Heaney poem A Cure At Troy by actor Liam Neeson, and music by U2, Enya and Van Morrison.
Michael Gallagher, whose son Aiden, 21, was among the 29 killed in the 1998 dissident republican atrocity, said he had not been aware of O’Connor’s contribution until after her death.
He told the PA news agency it was sad that he would never get to thank her.
It was by chance that he learned about it a couple of weeks ago while a family member was watching a documentary about Abba on TV.
O’Connor, 56, died after being found unresponsive at her south-east London home on July 26.
Thousands turned out in Bray, close to Dublin, to see her funeral procession last week.
“That was the very first time I heard that, 25 years after the event,” Mr Gallagher said. “I think it was sad to learn that after she died.
“She was a very complicated personality, Sinead, she took on all sorts of causes, most of them that no-one would have taken on.
“It reminded me of when Lady Diana died. You see the royals and don’t think much about it, but it was only when Lady Diana died that I realised she did a lot of things that she didn’t need to do and some of them dangerous things. She could have a very comfortable life and just get on with it.
“When something like that happens (O’Connor’s death), it’s only when you really learn about people.
“I can’t even thank her (O’Connor).”
