My name is Michael Gallagher. I am married with two daughters. Our only son Aidan was killed by the Omagh bomb.

The Omagh bomb was the most devastating terrorist attack in the 35 year history of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. On 15 August 1998 a breakaway Republican group called the Real IRA parked an explosive-laden car outside a school uniform shop in the small market town of Omagh, 75 miles west of Belfast. At 2.30pm that Saturday afternoon the police received a telephone warning saying that a bomb was near the Courthouse. It was a confusing and deceptive warning. While the town was being cleared, the car bomb detonated at 3.10pm with devastating consequences. Thirty-one people died, including a mother with unborn twins. Hundreds were injured, mainly women and children, many losing limbs. One young girl was blinded for life. The injured suffered mainly from burns. Northern Ireland had never experienced death or injury on this scale before.

The people affected came from three nations. Children from the Irish Republic and Spain were on an educational trip to Omagh that day. Five were killed and seventeen injured. Every hospital in the province received the injured, the RAF and Army helicopters transported the seriously injured to Belfast hospitals.

In the weeks after the bomb many of the families formed a support group. I was elected chairperson. The bomb did not discriminate. People from all religious and political opinion died or were injured. So the group’s membership reflected this. We soon moved from a support group to a lobby group for justice. This brought us into contention with the police forces on both sides of the border, who were investigating this wicked crime. Our journey was extraordinary – meeting with senior members of both governments, including the Prime Minister and Home Secretary, the Taoiseach and the President of the USA – but having no result at the end of that. We started a civil action against the Real IRA and those individuals we believed were responsible. This was the first time in the world that victims’ families had taken such a step.

We were approached by Paul Greengrass, the filmmaker, about making a film of our journey since the bomb. After many meetings, the families agreed to tell their stories so that a true and accurate film could be made. The film was based on my family’s experiences. Our only son, Aiden, went into town with his friend on the 15 August 1998 to buy a pair of jeans. He never came home. He was killed and his friend was badly injured.

Our decision to take part in the film was a very difficult one, as it was going to put our lives under a microscope and we would lose our privacy, which at that time we believed was all we had. I felt that it was important because I played a pivotal role in the group as chairman, and continue to hold that position. I remember asking the filmmakers: whatever you do, tell the story how it is, do not over glamorise it or understate the difficult bits.

I believe Omagh was important because it showed that, even in the midst of evil, people can put their difficulties to one side. This must have given hope to a divided society – that is why I wanted Omagh to be a film of hope and not despair.

Sadly, car bombs have become the chosen weapons of terrorists. My hope is that all who have watched this film and have had their lives violated by terrorism can take courage from our experiences. And I hope that the people whose lives have been changed for ever will not give up hope.