- Playing
- Petals of Hope
- From
- Barbara Simmons
On August 15, 1998 a car bomb exploded in front of Libby's gift shop on the main street of Omagh in Northern Ireland. 30 people were killed and more than 300 injured. In the hours following the bombing, flowers began to arrive from all over the world. Many people later said that the sight of these flowers piling up in the street brought them their first sense of hope and comfort. What the residents of Omagh didn't know at the time was that they would use these same flowers to create something beautiful together. This is the story of that creation: Petals of Hope.
Our storytellers are: Madeline Sharkey, longtime resident of Omagh; Lawrence Rush, whose wife Libby was killed in the bombing; Frank Sweeney, member of the Omagh District Council; and Carol Keene, a textile artist from the nearby town of Port Rush.
This piece was part of a 4 part series, PEACETALKS, that was aired locally on WHYY in Philadelphia.
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Piece Description
On August 15, 1998 a car bomb exploded in front of Libby's gift shop on the main street of Omagh in Northern Ireland. 30 people were killed and more than 300 injured. In the hours following the bombing, flowers began to arrive from all over the world. Many people later said that the sight of these flowers piling up in the street brought them their first sense of hope and comfort. What the residents of Omagh didn't know at the time was that they would use these same flowers to create something beautiful together. This is the story of that creation: Petals of Hope. Our storytellers are: Madeline Sharkey, longtime resident of Omagh; Lawrence Rush, whose wife Libby was killed in the bombing; Frank Sweeney, member of the Omagh District Council; and Carol Keene, a textile artist from the nearby town of Port Rush. This piece was part of a 4 part series, PEACETALKS, that was aired locally on WHYY in Philadelphia.
Broadcast History
Broadcast locally on WHYY in January 2003
Transcript
On August 15th, 1998, a car bomb exploded in front of Libby's gift shop on the main street of Omagh in Northern Ireland. Killing 30 and injuring more than 300, this attack changed forever Omagh's sense of itself as a small town where things like this never happened. In the hours and days immediately following the bombing floweres began to arrive from all over the world. And they were placed in public - on the street alongside the shattered glass and burnt buildings.
Many later said that the sight of these flowers brought them their first sense of hope and comfort. What residents of Omagh didn't know at the time was that they would use these same flowers to create together something beautiful, Petals of Hope.
Our storytellers are:
Madeline Sharkey- longtime resident of Omagh; Lawrence Rush - whose wife Libby was killed in the bombing; Frank Sweeney, member of the Omagh District Co...
Read the full transcript
Timing and Cues
Music and intro....
Story
Close is music....19:40
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Jonathan Goldstein
Posted on February 27, 2005 at 06:05 AM | Permalink
Review of Petals of Hope
The story of the attack and its emotional aftermath is told by the people affected by it in the town and it is terribly, often brutally, sad. This work is completely intimate, expertly intercutting voices that are thoughtful and emotional. For many, it seems, it is the first time that they are actually talking about their loss. It’s the kind of in depth story-telling rarely captured at all on the nightly news. It’s also amazing how the story ends with a sense a healing and a very courageous reaching out. It’s genuinely touching. The production and the use of scoring music is also well done.