By RODNEY EDWARDS
Hundreds of voices sang out during a sombre Monday morning assembly at Enniskillen High School, on November 9 1987, the day after the IRA bombing.
There were children on crutches, some had bruised faces, one was wearing a neck brace, while many of them along with teachers wiped away tears.
Yet, amid the heartache, they stood side by side united in grief and in song.
“Make me a channel of your peace,” they cried.
“Where there’s despair in life let me bring hope, where there is darkness, only light.”
The bombing had left principal Ronnie Hill in a coma, vice principal Graham Ross’ 15-year-old son Stephen seriously injured and many current and former pupils and their parents suffering from bereavement and injury.
Vic Outram, who stood in as vice principal, said: “The main focus was to lend support to the [600] children.”
There wasn’t a word when Mr Outram took to the podium as 600 pupils looked to him for answers.
“I outlined to the children what I knew of the injuries sustained by pupils and parents, they were very quiet. I told them that any time during the day they could talk to any member of staff.”
Archdeacon Cecil Pringle, the then Chairman of the Board of Governors, praised the “terrific support” he gave.
“We said a prayer, children were crying,” recalled former teacher Toni Johnson, who was in charge of pastoral care.
“No one knew what to do or what to say to the children,” she said.
Former history teacher Gillian Wilson said: “There were hundreds of children sitting in the assembly hall in silence, among those mute white faces were many whose images went all over the world.
“The children looked to us for answers, we had none.”
Mr Outram added: “While we may not have got everything right I think, by and large, we did get through a difficult time.”
A longer version of this article appeared in The Herald’s sister title, The Impartial Reporter, based in Enniskillen.
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