He says it felt like "being hit in the back of the head with an iron bar". He remembers his girlfriend crying, fire alarms going off and rubble around him.

He asked another man next to him to lift up a sign that they were stuck underneath, Mr McGlinn realised the man had passed away.

After seeing his girlfriend's injuries, he says they hobbled "through the rubble, and over the glass".

He says he remembers a "trickle" of blood coming from his eye, but he was too worried to touch it so he just ignored it.

Image source, Omagh Bombing Inquiry

Mr McGlinn says he remembers "landing on the ground".

"I remember sirens going off. I remember the glass. I remember the smell," he says.

“Burning matches is probably the best way to describe it.”

He says after the initial impact, he remember coming round and kicking “into survival mode”.

Jaime McGlinn says when he tried to go down Bridge Street he was stopped by an "authoritative police officer" and was told he wasn't allowed to go down that way.

He says he had a real sense of "uneasiness" about where they were going, he remembers seeing the car which had the bomb as it was by itself.

Mr McGlinn says he stepped off the pavement, and they were both "blown out of their shoes".

In a pre-recorded video statement being played to the inquiry, survivor Jaime McGlinn says he had went to meet his then girlfriend in a local coffee shop upon his return from holiday on the day of the bombing.

He says the memory of the day is still “quite prevalent” in his mind.

He recalls being asked to leave the coffee shop by a police officer but that the request to leave “didn’t seem any different” to the bomb scares that had happened in the area.

The inquiry hearing is taking a break and is due to resume at about 14:00 GMT.

Image source, Omagh Bombing Inquiry

Lord Turnbull says Mrs McGillion's "will to live" is "beyond remarkable".

He says the support of family and Mr McGillion played an important part in her survival.

He adds that the evidence she provided has given a meaning to consequences of the explosion, and people will understand the gravity of what was done.

Lord Turnbull says her refusal to be defined by what happened, is further reflected in the bond between her and her husband.

In her statement, Mrs McGillion says “I did not want to become a victim, I want to be a survivor”.

She thanks her family “from the bottom of her heart” for the “love and support”.

Speaking of her hopes for the inquiry, Mrs McGillion says “if you think the stone needs unturned, please, please try and get the answers for the people that are asking the questions because they need to heal”.

She says “we can’t keep doing this”.

“I can’t do this in five, 10 years’ time.”

“We’re never going to move on, it’s always going to be there but we need closure.”

She says that closure means “you kind of know what happened and there is no unanswered questions”.

Mrs McGillion says the compensation system was "really hard", the constant of "having to prove" was "harrowing" and "difficult".

In terms of the trials she says, "I'm not really sure there is a justice here that will be ok for what they did", adding that if she had of been injured to this level in a "normal thing" justice would have been served.

She says she tries to not think about those responsible too often, and just to "get on with my life".

Speaking of the media at the time, Mrs McGillion says because she can't hide her injuries there was a lot of media attention.

She says she thought if she could help someone by sharing her story then she would speak to some of the media.

Mrs McGillion says she received letters from others going through a tough time saying her and her husband helped them which made it "worthwhile".

Mrs McGillion says her two children are what makes her get up and protect them.

"I never wanted them to suffer because of the bombing," she adds.

She says they both know when to give their parents a hug.

Referring back to her rescheduled wedding in March 1999, she expresses being “scared” in case another bomb was going to go off.

She recalls remembering that in the back of her mind, "there was someone missing”.

The two priests that had previously given her the last rites were celebrants at the wedding.

"It was a good day”.

Speaking of the people of Omagh and their “spirit” on the day, she said “she was proud to be from Omagh”.

The past 26 years have been an "ongoing struggle" for Mrs McGillion.

She says she has had two heart attacks which have been linked by doctors to the bombing, she can't have certain scans and procedures due to the shrapnel and injuries.

She says you don't know when the mental struggles "will hit you", saying going to simple things like the dentist brings it all back.

Mrs McGillion says for a long time she avoided counselling due to the physical pain but now she is engaging with them.

Mrs McGillion says Breda's death will always "haunt us forever", she says Breda is part of our daily thought process.

She says seeing the hurt of people who lost loved ones in the attack is always been there.

Mrs McGillion says she brought her family "through hell and back" but their support is one of the reasons why she is still here.

She praises the "dedicated" medical staff in Omagh and Belfast that saved her life. As well as all those that helped her on the day, right through until now.

Mrs McGillion says that her mother took her down to the hospital shop on her first walk after the bombing during visiting hours and that it was “one of the hardest walks I’ve had to do in my life”.

“It wasn’t a pretty sight” – speaking about her time in a mask, she says that walk prepared her for “how she would be perceived by other”.

She says people were “staring and taking a second look at my scars”.

Speaking of the agreement to go back into Omagh together, she says it was part of the recovery to set this small goal.

She says she needed to go and see "where our life changed, where the old Donna-Marie was to where the new one become".

Mrs McGillion says it was a "very surreal experience", adding that the atmosphere was different, "it had just changed".

She says it made her realise not to waste the chance she has been given.

Mrs McGillion says she still has shrapnel embedded in the top of her neck, the bottom of her back which is too dangerous to remove, so every so often it moves and she might have to use a crutch.

She says she has daily pain, such as in winter her burns will sting and in summer they will get really itchy.

Mrs McGillion adds that she has to find ways to treat them to stop infections such as constantly applying cream to her skin.

In terms of physical injuries, Mrs McGillion suffered “65 percent third-degree burns” to her face, upper body - front and back - both arms, hands and lower legs, as well as “large laceration” to her forehead, “shrapnel wounds” and damage to her eardrum.

She says she “lost count” of the number of surgery she has had over the past 26 years.

Donna-Marie McGillion says the burns unit will always haunt her, and at time she says she still feels like she is on the ventilators and she was in a lot pain.

She adds that her eyes had to tell people how she felt, and was completely reliant on her medical team which she found "difficult".

Speaking about realising she had been in the bomb, Mrs McGillion recalls her mother briefly leaving her bedside to pick up something from next door.

McGillion explains hearing the radio news bulletins while in ICU – “Something clicked, I know what this is”.

She describes being “agitated and anxious” when beginning to realise what had happened to her.

Upon her mothers return, she told her mother “I know".

Mrs McGillion says once she came around she didn't know what happened, she kept on thinking she was in a car accident.

"Never in a million years did I think I was going to be caught up in a bomb," she says.

Due to her having a tube in her trachea she says she couldn't talk and she couldn't really move as she was in a boat bed because she was sore and bandaged.

She says not knowing was "hard" and "difficult", adding that she could see the toll it had on her family.