Omagh Bomb: 'My brother was a kind soul'

Oliver (left) and his brother James (right)

On the 20th anniversary of his brother's death, Oliver Tristan-Barker will mark the occasion with his family the way they always do.

They'll gather by the graveside to reflect on the events of the last two decades, say a prayer and recite the names of the 29 victims and two unborn children who died on that day in 1998.

Oliver's brother James was 12 years old when he was killed in the car bombing in Omagh, Northern Ireland.

"Some of my first formative memories are the events of the Omagh bomb and the days, weeks and months that followed," Oliver tells Newsbeat.

He was four years old when the attack took place.

"I remember there being a lot of confusion, a lot of chaos, a lot of people coming and going.

"But I remember my brother, and 20 years on I've heard enough stories and seen enough pictures to know what a kind and caring child he was."

On the 20th anniversary of the Omagh bombing, the event that changed the town forever

Missing out on having an older brother to look up to is something Oliver says he's "very regretful" about.

"I'm sure there are plenty of circumstances where we might have gone on a holiday for the first time without our parents or if I had had some girl trouble I might have been able to get some advice from him.

"I would have had somebody who, unlike my close friends, I could have been close to in that way that I think brothers really share that particular bond.

"It's something I would have very much enjoyed."

The bombing in Omagh led to the greatest single loss of life in the Troubles, and came just months after The Good Friday Agreement.

A dissident Republican group opposed to the peace process, the Real IRA, was blamed for the attack, but no-one has ever been convicted.

On the 20th anniversary of the attack, former police ombudsman Baroness Nuala O'Loan said that the bomb could have been prevented if the security forces had acted differently.

• Omagh Bomb: 'Like a scene out of a horror movie'

• Omagh bomb: The 29 victims

• Omagh bomb rescuers: Memories 20 years on

Oliver says there's a "tremendous amount of personal pain, anger and anguish" regarding the attack

After losing James, the family moved back to London, having only recently moved to County Donegal in Ireland at the time of the bombing.

He and his mother were able to return to Omagh more recently for the dedication of a memorial quilt that marked the remembrance of people who lost their lives.

"It was a difficult day and a tear was shed on more than one occasion, but it was a great catharsis for me and my mother to be able to retread my brother's footsteps," he said.

"Being able to speak to the many different victims and families has brought a great level of healing to myself and indeed the members of my family."

His abiding memory of James is his "piercing green eyes and his beautiful smile":

"I know just from looking at him that he was a kind soul. If he had lived, he would've gone on to be a kind person."

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