Teebane: Memorial service remembers victims of IRA bomb

Families of the victims gathered at the site of the bombing on Sunday

More than 200 people have attended a religious service at a County Tyrone roadside where the IRA murdered eight Protestant workmen 30 years ago.

The bombing at Teebane crossroads near Cookstown was one of the worst atrocities of the Troubles.

Relatives of those murdered and some who survived the attack on 17 January, 1992, attended the service.

The workmen were targeted because their employer did construction work for the security forces.

The service - on the eve of the 30th anniversary of atrocity - included hymns and prayers and took place at a roadside memorial stone bearing the names of the victims.

The men were travelling in a van which was blown up by a bomb left at the side of the road.

It was detonated as the van drove past on the journey home from an army base in Omagh.

Relatives of those killed said they felt the incident has become a largely forgotten tragedy by the wider community.

More than 200 people attended the religious service

The former DUP MP, the Rev William McCrea, conducted part of the service and described the attack as cruel and carried out by "gutless cowards".

During a short service, a wreath was left by Cedric Blackbourne, the chief executive of Karl Construction, the company the men were employed by.

The names of those murdered were read out by the Rev Ivor Smith.

'Very emotional day'

Speaking before the service, Ruth Forrest, the sister of one of the victims, David Harkness, said she still clung to hopes of those responsible facing justice.

"It's a very emotional day - it is like it happened three weeks ago, not 30 years ago," she said.

"For me, I have never given of hope of justice.

"They were just ordinary civilian workmen doing a day's work for a day's pay."

A floral tribute left at the memorial on Sunday

She said her brother was a joiner and "was not political in any way".

"We couldn't understand why this happened," she added.

"My mummy and daddy went to their graves not knowing who did this.

"Mummy used to say: 'I would rather be the mummy of David Harkness than the mother of the people who carried this out.'"

What happened at Teebane?

Eight Protestant workmen died on 17 January 1992 when an IRA bomb blew up their minibus at Teebane crossroads, on the road between Omagh and Cookstown.

Another six were injured.

The men who died worked for Karl Construction.

They had been returning from work at Lisanelly Army Barracks and were targeted because they carried out work for the security forces.

The Historical Enquiries Team (HET) conducted an investigation into the attack and provided a report to the families of the victims.

Among other things, the HET report revealed that bad weather on the day of the attack prevented the IRA from detonating the bomb as the men went to work, waiting instead until they were returning home.

No-one has ever been convicted in connection with the bomb attack.

The men killed were:

• Gary Bleeks

• Cecil Caldwell

• Robert Dunseath

• Oswald Gilchrist

• David Harkness

• Bobby Irons

• Richard McConnell

• Nigel McKee