Community sends message to dissidents

Residents on North Street and Kilmaine Street had to be evacuated from their homes for over 11 hours on Saturday afternoon.

The bomb, placed in a bin on Kilmaine Street at the junction of North Street exploded shortly after 1pm.

Three young girls, sisters Demi Maguire (12) and two-year-old Carla along with their friend Lauren Hendron were only seconds away from the blast.

They were said to be left with minor injuries and badly shaken, the 'MAIL' spoke with a family friend who was the first on the scene.

"I had just seen the girls walk past the house," said the man, "I sat down to watch the football and then I heard the bang - it was immense.

"My first thought was of the girls and I ran straight out of the house to see if they were okay.

"They were squealing their heads off, but one of them was totally silent and that really scared me, she didn't say one word or make a sound it was frightening.

"I called their parents - as soon as the girl's father saw her he went white - I think he went into shock. He just couldn't believe what his little girl had gone through."

He added: "No one wants this, it is an absolute disgrace and everyone is disgusted there is no one that supports this scum - we all just want a country in peace.

"We have moved on and I don't want my children to live through what we experienced during the Troubles."

Nearby St Peter's GAA Club which usually has hundreds of children on a Saturday was empty for a tournament at St Paul's.

"Anyone who knows this area would know that where the bomb went off is where the children would wait on the school bus," said one resident.

"On the weekend there would be big groups of children and teenagers pass that very same bin to get to the GAA club and kids about 14 or 15 would play football right at that spot - the chance of injuring a child was very high - and they succeeded."

Residents along Kilmaine Street reacted with fury. Homes in the area showed fresh scars from the blast and one window along the street had been broken

At the location of the blast the potential for death was evident, "You won't be able to print what I think of these low lifes," said one woman.

Another man said the nationalist community in Lurgan was being held to ransom: "Over 90 per cent of the people of north Lurgan just want peace.

"This was a totally random attack, the belief is that it had a timer set to go off - if that's the case then it is just mind boggling that this is going on.

"That bin was a public bin - it was steel and to put a bomb in it would be like a hand grenade. The debris went right through a metal fence - it would have easily passed through a child.

"This is a very small minority of people and they are holding the community to ransom," he said.

Another resident added: "We have had over 40 years of it and the town has been torn apart - violence doesn't work.

"Kilmaine Street was often used as a getaway street during the Troubles. Cars would be left abandoned on the street, so I am well used to having to leave the house for security alerts.

"These people are not wanted by us - they have no support, so why are they doing what they are doing. They need to get a life."

A father of a six-month-old baby said he was fortunate he had taken the decision to go away over the weekend: "It was Sunday before I realised how close the bomb was to my house and I was shocked - I had never experienced anything like that."