17 October 2025

I was making a purchase on the internet. The item was no longer in the shop. The shop-keeper had failed to remove it from the  internet but was able to source  another. I discovered it was coming by ship from New Zealand. I wondered whether to continue with the purchase?

It turned out that the shop was in  Enniskillen, Northern Ireland. Somehow that made a difference. It had become part of our corporate history. I confirmed my willingness to  wait and said how we remembered the courage of the people at Enniskillen. She thanked  me for my encouraging words.

I remember the town well. The bombing immediately came to mind. It was at the War Memorial on Remembrance Sunday 1987. An IRA bomb exploded killing 11 civilians and a policeman. 68 were injured. The IRA made a mistake. Their target was a parade of  soldiers marching to the war memorial.

Among the dead was a young nurse Marie Wilson. She and her dad, Gordon, a local draper, were buried under 6’ of rubble. Wilson shouted to his daughter, ‘Are you alright?’ She found his hand and said, ‘Is that your hand, dad?’

On the fifth time of asking if she was alright, Marie said, ‘Daddy, I love you very much.’ These were her last words. After that traumatic experience, Gordon Wilson became a campaigner for peace. ‘I miss my daughter … but I bear no ill will, I bear no grudge. She was a great wee lassie. She loved her profession…’

‘Don’t ask me please for a purpose. I don’t have a purpose. I don’t have an answer But I know there has to be a plan.’ he said. ‘Dirty sort of talk is not going to bring her back to life. I shall pray for the IRA bombers tonight and every night. May God forgive them.’ And through these modest prayers, peace was eventually won.