Father of bomb victim 'never fully recovered'

The father of the youngest victim of the Claudy bomb, who "never truly recovered" from the heartbreak of losing his nine-year-old daughter, will be laid to rest today.

William (Billy) Eakin, 77, whose daughter Kathryn was murdered in the IRA Claudy bombs in 1972 will be laid to rest beside his daughter Kathryn and wife Meryl, who died only last year.

Kathryn died when three no-warning bombs exploded in Claudy. At the time the schoolgirl was outside washing the windows of the family shop.

In 1984 Billy and Meryl sold their business and moved to Castlerock to retire.

Billy died at Causeway Hospital on Wednesday and will be buried in Upper Cumber cemetery in Claudy after a funeral service at Christ Church in Castlerock.

Last night his grieving son Mark, 49, told of how his father never recovered from the trauma of losing his daughter in the bomb.

"He was a very good father, but there is no denying he changed as things were never the same after the bomb," he said. "He never truly recovered from what happened.

"He became very closed in on himself and he shut things in.

"I was 12 years old when the Claudy bomb happened and at the time I was only about 12ft away from Kathryn. I had just walked past about two seconds beforehand.

"I do not know how I escaped but I did with a few minor cuts."

Mark said he believed his father chose to bottle up his feelings and would even walk away from a conversation about the bomb.

"He did not talk very much about it. If someone mentioned the subject he tried to change it or walked away.
"My mother would have talked about it. It wasn't a good situation for any of us.

"He was a good father and he did his best.

"But I know for a fact he changed after the bomb. By the time I was 16 years old he was a different man from the one he was when I was eight years old.

"But my father did not hold any anger again anyone as such. He had friends on both sides the community and they will be represented his funeral."

Billy's younger brother Victor, 69, added th since his wife Meryl died, "Billy has gone through a prolonged illness and for the pa four weeks he was getting continually weaker.

"The tragic events of Claudy did not add making a happy life. It brought stress at that time and ever since.

"But Billy was a happy fella who could enjoy life generally. But in the last four to five yea things started to tell on him and he four things harder."

Kathryn was one of nine people murdered when three bombs exploded in the County Londonderry village on 31st July,1972. The other people killed were Joseph McCluskey, David Miller, James McClelland, William Temple, Elizabeth McElhinney, Rose McLaughlin, Patrick Connolly and Arthur Hone.

No one has ever admitted responsibility for the attack. 14th February 2009 News Letter

Troubles victims will never be forgotten

Billy Eakin will be buried today, 37 years after his daughter Kathryn was murdered in the Claudy bombing.

Mr Eakin and his wife Meryl, who died a year ago, suffered unimaginable grief through all those years as they mourned the loss of a nine-year-old daughter, cut down in her childhood by the savagery of the IRA. The IRA always tried to distance itself from the outrage but subsequent investigations have exposed its ability to lie as well as murder. Now, as republicans try to rewrite their atrocities out of history and paint their ruthless terrorist campaign as some sort of justified action, it is more important than ever to remember exactly what they did.

It was a summer's morning in the small village of Claudy, just off the main Belfast to Londonderry road. People were going about their normal activities when a series of bombs exploded without warning.

Six people lost their lives that day - July 31, 1972 - and three others died later from their injuries. A number of people were very seriously injured. Kathryn Eakin lived on Main Street, Claudy. She was cleaning windows outside her parents' shop when the bombs ripped the small village apart. Kathryn's brother Mark was 12 years old at the time of the bombing and was only yards away from his sister but escaped with minor injuries. He has recalled the effect that day had on his parents for the rest of their lives.

Since then, the memory of what happened has dimmed in the minds of many people and there is a new generation who have probably never heard of the Claudy bombing. But it has been different for the Eakin family and other people like them who lost loved ones. Every single day they have had to live with the legacy of the atrocity.

The Eakin family will make another sad journey to a cemetery today. Our thoughts should be with them as they stand together, in dignified silence, remembering lives shattered by terrorism. News Letter – Editorial Morning View 14th February 2009