Troubles board game a 'slap in the face' - Omagh bomb widower

A MAN whose wife was killed in the Omagh bombing has condemned a new American-made board game based on the Troubles as a “slap in the face to any decent person”, saying victims and survivors have been completely ignored.

Kevin Skelton, whose wife Philomena was among the 29 people, including a woman pregnant with twins, murdered in the 1998 Real IRA attack, said he was deeply distressed to learn that Northern Ireland’s three decades of conflict had been turned into a board game allowing players to plant bombs and strike political deals in order to win.

Mrs Skelton was 39 years-old and a mother-of-four when she died in the bombing, which also injured more than 220 people.

On the day of the attack, the family had travelled into Omagh to shop for school uniforms. While Mrs Skelton was killed, her husband and children escaped physically unharmed.

Speaking on Newstalk’s Lunchtime Live programme this week, Mr Skelton said learning about the game had left him saddened and angry.

“Nothing surprises me anymore. Every day something changes. The IRA, Sinn Féin, DUP, UVF - they are all the one click. They are all pushing for these things, do this, do that,” he said.

“The people who were victims, they’re not being asked at all. They’ve been totally ignored and this, it’s an insult.