Episode 6 Real Lives Reunited

Ordinary people... 35 years, I drove a DeLorean again.

..with extraordinary stories.

And she just takes off her wig and throws it into the punch bowl.

Everybody was sort of...

One voice said, "Welcome to the belly of the Pope."

Bonds forged amid triumphs...

Tears, laughter, everything. The whole lot.

..and tragedies.

I had just walked into hell.

They shared a past, then faced a future apart.

God bless you for what you done.

Brought together by fate,

separated by time.

Long time!

# Sleep in heavenly... #

In today's programme...

carnage at the cenotaph.

SHOUTING

I just remember those that pulled me from the rubble, and their voices

and saying, "Don't worry, we'll get you to hospital soon."

A boy whose face was shattered meets the man

who rescued him from the rubble.

For a young lad of 15, that was a mess.

And for me to see you today - you're smiling.

You're still the same person.

Plus, seconds out...

The prettiest fighter in the world is in your country

live in living colour.

The week Ali flew in for one of his most unlikely bouts.

To watch him train...

Ah, don't mind me. I get sentimental now and again.

The men in his corner reunite to tell their tales.

I don't think... Will we ever see the same again? I don't think so.

Remembrance Sunday - an important day in the calendar for many.

Every year, all across the United Kingdom, people come together

to honour those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

For the people of Enniskillen,

Remembrance Sunday 1987

was following the traditional pattern.

By mid-morning on November the 8th,

they gathered in the town centre as they always did.

People were dressed in their good suits, the best,

ladies all done up,

and it was just a normal morning in November,

waiting for the parade to come.

Stephen Ross was 15.

He and a group of friends met at a nearby church.

We were just standing round, sheltering near this building,

waiting for the service to start.

I still remember feeling cold, even with a jumper,

with the westerly wind coming in off the Atlantic.

We were used to gathering there every year,

so this year was no different.

But this day would be different.

Very different.

Looked at my watch, and literally, no sooner had I looked at my watch,

that moment, within a couple of seconds,

the most...most horrendous bang.

EXPLOSION

The complete silence...

..and then all hell broke loose.

SHOUTING AND CRYING

The IRA bomb had destroyed a wall next to where many of the locals

were standing and sent masonry flying around the town square.

Tommy joined the desperate effort to help rescue

the victims beneath the rubble.

At this stage we didn't know

if there was anybody in the vicinity.

We're throwing this away, just clearing, making a path.

As the rescue effort went on,

he found himself standing on top of a large piece of concrete.

We physically lifted the slab.

There's this young boy lying underneath it,

curled up in a ball.

That boy was Stephen.

Despite being knocked unconscious by the blast,

he can recall the exact moment he was freed.

I just remember those that pulled me from the rubble and their voices

and saying, you know, "Don't worry, we'll get you to hospital soon."

Stephen's injuries were life-threatening.

He was airlifted to Altnagelvin Hospital, where he underwent

a 5?-hour operation on his shattered legs and face.

The surgeon drilled holes to put a wire cage

to hold everything in place, and people will remember that of me,

being in hospital with my teeth wired so I couldn't eat or drink.

Unbelievable, the images that were portrayed of Stephen,

and showed what a bomb can actually do to a human being.

Amid the gloom, one boy's story offered some hope

and the public's support helped speed his recovery.

from around the world, and you know, the friends and relatives of those

that had been killed and injured coming to see me in hospital

made a big difference.

After five weeks of intensive treatment, Stephen was discharged.

Really makes you reflect on what you should be thankful for.

Seven years after the attack,

Stephen left for a new life in England.

He's now married with children of his own -

three daughters and a son.

My turn! My turn! My turn!

But this happy family life wouldn't have been possible

had fellow survivor Tommy Hallawell not pulled him from the rubble

on that dreadful November day.

I've never met Tommy.

I've never spoken to him about the events that day.

It would be nice to talk to him about that

and understand his memories of the day, and to say thank you to him

from the bottom of my heart, really.

Today, Stephen's travelling back to Northern Ireland

to meet the man who helped saved his life.

When Tommy last saw him,

he was being taken away from the bomb scene in an ambulance.

As soon as I see him, I'll know him.

I'll know him.

How are you doing, sir? It's been a long time.

Long time, boy.

Lovely to see you. Good to see you too.

Brilliant. I'm in better shape than last time you saw me.

HE LAUGHS

It is unbelievable it's taken this length of time to put this together.

I always said there's a guardian angel

and he looks after each individual.

Definitely somebody was looking after me.

You had two guardian angels that day.

Although Stephen sustained the most serious injuries to his leg,

it was the fractures to his jaw, nose and cheekbones

that became a symbol of the bombing.

The images still have the power to shock.

For a young lad of 15,

that was a mess. And for me to see you today -

you're smiling.

You're still the same person.

It is amazing how close I was to being crushed to death.

It was complete chaos that day.

Stephen relied on medical staff to help him

recover from his physical injuries.

But it was another local man who would help him

emotionally and spiritually.

As Enniskillen grappled with the shock, anger and grief

of the bombing, the community turned to a young church minister for help.

I think anybody going into the ministry

expected that somewhere along the line,

they might have to be involved in ministering to people

affected by a terrorist incident.

But nobody ever expects anything on this scale.

Back then, the Reverend David Cupples was 30 years old.

He'd only been a minister in the town for two months.

Yet that evening, it was he who had to announce the names of the dead.

We've lost Billy and Nessie Mullan.

And Kit and Jessie Johnston.

It was an extremely tense and emotional occasion.

We're thankful for those who have been spared.

HE SOBS

We're thankful for Stephen and Katie Ross.

In the months after the bomb, the minister played a crucial role

in helping Stephen come to terms with what happened.

Today, he and Tommy are returning to Enniskillen to meet the Reverend.

Any memories?

Yeah, the memories are important,

but I'm able to overcome what happened,

and it doesn't haunt me to go past that site at all.

I feel the exact same way.

We in Enniskillen have nothing to be ashamed of.

It'll be wonderful to meet him today,

and I'm really looking forward to chatting with him,

just to hear a little bit more about the journey that he's been on,

because he's been gone for so many years now.

Stephen. David, lovely to see you. It's great to see you. Tommy.

And to you, too. Lovely to meet you again.

I've often wondered how you managed to reflect on what happened.

I too had to deal with anger.

I too had to deal with the tendency for bitterness.

I think there was such an abhorrence of what happened on all sides,

it motivated people to come together

and to say, "This is not the kind of society in which we want to live."

The minister's life has remained in Enniskillen,

but Stephen has now moved on.

Today, he's had the chance to thank Reverend Cupples

and the man who helped save him.

Tommy, thanks very much for today. Really appreciate everything

that you've done, and I think just as a matter of appreciation,

I've just got a picture here of my four kids.

And they would not have been here except for you and the reaction

of some of the people that helped you that day.

So I just hope that's an encouragement that, you know,

some positive things came out of what happened. Stephen, thank you.

The wife and I will cherish that.

Can I give you a hug? You certainly can. Take care.

See you again soon.

I have been waiting 26 years to meet Stephen.

It was really important for me to thank Tommy for what he did,

even years after the event,

for everything he did for me on that day.

He was an inspiration,

and I mean that from the heart.

It was great to see him.

# School's out for summer

# School's out forever

# School's been blown to pieces. #

Muhammad Ali - brilliant, charismatic,

ranked by many as the world's best-ever boxer.

I'm so fast, last night I cut the light out in my bedroom,

hit the switch, was in bed before the room was dark.

But he was also divisive and controversial.

In 1964, the man christened Cassius Clay converted to Islam,

changed his name, and embarked on a collision course

with the US government and military.

He maintains that his religion won't allow him

to kill people of his own colour in Vietnam.

His refusal to join the army cost him his world heavyweight title

and his boxing licence.

But by 1972, he was on the comeback trail.

Strapped for cash, he announced a world tour.

And to the delight of the Irish,

he accepted an invitation to fight in Dublin.

In July that year, he touched down in Ireland -

much to the amazement of those waiting.

I honestly didn't think at the time that it would happen,

but when it did happen,

the place was abuzz, because the airport was just full

of people coming in. They were coming from everywhere to see him.

Ali's magnetism was evident.

Wherever he went, so did the cameras.

They even gave me the Irish shillelagh to help me win my fight.

Never a man to turn down the opportunity of publicity,

he agreed to a series of television appearances.

People said you hadn't trained right for the last Frazier fight.

Do you think you can take Frazier the next time you meet him?

Yeah, I'll whoop Frazier easy now.

LAUGHTER

TV sports director Michael O'Carroll was hired

to produce a live interview soon after Ali landed.

It was banter all the way,

and Muhammad Ali threw out a couple of poems as well.

Joe Frazier's still rising

but the referee wears a frown,

for he can't start counting till Frazier comes down.

It was quite good. And then, of course, he said,

"You mark my words, it's going to be a big fight."

Please get to the arena, because the greatest, the most scientific,

the most artistic, the prettiest fighter in the world

is in your country, live in living colour.

And you know, he had his publicity and everything else,

and that's what it was about.

Ali needed the publicity.

His bumper ?300,000 fee meant high ticket prices

and a shortage of takers.

So in a bid to pull in the punters

he agreed to some elaborate stunts -

like trying his hand at hurling

with one of the game's all-time greats.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing,

that I was actually going to have a chance of meeting this great man.

But he tried hard and eventually got some of the very basic skills.

People say you should never meet your sporting hero,

An honour, and an opportunity.

Eddie seized the moment and made a bold request.

He was just about to be whisked away by his minders.

And it is the only hurl in the world signed by Muhammad Ali.

Publicity aside, Ali still had a fight to prepare for.

at the time ranked as one of the top ten heavyweights.

He's tall, he's big, he's strong,

that I've fought during my whole life.

His teenage son was a promising fighter himself,

and Ali was his idol.

I'm a young 16-year-old at the time,

and you know, boxing was my life.

So we got the ring up and Ali was arriving that evening.

I remember the hair just standing

on the back of my head, down my neck.

This was the legend Ali, he was in Ireland,

and you know, he was going to fight.

Ah, don't mind me. I get sentimental now and again.

Nah, just thinking of the fun we had,

the amazing fun we had.

It was a fun week. It was, as a young lad,

probably the best summer I ever had, you know?

On the 19th of July, 25,000 fans

gathered at Croke Park for the big fight.

John McCormack was in Ali's dressing room before the bout began.

When he put his hand out, he gave me his hand and I said to him,

"I don't know whether to shake hands with you or kiss you.

"You're absolutely bloody gorgeous

"for a heavyweight champion of the world."

I was paying him a compliment.

And he said, "That's quite all right, everyone says that."

At that time, like, not everyone had a ticket to see him fight

but people just came from everywhere to see him

and they were climbing over fences, over walls, over wire.

They were just getting in any way they could

to see Muhammad Ali.

The crowd took their positions. The ring was set.

All that was left to do was fight.

BELL

# Highway to hell... #

The atmosphere was terrific.

Ali found it difficult in the early rounds,

because Al "Blue" Lewis attacked him immediately.

Lewis held his own against Ali,

but in the fifth round was knocked to the canvas.

Ali took a couple of good punches from Al "Blue" Lewis,

and Muhammad Ali dished out a couple of good punches.

From then on, then, Ali stepped up a gear,

and in the last few rounds, you know, I think Ali did take control.

We knew in our heart and souls

there was no way Al "Blue" Lewis was going to win this fight

Six rounds later, Ali was declared the winner by technical knockout.

40 years on, four of those who shared special moments

with boxing's greatest have met again.

And straight away, Eddie shows off his prized possession -

the hurley stick signed by Ali.

That is absolutely brilliant, Eddie.

It's also a chance for TV producer Michael to show

some of the footage he captured during Ali's visit.

That's him arriving at Dublin Airport.

'You come out to that arena, and you will see how serious I am.'

That's my father there, look, see him? Standing beside Ali, yeah.

He spent every day with him.

It was packed every day, as you can see. People came to see him train.

He made a few bob out of it. Yeah.

This is serious. If you don't believe it, come out to this arena.

I don't think... Will we ever see the same again?

I don't think so, Michael. He was a one-off.

To finish their reunion,

the men return to where Ali's fight took place - Croke Park.

For all, the day has been a total knockout.

Looking at that footage and seeing my dad there,

it brought me back, right there, that I was back then,

42 years ago, you know?

Obviously 42 years pass quickly, but the memories linger on.

An absolutely amazing experience

which I will treasure for the rest of my life.

11 people were killed and 63 injured

in what's become known as the Poppy Day Massacre in Enniskillen.

15-year-old Stephen Ross was lucky to have survived.

He's managed to move on from the tragedy and rebuild his life.

But he knows that others have found it difficult.

Today, back in Enniskillen, he'll meet some of his fellow survivors.

I just hope that in getting together with the folks,

it will be a good opportunity to share that experience

and see where they're at now.

and see where they're at now.

So yeah, I'm looking forward to it.

On Remembrance Sunday 1987,

Serena Doherty was head girl of the local school.

She'd been given the task of laying the wreath at the town cenotaph

as her proud family looked on.

It all happened so quickly. It's split seconds.

SHOUTING

18-year-old Stephen Gault was with his father Samuel.

They were standing just ten feet away from the bomb when it exploded.

All I remember then was going forwards.

And I remember being knocked unconscious

and coming round, but the noise - I'd never witnessed noise like it.

SHOUTING AND CRYING

People screaming, children crying,

women crying, soldiers shouting orders.

Amid the chaos, Stephen witnessed a sight

that would stay with him for ever.

I looked down and I was buried to the knees,

and then I see my dad lying beside me.

But I knew that my dad was dead.

Samuel had only recently retired

after a long, distinguished career

in the Royal Ulster Constabulary.

He had served in the RUC through the worst days of the Troubles,

and we thought as a family that when Dad hung up his coat

that he was safe to go on with his life.

Our family just was devastated after it.

Serena's father Jim was also caught up in the blast.

Hey! Get a load over here and carry them...

Pass them over. All the rubble into the building!

After being struck by falling masonry,

he was airlifted to hospital,

where doctors battled for hours to save his life.

You wouldn't have recognised him.

His head was swollen to about three times the size,

there was tubes and wires coming out of him.

It was just not him, it was just unbelievable.

But we were just so thankful that he was alive.

Although Serena's father survived the blast,

she's continued to blame herself for his presence at the parade that day.

He was there to see... Probably to see me laying the wreath,

because it was such a proud moment. I sort of carry a bit of guilt.

Because it was my fault he was there.

The IRA admitted responsibility for the bombing,

which they described as "a mistake".

It's been not just the scale of the killing but the day and the hour

the bombers chose that has caused such outrage here.

The IRA now faces the irony of a community of Protestants

and Catholics determined to show their unity.

Two weeks later, the town re-staged its Remembrance Day parade.

In a moving show of solidarity, thousands of people,

from all sides of the community, took part.

Nearly 27 years after being caught up in the tragedy,

a group of survivors are reuniting.

Survivors with different perspectives

and with their own reasons for wanting to talk about what happened.

26 years I've never spoken to anybody about it.

So I just thought, maybe I should share.

Share my experience, and maybe it'll be good for me,

and maybe it can help somebody else.

I think the nerves coming from the whole thing of the reunion -

people that were affected by the Enniskillen bomb in 1987,

having not seen them for years,

it's going to bring back a lot of memories.

A little bit apprehensive.

People have different viewpoints and different experiences.

How are you? Hello.

Good to see you. And you too.

Good to see you.

Serena. Stephen.

who, along with her husband,

Four survivors, still trying to deal with one horrific day.

I feel like I have guilt. I have survivor's guilt.

You know, I was there,

I wasn't injured, you know,

and it really... I think only for me laying the wreath

my dad wouldn't... Mightn't have even been there.

It's only natural, probably, to feel like that, the way you feel.

But I wouldn't say it was your fault.

What I know of you, Serena, you're quite a strong person

and you give that appearance, and you mightn't credit me saying that,

but I think you've been remarkably resilient. And I think...

we can't change what's happened in life. Stuff does happen,

but how we respond to it is what people remember.

In all the years since the bombing, no-one has been convicted.

For some survivors, the lack of justice

has proved impossible to accept.

They should be brought to stand before courts of the law

and get their just rewards

for what they did to us and everybody else.

Will we ever get justice? I don't think so,

but while there's breath in my body I will continue the fight

to get justice for my father

and everybody - and even the injured, they deserve justice too.

The bomb that caused so much devastation exploded yards

from where the survivors have reunited.

Today, they head back to the very spot where it all happened.

The night before I was dropped off right there.

Where they were planting it? We were in Dublin

with a cross-community project

and I was dropped off at 11 o'clock, just right there,

And that's when they could have been putting it in. Could well have been.

To think the night before that somebody came up that road

Knowing that they're going to do that the next day.

And then, life goes on, doesn't it?

I was just thinking that there. Life just goes on.

And you'd think nothing had ever happened here.

That's exactly right, yeah.

They gathered that cold Sunday morning in 1987

to commemorate the lives of those lost in the two world wars.

28 years on, they're doing the same

for those they lost in their own town.

Coming back to the site still fills me with dread.

It's still quite eerie.

But when the others told me I shouldn't feel guilty,

it sort of lifted, lifted a burden off me.

It made me feel that it was OK,

that I shouldn't have to carry that with me.

Today was very special. I have to say I was very apprehensive

about the whole thing today.

I think it was the fact that we were going back over horrible times

at the time of the bomb.

But it was great meeting up with Serena, Stephen and Daphne.

It has been a bit of a journey. It's nice to return to the town

I was born in, grew up in,

experienced that event, and look back on it.

Look back on it with...

sadness, but also look back on it from the perspective that

I've moved forward in life.

Definitely not 25 years.