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Gordon Wilson (25 September 1927 — 27 June 1995) was an Irish draper in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, who became known as a peace campaigner during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. On 8 November 1987 a bomb planted by the Provisional IRA exploded during Enniskillen's Remembrance Day parade, injuring Wilson and fatally injuring his daughter Marie, a nurse. The bomb was planted in a nearby building and timed to go off at 10:43 am, just before the ceremony was due to start.〔〔House of Commons Official Report 9 November 1987 Column 19〕 An emotional television interview Wilson gave to the BBC only hours after the bombing brought him to national and international prominence as he described his last conversation with his dying daughter as they both lay buried in rubble. Wilson's response to the bombing, "I bear no ill will. I bear no grudge", was reported worldwide, becoming among the most-remembered quotations from the Troubles. Whereas IRA attacks in Northern Ireland often resulted in reprisals by loyalists, Wilson's calls for forgiveness and reconciliation came to be called the ''Spirit of Enniskillen''. As a peace campaigner, Wilson held many meetings with members of Sinn Féin. He also met once with representatives of the Provisional IRA. Wilson sought to understand the reasons for the Remembrance Day bombing in Enniskillen. He also held talks with loyalist paramilitaries in an attempt to persuade them to abandon violence. On Remembrance Day 1997, Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams formally apologised for the bombing. ==Bombing== The Remembrance Day bombing (also known as the Enniskillen bombing or Poppy Day massacre ) killed 11 people and injured 64. The last victim died after lying in a coma for 13 years. The Provisional IRA planted a bomb in reading rooms behind the town's cenotaph. The device exploded during the Remembrance Sunday ceremony held to honour those who had served in the British Armed Forces. Wilson and his daughter, Marie, were buried in rubble when the 40 lb bomb exploded. Unable to move, he held her hand and comforted her as she lay dying, her last words were, "Daddy, I love you very much". Five minutes later rescuers pulled Wilson and his daughter out from under the collapsed building. Marie never regained consciousness and died later in hospital.〔 The BBC would later describe the bombing as a turning point in the Troubles because the attack shook the IRA "to its core". Pivotal to the change in attitude towards this sort of attack was Wilson's reaction to the death of his daughter. The 60-year-old draper publicly forgave those who had planted the bomb and said he would pray for them. He also begged that no-one take revenge for Marie's death and pleaded with loyalists not to do so. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Gordon Wilson (peace campaigner)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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