The mother of a young schoolboy from Co Donegal, who was murdered in the Omagh bomb in 1998, has described finally realising he was dead when he did not get off the bus with his friends.
Patricia McLaughlin knew 12-year-old Shaun had gone on a cross border trip with some friends and some Spanish exchange students, but was not aware they group was planning to do some shopping in Omagh.
She heard the news about the bombing while she was shopping in Buncrana and in her commemorative statement described the agonising wait for news as it emerged that the children had been caught up in the blast.
She said she took calls from police officers asking what clothes Shaun had been wearing and whether he had any distinguishing marks.
In the statement, read by an aunt of Shaun's, while Patricia sat alongside her, Ms McLaughlin described going to her son's school to await the return of the bus which had taken the group on the cross-border trip.
She said she watched the other children emerge down the steps but did not see Shaun.
She asked the bus driver, whom she knew, whether anyone had seen her son, but was told that they had not.
"I knew then, that that was it, that that was the end," she said.
Read More: Omagh inquiry: The victims remembered
Her husband went to Omagh to try to find their son. He was eventually identified by the watch he was wearing.
Ms McLaughlin described the community reaction, how thousands had turned out when Shaun's body was brought back home.
She said it took six weeks for the enormity of what had happened to sink in.
The death of her oldest son had a terrible effect on his two siblings she said.
For a long time they were not able to go into his bedroom.
"If somebody had said to me before I lost a child that you will feel exactly the same 26 years later I wouldn't have believed them.
"I would have thought maybe a couple of years you'd be broken hearted, but you'd move on, it's going to have to ease, but it just doesn't.
"You get strength from being able to live through it, but you are never going to cope with it or understand it or comes to terms with it.
"Your outlook on life just changes completely."
'I'll find our wee man, I'll bring him home'
Oran Doherty's sister Lisa Dillion read the commemorative statement on behalf of her family.
Her mother Bernie Doherty sat alongside her throughout.
She described how Bernie had only relented at the last minute and allowed her son to go on the trip with the others.
First reports of the explosion came in around 3.30pm and all day the Doherty family waited for news of their son.
At one point they were told the entire Buncrana group was safe and on their way home, but that turned out to be untrue.
Police then rang her home to say that two small boys were missing and that one of them was Oran.
Her husband travelled to Omagh telling his wife: "Don't worry, I'll find our wee man, I'll bring him home."
But at 7am on the Sunday morning he rang to say their son was dead.
Bernie Doherty said the only mementos of that day were a little jar of sweets Oran had been eating before he got off the bus in Omagh and a small necklace he had been wearing.
Her son had sustained serious head injuries. She later met a girl who had lain with him in the street holding his hand.
Ms Doherty said her little son had been body number 15. She said the thought that he had lain dying in the street while she was 50 miles away was "just too much".
And she had a direct message for the bombers.
She said she wondered how they could sleep in their beds at night given the "absolute carnage and devastation they have caused with one act of cruelty".
Ms Doherty said she had listened to all the excuses about not meaning to inflict casualties, but said she would never accept them.
"If you are prepared to transport a bomb of that magnitude into a crowded market town then you know exactly what could happen. It was a despicable act inflicted upon people of all ages and from both sides of the political divide, and all in the name of what?
"The Good Friday Agreement had been signed a matter of months earlier and people on this island finally had some hope of a peaceful future until these cowards literally blew it all away."
The inquiry also heard about the life of 36-year-old Esther Gibson, who was due to be married.
Her sister read the tribute on behalf of her family, describing her as someone with a strong Christian faith who led an exemplary life.
Seven weeks after the bombing, Esther was due to have been a bridesmaid at her younger sister's wedding.
The inquiry heard Esther had a "strong sense of duty and compassion" which had shaped her life.
'Darkest day ever', says survivor
Later, a survivor of the blast gave evidence to the inquiry.
Ronan McGrory from Buncrana had been with his best friend Shaun McLaughlin.
He was 14 at the time.
He said they had been evacuated during the bomb warning and were standing next to the car when it exploded.
He said he had no recollection of the blast and firmly believed that those whom he was with, including Shaun McLaughlin and eight-year-old Oran Doherty who also died, would not have any idea what had happened to them.
"It had gone from being a beautiful sunny day to the darkest day ever," he said.
He regained consciousness to find that he was covered in rubble. In his hand was a holy medal. He said he had no idea how it had come to be there.
A policeman found him and took him to hospital. The officer's wife, a nurse, had treated him there and he said he always wished he had had an opportunity to thank them both for what they had done.
Mr McGrory suffered serious injuries in the blast which have followed him into adult life.
He said he had also suffered feelings of guilt because he had promised to mind the younger boys on the day out.
He found out they were among the dead while lying in hospital recovering from his injuries when he saw it on the news.
He said he began crying "inconsolably" because he knew the funerals had already taken place.
He said he had struggled physically and mentally with the effects of the explosion.
"Everyday I think about the bomb and it never leaves me.
"I do not think it will ever leave me.
"The trauma and injuries have continued to haunt me and this can be very exhausting.
"I dearly miss my friend Shaun and I resent the fact that I had the chance to live my life and reach my milestones that I have.
"I resent the fact that his life was taken from him too soon and that he did not get a chance to live his life fully."
