A WELL-KNOWN Wexford businesswoman was just minutes away from the location of a terrorist attack in Sousse, Tunisia where a lone gunman opened fire on a beach, killing at least 38 tourists, including three Irish, and injuring many more.
Kathryn Redmond, who has operated the Complimentary Health Practice on Allen Street in Wexford town for the last 20 years, was holidaying in Port el Kantaoui, just ten minutes from where the attack, which terrorist group Isis has claimed responsibility for, occurred.
Ms. Redmond told this newspaper that she was, luckily, having lunch by the pool when the horrifying incident occurred on Friday afternoon. She had travelled to the popular tourist resort with her friend Breda Lawlor from Enniscorthy, where Ms. Redmond is also from.
“We had been out for a week and it was our last day there so it was a horrible note to end on.”
The news of the attack, she said, filtered through not from Tunisia itself but from home: “I had people phone me from home to check if I was ok. Other people at the pool started getting calls and texts too and that’s how we found out that something terrible had happened.”
The staff in Ms. Remdond’s hotel was quick to clear the pool area and bring the guests inside until the ordeal was over. The gunman was shot by police while an apparent accomplice was arrested a few hours later.
“There were a lot of police and helicopters in our area. They went out and cleared all of the beaches along the coast. It was a very nerve-wrecking experience and a lot of people were terrified.
“When you hear the words ‘terrorist attack’ it leaves you cold and we all rushed to the phones to let people know we were ok.”
[Full, exclusive story in this week’s Echo]
