One of Ms Gibson’s sisters – Caroline Martin – then read a poem to the inquiry that was written by a close relative in the months after her death.
Ahead of reading the poem, Ms Martin told the inquiry how she and Ms Gibson, who were both engaged, planned the sequencing of their weddings.
Ms Martin then read out the poem, which described her older sister as a “silent special bridesmaid” and recounted how a bouquet of flowers tied with a blue ribbon was left on a table in the church to symbolise her.
“Esther was plainly a caring and generous Christian person with a strong sense of community, whose life and personality acted as a good role model for others,” he said.
Esther Gibson, 36, was engaged to be married at the time of her death in August 1998 when a dissident republican car bomb exploded in the centre of the Co Tyrone market town on a busy Saturday afternoon.
