They sat quietly in the bar, sipping their drinks as some of Europe's leading tournament professionals arrived in from the golf course. Explaining their presence, Lindsay Hall told me of the horrific injuries sustained by his wife and son, while Sammy Jameson spoke of the pain the bomb had inflicted on his nephew and sister-in-law.
"I couldn't speak highly enough about Darren (Clarke) and what today's event means to us," said Hall. Jameson nodded approvingly, adding: "Omagh was a good town and it's the feeling of solidarity that's so important."
The idea that came to Clarke during last month's Smurfit European Open had been brought to splendid fruition. Through the admirable co-operation of the Portmarnock Hotel and Links, a one-day pro-am raised almost £350,000 for the Omagh Fund.
Colin Montgomerie, winner of the British Masters last Sunday, was among the professionals who responded to the call. And he brought with him a print of a Keith Fearon painting of himself and Scott Hoch at the Ryder Cup at Valderrama 12 months ago, which was auctioned for £2,000. Jose-Maria Olazabal, whose roots in the Basque region of Spain would make him sadly familiar with terrorism, was there to honour the Spanish dead of Omagh. Ian Woosnam was also there, to show solidarity with his Irish colleague.
It was desperately poignant to see Christy O'Connor Jnr take his place in the 27-team line-up, only a week after the tragic death of his 17-year-old son, Darren, in a car crash. Christy's wife Ann was also there with their elder son, Nigel, who caddied for his father.
"I can't believe how well I played," said Junior, after a threeunder-par 68 that included a bogey at the first and the last. "It must be Darren's putter. I took it out of his bag coming here and holed everything."
His illustrious uncle, Christy Snr, was present to honour strong ties with Omagh Golf Club, going back to his days as resident professional at Bundoran more than 40 years ago. "I used to go regularly to Omagh to play in exhibitions and they always treated me very well," he said.
O'Connor added: "So many members became friends of mine that when I heard about this, I immediately wanted to become involved. My last visit there was about 12 years ago when I played an exhibition with Nick Faldo." Then, with a quiet smile: "And I made a birdie on the last to square the match."
The atmosphere about the place was both deeply moving and wonderfully uplifting. Like the fact that a private whiparound among the staff of the hotel, realised £4,000 for the fund. And a personalised golf-bag, which arrived from Ernie Els, included balls, visors and gloves autographed by himself, Mark O'Meara and Nick Price. And there was a contribution from Australian Stuart Appleby, whose young wife was killed in a recent car accident.
All the pro-am prizes were sponsored. And what could have been more appropriate than awards of Tyrone Crystal on which Darren Clarke's signature was engraved.
Lindsay Hall, a member of Newtownstewart GC, highlighted the marvellous response of sportsmen from other codes. Like the fact that Damon Hill and Eddie Jordan, both of whom played yesterday, went from Portmarnock to the Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry, so as to visit 12-year-old Alastair, his son, who is recovering there after having had his right leg amputated.
He talked of the response of interprovincial rugby players and of other kindnesses. "I got a beautiful letter from Tony Ward which I read three or four times every day," he said.
Andrew Chandler, whose International Sports Management handles Clarke's affairs, captured the mood of the occasion when he said: "I think it's lovely that guys like Monty and Ollie (Olazabal) are aware of the fact that they can do so much by simply giving of their time."
One suspects that the horror of Omagh will remain with Clarke for a long time, if only for its association with a happy, family event. "On the morning of August 15th, the day of the bomb, Heather (his wife), brought our son, Tyrone, home from hospital," said Clarke.
Talking of yesterday's event, he went on: "The response has been wonderful. Apart from the 27 teams who played, we had 29 waiting in the wings for the chance to play. I realise that money is not going to bring back those loved ones who have gone, but I hope it can help the survivors in some small way."
Though it wasn't really an occasion for talking at length about his own game, Clarke made clear his determination to battle on for leadership of the Order of Merit. "At the moment, I'm playing as good as I've ever done, but the putts aren't going down," he said.
"Obviously it's good that I've kept myself up there in contention each week, but I'm not making the most of it." He is not playing in this week's Lancome Tournament but will be in the remaining three events - the German Masters, Belgacom Open and the Volvo Masters. And he will be playing in the Dunhill Cup and probably the World Matchplay, to which he is expecting an invitation.
From a shotgun start, the proam was won convincingly with 90 points by a team representing Coolmore Stud and led by English professional Derrick Cooper. It was quite an outstanding performance given the low handicaps of the three amateurs - Mick Bent off two, Mike Burdess off three and Brett Desmond off five.
Consistency was the key, though Bent and Burdess had gross birdies at the first and nett birdies at the 11th, while Burdess also birdied the third. Desmond contributed a gross birdie at the second and also had birdies at the sixth, seventh and 18th.
In fact it was quite a day for the Desmond family insofar as Brett's mother, Pat, was a member of the second-placed team, sponsored by J P McManus and led by Andrew Coltart. Pat Desmond had five nett birdies and Damon Hill contributed a nett birdie at the 12th, while Noreen McManus, off 30, made the significant contribution of six nett birdies.
