Episode 5 ‘Who wants to live like that?’
| EPISODE 5 – One-sentence (100 characters max) |
| After decades of perpetual violence a breakthrough is reached, but at what cost? |
| EPISODE 5 – Three-sentence (250 characters max) |
| In 1993 a bomb on a busy Saturday leads to a week of gruesome tit for tat violence. There have been many false dawns in the conflict, but finally the desire for change propels the possibility of peace for the next generation. But at what cost? |
| EPISODE 5 – Long Paragraph (500 words max) |
| In 1994 President Bill Clinton controversially invites Gerry Adams, President of Sinn Fein, (often referred to then as the ‘IRA’s political wing’), to America. For some it’s a symbol of international support for peace talks. But others, like Alan, are horrified. He protests outside the meeting with a placard – “The IRA murdered my wife”. A year earlier, a ‘delivery man’ carries a package into a fish shop on Belfast’s Shankill Road. The package – an IRA bomb – explodes prematurely, killing the IRA bomber and 10 Protestant men, women and children. In retaliation, loyalist gunmen comb the streets for days, assassinating 13 Catholics. Alan’s wife and father-in-law are killed in the bomb. The IRA had targeted the UDA, a Protestant loyalist paramilitary group whose offices were above the fish shop. Alan channels his anger and grief into confronting Gerry Adams about the IRA’s actions. The Shankill bomb is one of many points of abject darkness during the conflict. But it propels politicians back towards peace talks after many false dawns and, remarkably, the paramilitaries on both sides call a ceasefire the following year. When the Good Friday Agreement is finally announced in 1998, after years of negotiations, there is joy. But peace comes at a huge cost. For some, like Denise, that cost feels unacceptably high. The early release of all paramilitary prisoners from prison – a key part of the Agreement – causes anguish for many, especially the injured and bereaved. Richard is one of the thousands whose lives were changed in an instant by The Troubles. Blinded by a rubber bullet aged 10, his journey to understand and ultimately forgive the British soldier who shot him, reveals the reality that all post conflict societies across the world must face, as peace is built upon the violence of the past. |
Series overview:
Once Upon a Time in Northern Ireland weaves together the personal stories of ordinary men, women and children who were drawn – both willingly and unwillingly – into a conflict that spanned over thirty years. The series mixes extraordinary archive footage and emotionally compelling first-person testimonies to create an intimate, multi-generational portrait of Northern Ireland’s past, present and future with an emphasis on understanding and empathy for all points of view.
The series begins in the Northern Ireland of the late 1960’s, where like many countries across the world, revolution and social change was in the air. The Catholic population, a minority in the predominantly Protestant state, had long felt like second class citizens. The Civil Rights movement began calling for better jobs, housing, and equality for Catholics. But these demands were met with hostility by some, and as suppression of marches and violent protests began, decades of simmering tensions exploded into a full-blown conflict, known as ‘the Troubles.’
50 years since it began, and after thousands of people lost their lives, Once Upon A Time In Northern Ireland charts the story from the beginning of the Troubles through to the present day, told with compelling insight by the people that lived through it. The series takes us through the most violent decade of the Troubles- the 1970’s – where sectarian beliefs harden as communities split; through the Hunger Strikes of the early 1980’s; the countless shootings and bombings on the streets of both Northern Ireland and mainland Britain to the beginnings of talks that will ultimately deliver peace.
This is both epic history and personal memory.
Northern Ireland is a small province that has been decimated by atrocities and murder. It’s common for people to know who killed their loved one and to see them in the local shop, on the street, in their everyday life. Which makes the story of how the conflict moved from a point of abject darkness to the possibility of peace even more remarkable. We come to understand this through the experiences of our contributors, many of whom have never spoken publicly before. Over five parts, the series shines a light on both sides of the community that lived for decades with daily violence – and who remain determined to hold onto the hard-won peace today.