To ask what it was like living in NI during the Troubles

[ViscountTheVoraciousVampire]

Growing up and living in Northern Ireland during those turbulent years before the GFA, whether the GFA had much of an impact?

I watched the documentary last night, there was one years back on BBC1 on Panorama which looked at how the Catholics were treated. If you were around during the 1970's, the media portrayed it as if the Catholics were the problem, they were causing the problem. I remember as a child / teen, we were put off going places due to attacks in the Mainland. It's interesting to see a side that was never really reported. It must have been hell to live through for everyone?

From the little I know, I think it's the Historical Enquiries Team working for families to get answers to questions.

Is life better now, is there more integration? Do you think a hard border would reignite tensions? Did you want to integrate before, or was it a no go situation?

I also found it perfectly normal that a policeman would have a look through my mum's handbag before she entered a shop.

My own father would feel himself above sectarian nonsense but he's still cross with Ian Paisley for 'negotiating with terrorists' when he promised he wouldn't.

for people to try and make light of it or find gratuitous entertainment from it is very distasteful

Depends who those people are. People who never experienced it and mock it or abuse those that grew up through it, can fuck off. Those that grew up in it had to use humour to survive it.

Something that stopped me up short was only a couple of years ago and I asked an Irish friend of mine if she'd like to go back to live in her home town-she'd been telling me how beautiful and lovely it was. I'll never forget the matter of fact reply.
"We couldn't because DH would be considered the other side of the divide. It would be too dangerous."

rogueantimatter Sun 09-Sep-18 14:40:37
I was shocked and appalled by the documentary. To my shame when I was old enough to start becoming aware of the news I tended to take the side of the authorities as my default.

I remember seeing a documentary maybe 15 years ago which covered the discrimination experienced by Catholics by public bodies, and I was absolutely outraged that such a thing could have been allowed. It put a lot more in perspective. I had known that the army went in originally to protect the Catholics from loyalist terrorists, but that background added so much more.

I was a very middle class catholic living in one of the nicest areas of Belfast and can say this ^ was not my experience. The street violence was largely confined to working class areas. No army patrols where I was. My mum made sure we mixed with Protestant children.

@PositivelyPERF Totally agree. I thought Derry Girls hit just the right note, for example.

Grew up in the north of Ireland but have lived in England for 10+ years. Loved my childhood there, despite the 'troubles'. The sense of community, family, belongingness and the sense of humour of the people was/is fantastic. Nowhere I've lived has ever come close to that. Yes I witnessed things one shouldn't witness- someone being shot dead, bomb scares, raids on our home, evacuations- but I haven't been scarred by that for some reason. More protective factors than risk factors I guess.
I think your overall experience is subjective depending on where you lived, the opportunities that you had etc. My DH and I often talk about our childhoods. on paper his should've been a better, safer, more comfortable childhood. He grew up in an affluent area in the SE of England- 2 professional parents, no money issues, Caribbean holidays etc, all came crushing down when parents relationship deteriorated. Ended up in divorce, family violence and a lot of conflict! He hated his childhood. I loved mine, grew up in a stable home, no within home conflict, parents still together. Education was deemed important (wasn't in my DH's house). I had access to great schools. Have a PHD now so think I've done alright! As have all of my friends. So I guess what I'm saying is it's not just about where you grew up. What can have the most impact is the family unit in which you live, the love and opportunities you were given.

Protestant family. Family member killed by IRA in a car bomb. Checking under car was normal. Lights not on until curtains closed. Careful about areas - some areas were off limits. Still are. Brother couldn’t come home for grandmother funeral due to his job. Wasn’t safe. He had to report to police station and carry gun when home on leave. Knew where father kept his weapon.

House locked obsessively. Two or maybe three different sets of number plates for car which were changed regularly and this was done in the garage so no one would see. Lost friends of family and personal friends of mine in the violence.

What do you want op? It was shit for everyone on both sides. Yes it’s better now.

That’s it.

Actually, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with someone asking about the realities of living in NI, during the troubles. So many people outside NI, including down south, have no idea, what we went through and hold narrow minded views, as to the troubles, the cause of them, the roles of those in power and the actions of the terrorists. Most of the incidents, including bombings, weren’t even reported on our news, never mind their news channels.

There were horrific murders committed by both terrorists and those in power, such as army/police. All murder is horrific, but my god, the horrors of what was done to people, before they actually died, was the stuff of nightmares.

Sorry for taking this off topic.

Mandela directly killed lots of people too, noteably he planted a car bomb which killed 19 people. But this was not the only people he killed

@anotherangel2, well considering Mandela was in prison and had been for years at the time of the 1983 Church Street bombing which killed 19 people that you refer to above, I think he would have had a hard time planting the bomb.

Google tells me he helped to set up the armed resistance arm of the ANC (is it Anc apologies can’t remember exact name) He also supported sabotage of non civilian buildings. He and his his colleagues were resisting a deeply oppressive regimes

Many think it’s highly doubtful he would have been in direct communication from his prison with the party in 1983 when the bombing that killed 19 people happened. I think in his autobiography he expressed great remorse of the Church Street bombing and was definitely not ordered by him.

Calling it the mainland is a little off. Most people from The North of Ireland would not call it the mainland

Sorry to make clear and add to above when Mandela set up the armed resistance arm of the ANC the aim was sabotage of non civilian buildings not murder.

My parents were a mixed catholic/protestant marriage (as is DH and I), we were very much brought up unaware of the politics of it all. When I met DH he mentioned his religion (having made an assumption of mine based on where I live) and I was genuinely confused as to why he even raised it It soon became clear though that his family were very different to mine and caused us so much heartache (refused to come to our wedding, no interest in DC unless baptised into their religion).

Anyway, as children, we were very aware of the troubles though I guess I escaped the worst of it, having been born in the early 80's. I remember my dad having to check under the cars before every trip out (he worked in a high risk job and in fact we had to move house 3 times due to threats on his life). I remember a few times the windows shaking in our house and a big bang and we all just rolled our eyes and went damn, another bomb. Anytime we went out shopping, my dad would drop us off and there would be a plan A and a plan B for where to collect us in case there was a bomb scare (there usually was). I recall going on a school trip, the last of us had just got off the bus when we were told we had to get back on and go due to a bomb scare - we were disappointed but not surprised.

It is very different now of course. We have raised our children much the same way my parents raised us. They wouldn't know or care what religion anyone is. However DH and I live in a town which isn't particularly mixed - (to put in context - three primary schools with a capacity of around 300 each catering to one religion, and a small primary with around 80 pupils catering to the other). I have made many close friends here but I would never talk religion with them, they have no idea what religion dh and I are. I would love to live in a more mixed area where we wouldn't feel that way, but there are reasons why we live here and we do love the town itself.

My experience from an ethnically Protestant background was different- police and army were very much seen as there to protect us.

We didn't ever go into Belfast at night- the only nightclub we were allowed to go to to was 'The Coach' - I'm sure some others on this thread have been there!

'I got stopped at a checkpoint' was my standard excuse for being late home.

So many things we just excepted as normal when they really weren't- I remember going to vote with my English now-DH and he was horrified at the armed soldiers outside the polling station- apparently this didn't happen in England.

I left as soon as I could, and even after GFA have never considered bringing up my family there - I live in a lovely part of England where I feel safe.

I go back to visit family, but when they are no longer I won't be back.

It's still very small and very insular and I think a hard border will be disastrous.

My dh grew up in 70s/80s Belfast. My first trip there (1990) was terrifying - soldiers with guns everywhere etc. I grew up in small town Scotland!!

but he's not in the tiniest bit traumatised. His school was only a block from the often bombed Europa Hotel - they'd hear a bang and run to the window to see what was up! Every few weeks he had to get home a different way cos something else had been blown up - and it was just normal. The only thing he's changed about is that he NEVER would move back, even if I dropped dead he'd stay in Scotland.

We were allowed to the Windsor in Bangor and The Coach (in Banbridge?)

I was brought up in a very Republican housing estate but my parents really did shelter all of us from the troubles. There was never any talk allowed in front of us about what was going on in the estate, who had recently been ‘lifted’ and who’d been shot. As a child, I do remember hearing the binlids going and I always remember my mum scolding me for peeping out of the bedroom window one night. When I was a teen, I started to see and learn more - I have seen numerous lorries and cars hijacked and burned out by masked men right in front of me; I was in a post office when an armed robbery took place by the IRA. In the mid 1990s, a local girl my ages was shot by loyalists as she lay in bed with her Protestant boyfriend. Car bombs, shop bombs, shootings, kneecappings were the norm - it’s crazy to be typing this as I would be horrified if my teenagers were subjected to all of this, but we were, as previous posters mentioned, desensitised. Ironically, though, I felt very safe and protected living in that wee estate.

The GFA was monumental, I thank god my children do not have to grow up in the troubles.
Although dh and I agree we would have moved away if it wasn't for the GFA, I couldn't have lived worrying if my dh was going to come home from work. I remember telling this to a work colleague from a completely different background to me and he didn't get it.
So as others have said it also depended where you lived that dictated your experience of the troubles.
I really worry about Brexit and its impact on NI, our politicians are a disgrace!

I went to the Coach as well!!

And our politicians are a total disgrace. They are going to deliberately fanny about until after Brexit so they can then shrug afterwards and say "not me guv". Pathetic.

I wasn’t allowed to go to The Coach 😄. Agree with all statements about our alleged politicians. All a complete and utter disgrace - all need sacked. Unfortunately if they were, they would be replaced by similar and so the cycle goes on. Political allegiances and is versus them mentality is still too deep-rooted.

An elderly Irish friend of mine still refers to Southern Ireland as the Free State.

Some great nights in the coach and the royal ascot 😁

@JungWan Mandela was personally involved in a plot targeting a school. He was a terrorist regardless of how noble his motives or how he was treated afterwards.

@OP thank you for the interesting thread. I'm not British myself so my awareness of the issue is quite minimal, I am watching with interest.

When I was working in retail, we had to do a bomb sweep before we closed up. We would have to check under stuff for bags/boxes and the pockets of clothes for smaller incendiary devices.