Shared Troubles Northern Ireland

Sharedtroubles.net is a private initiative created by a Father who was horrified to hear his children had never heard of the civil conflict in Northern Ireland which is referred to as the Troubles. The website is totally independent of any political or Government body. Its agenda is to create an easy to use living historical archive of personal experiences by anyone affected by the Troubles regardless of their background or involvement.

The Sharedtroubles website story

I was driving past the scene of a bomb atrocity in January 2007 with my two children who were aged 10 and 8 at the time. I pointed out the Droppin Well site where in 1982 a bomb killed 17 people in a disco. I told my kids ‘That’s where a bomb killed the girls who were dancing with soldiers in a disco during the troubles’ To my utter amazement they both said ‘What were the troubles Dad ?’ I was staggered that they had no knowledge of our recent past. Part of me was delighted that society has moved on so far, and another part of me was distraught that they had no terms of reference about the reality of civil conflict and bigotry.

I tried to explain in simple terms about Northern Ireland, the Protestants and the Catholics, the shoddy treatment of one group by another and the ensuing violence. It was actually extremely difficult to do with out sounding emotive.

Surfing the internet for a simple overview of the troubles proved to be even more of a challenge. The excellent archive site CAIN, was academic and meticulous in its recording of activities, but my kids soon got bored. The other sites were politically motivated which only added to the confusion.

I spent several nights surfing around, even looking on Youtube.com, but the sites all had their own point of view. Some of the views were very threatening and unconstructive.

I decided at that point, to gather together some stories from people who had been affected by the troubles and put them together in one easy to access point. I imagined a site that allowed anyone affected by the troubles to share their story regardless of background or involvement. Having grown up during the troubles I became fascinated as to the real life experiences of ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. I set about reading as many books on the troubles to build up some idea of what might be said. Gerry Adams’ book ‘Before the Dawn’ gave me an excellent overview of working class catholic conditions and the rise of the IRA. I read books from British soldiers, undercover agents, and ex-RUC. Soon my study had mountains of biographies and accounts of the troubles. It was hard to believe the diverse range of life experiences depending on where you were born and what your local circumstances were.

After commissioning a graphic designer and then a website company to make my idea into reality I suddenly took stock of what I was doing. Perhaps everyone just wanted to move on and forget the troubles. Would I be offending survivors and families of those murdered? After several sleepless nights I decided to call Michael Gallagher of the Omagh Support & Self Help Group. I was extremely nervous when showing Michael what I had created in case I was being insensitive or unqualified to talk about tragedy.

Michael Gallagher was a breath of fresh air. He totally supported the aims and objectives of the site. We flicked through the development pages on the site and he offered me his full support. He particularly liked the transparency of the site with no political bias, just the stories from the actual people. Spurred on by Michael’s kind words of encouragement I set up a meeting with William Frazer whom I had seen on television defending the plight of border Protestants. I was aware William had a reputation for not suffering fools lightly so again I was anxious going in to meet him. William Frazer was very open to the idea of Sharedtroubles and made some useful suggestions as to how to deal with survivors’ stories. One of William’s biggest concerns was that if the Unionist community supported Sharedtroubles then the Republicans might shy away from it.

I needed to ensure as many different points of view were taken into account so I made a list of survivors’ groups, influential people from both sides of the political divide, Security Service’s associations, Republicans, Loyalists, in fact anyone I could think of who might be prepared to help me make Sharedtroubles as inclusive as possible.

Relatives for Justice gave me some very useful feedback on current acceptable terminology and opened my eyes to the realities of life during the troubles from a very different point of view. This was my first time on the Falls Road in Belfast and I was seriously nervous about offending people who had obviously suffered a lot.

Danny Morrison. Even the name filled me with dread. I knew he was a highly intelligent and articulate writer, but I also knew he had been Sinn Fein’s press agent during the Hunger Strikes. I was embarrassed at my media fed paranoia, so I contacted Danny with details of the website I was putting together. He agreed to meet, which we did, on the Falls Road. He was very friendly, perceptive and genuinely helpful. I was aware that I was in the presence of a skilful writer and somebody who just cut to the point in a disarming and charming way. We discussed the project and Danny was able to give me useful feedback on terminology and making the site transparent. Danny also helped me with information on the Hunger Strikers and located bits of rebel songs for me to include on the site.

At this point I considered that I might be wise to speak to the PSNI in case I might be stirring up unpleasant issues which would cause me and everyone involved with the project difficulties. I arranged to see Deputy Chief Constable Paul Leighton who received the concept very openly. Paul took the view that the site could encourage better understanding between the communities and the real stories of what it was like to be a serving officer during such strife.

After meeting the PSNI I spent many weeks and Months driving all around Northern Ireland meeting groups or individuals who could contribute some starter stories to Sharedtroubles.

I met with the secretary to the Eames Bradley report about how we deal with the past and I also met with Patricia McBride, one of the Victim’s commissioners. All the feedback was useful and constructive.

The idea was to launch the site with example stories in different categories, to act as inspiration for others to do the same. I needed to call on literally dozens of people to ask for their help in ensuring all the categories were represented.

I saw parts of Northern Ireland I had never previously ventured into. Everyone was friendly and receptive. In fact some people started to inquire about what happened if an unsolved crime was admitted to, so I had to take stock and rewrite the site rules to ensure that adequate legal protection was in place.

Sharedtroubles.net was eventually launched on 23rd January 2009 and I hope it helps creates an opportunity for people to share their personal experiences during the troubles. By doing this I personally have gained a completely different perspective about the real lives of people I had never had the opportunity of meeting.

I hope you find Sharedtroubles informative The creator of Sharedtroubles would stress that the website is about the individuals who choose to use it rather than any particular political or social point of view.

<< Left - Some of the wonderful people who contributed to establishing www.sharedtroubles.net

New ideas on how Sharedtroubles might be made better are welcomed

Send us your idea or feedback at idea@sharedtroubles.net. We are happy to hear your ideas but foul or abusive material will not be entertained and you may be restricted from using Sharedtroubles. Please keep your feedback constructive.

Note; This website does not express any political or social view.The content is from individuals from all walks of life and represents their own personal experiences.