Sharedtroubles

201 individual stories from the Northern Ireland Troubles

2010-10-04T16:53:00.000-07:00

With the support of people from Republican and Unionist backgrounds the library of independent stories has grown to 201.

Sharedtroubles.net is an open source opportunity for anyone who wishes to speak of their experiences during the Troubles.

Victims and perpetrators telling it like it is. Totally independent of editing or political spin.

http://www.sharedtroubles.net

Raymond Gilmour

2010-09-07T07:55:00.000-07:00

Raymond Gilmour intends to return to his home town of Derry this week according to a front page story in Sunday World September 5th 2010

Gilmour was a Special Branch agent who devastated the IRA by foiling attacks and then turning supergrass.

Gilmour alleges he was abandoned by his handlers & government who promised to give him a new life after his role ended.

Gilmour's book 'Dead Ground' is still available on Amazon and makes for fascinating reading.

Read his story

Bloody Sunday

2010-06-14T17:10:00.000-07:00

BBC Slide Show of Bloody Sunday

Gerry Kelly

2010-03-16T12:41:00.000-07:00

MLA Gerry Kelly speaks in poem about how he was force fed during his hunger strike.

Read Gerry Kelly's poem
http://www.sharedtroubles.net/storydetail.php?story_id=1189

Newry Bomb

2010-02-22T16:18:00.000-08:00

Despite the best hopes of nearly all the people of Northern Ireland a reminder of past times confronted us all tonight when a car bomb exploded in Newry.

Northern Ireland Troubles - Special Branch Story

2010-02-07T13:13:00.000-08:00

George Clarke -Ex-Special Branch has released a very interesting book about the cross border co-operation with the Garda and his time working with IRA informers.

Highly recommended reading.

Read an extract

http://www.sharedtroubles.net/storydetail.php?story_id=1182

Bloody Friday

2010-01-02T04:55:00.001-08:00

Read this harrowing story from a British Soldier who was in the middle of 'Bloody Friday'

http://www.sharedtroubles.net/storydetail.php?story_id=1175

Northern Ireland Troubles - Shared Future?

2009-12-08T12:55:00.001-08:00

READ THIS REMARKABLE STORY

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/8398895.stm

Omagh Bomb Father receives recognition

2009-10-26T16:15:00.000-07:00

OMAGH BOMB FATHER RECEIVES AWARD IN SPAIN

Michael Gallagher who's 21 year old son Adrian who died in the Omagh Bomb is to receive an International award in recognition for the work he has done for victims of terrorism at home and around the world. The ceremony it to take place in Madrid on Wednesday the 28th October 2009.
He received the news in a letter last June which stated: the board of Trustees of San Pablo Ceu University Madrid and the International Center for Victims of Terrorism unanimously agreed to award Mr. Gallagher the International award for Memory, Dignity and Justice for the following reasons in consideration of his personal commitment to the cause of victims of terrorism and defending freedom anywhere in the world where there's terrorist violence, specially in Northern Ireland.

Speaking yesterday Mr. Gallagher said this is a great honour not just for myself but for all those families who have had the courage to stand up and demand justice over many difficult years, we thank Spain for there support and encouragement

Amazing stories

2009-09-20T08:49:00.001-07:00

Some amazing stories are appearing on Sharedtroubles.net

Read about the Shankill Butchers

http://www.sharedtroubles.net/storydetail.php?story_id=1149

UDR Story

2009-09-19T03:28:00.000-07:00

"I felt as frightened as helpless as a child; the shadows had returned to fill my mind again. I lay in the soft warm comfort of my wife’s embrace, yet I felt alone. I felt as if I was I the only one in the world in this disparate state. I needed to get some help, but from whom, from where? When the phantoms came, me the so called “hard man”, a man that would shoot a man dead without as much as a flicker of emotion in my face, would instantly transform into a quivering fearful defenceless child."

Read the full story http://www.sharedtroubles.net/storydetail.php?story_id=1157

Sunday Tribune

2009-09-11T15:17:00.000-07:00

Suzanne Breen wrote an excellent feature on Sharedtroubles in the Sunday Tribune

Read the article
http://www.tribune.ie/article/2009/sep/06/she-was-in-a-wheelchair-for-30-years-no-early-rele/?q=sharedtroubles

Belfast Telegraph

2009-09-07T06:22:00.000-07:00

Hate mail for man behind Troubles website

Monday, 7 September 2009

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/hate-mail-for-man-behind-troubles-website-14482301.html

IRA blanketman Anthony McIntyre

2009-09-03T09:23:00.000-07:00

Former IRA volunteer and ex-prisoner, spent 18 years in Long Kesh, 4 years on the blanket and no-wash/no work protests which led to the hunger strikes of the 80s. Completed PhD at Queens upon release from prison. Left the Republican Movement at the endorsement of the Good Friday Agreement, and went on to become a journalist. Co-founder of The Blanket, an online magazine that critically analyzed the Irish peace process.

Read a story supplied by Anthony McIntyre

http://www.sharedtroubles.net/storydetail.php?story_id=1091

The human cost of the Troubles

2009-09-03T09:20:00.000-07:00

Read the harrowing story of a RUC widow's horrible shock
http://www.sharedtroubles.net/storydetail.php?story_id=1107

Margret Thatcher

2009-08-11T09:10:00.000-07:00

Baroness Thatcher has supported the Sharedtroubles archive by supplying an account of her experiences during the Brighton Bomb

Read Margret Thatcher's story http://www.sharedtroubles.net/storydetail.php?story_id=1146

American Major reflects on Sharedtroubles

2009-07-09T14:33:00.000-07:00

Good evening, I have just finished up reading some of the most powerful expressions of what it was to live in N. Ireland through the troubles. They were probably so powerful because I lived them. I know the street names. I rode my bike and delivered my Irish News and “Teles” to some of those addresses. As I read, I recall the experiences, the soldiers’ accents, the emotions, and the smells of the many times I was stopped and “checked out”. I will share this site with my wife, as I have never been able to fully explain what it was to grow up in Belfast. Perhaps this will help her and my children understand why I prefer not to discuss this aspect of my childhood and young adult life. As I read, I re-experienced the atmosphere at hunger strikers’ funerals, being gassed during Operation Motorman, ducking from rubber bullets and plastic baton rounds and cooking in the back garden on the outside fire during the general strike The irony of this is that I am sitting in my office at work. I am and active duty US military officer, (one of many from N. Ireland including my wee brother) who teaches young officers how to approach irregular warfare and counter-insurgency. These are hot topics for the US military as you might expect. I find that as I approach the preparation of these young officers I am drawing ever more frequently on my experiences in Northern Ireland. You have started an amazing project. A truth and reconciliation process similar to the one in S. Africa was probably never going to happen in N. Ireland however, you have created a virtual place for our parents, us and our children to travel back and hear perspectives of the events of the troubles that would otherwise be lost. I applaud you for your commitment to your children and to their understanding of what we, as humans, are capable of doing to each other when we fail to understand the basic humanity we all share. We condemn ourselves and our children to repeat the mistakes of the past when we fail to educate the succeeding generations about our failures. Continue this great work. One day I will return to my home. I had to leave. My choices were narrowing by the day. I am glad that my nieces and nephews do not have to face the choices we had to. Keep up the good work. I have thought hard about signing my name to this… To this day I still worry that my family left behind will be subject to something?? I know this is not a reasonable thought but it is a legacy of the troubles I still carry. Maybe one day I will not have this baggage.

Until then, Major, United States Air Force Proud graduate of Saint Oliver Plunkett Primary School and the streets of Lenadoon, Belfast

Bogside Sniper

2009-06-26T16:04:00.000-07:00

The Derry Journal picked up on a Sharedtroubles.net story from a British Soldier who worked as a sniper in Derry during the Troubles. Shows two sides to a situation and the complex issues facing those involved.

http://www.derryjournal.com/features/I-couldn39t-shoot-her-.5325259.jp

Bullets, Bombs and Cups of Tea: Further Voices of the British Army in Northern Ireland 1969-98 (Hardcover)

2009-06-03T02:16:00.000-07:00

This is Ken Wharton's second oral history of the Northern Ireland troubles told again from the perspective of the ordinary British soldier. This book looks deeper into the conflict, utilising stories from new contributors providing revealing and long-forgotten stories of the troubles from the back streets of the Ardoyne to the bandit country of South Armagh. Ken Wharton - himself a former soldier - is now known and trusted by those who served and they are keen for their part in Britain's forgotten war to now be made public. For the first time, he tells the stories of the 'unseen victims' - the loved ones who sat and dreaded a knock at the door from the Army telling them that their loved one had been killed on the streets of Northern Ireland. There are more first hand accounts from the Rifleman, the Private, the Guardsman, the Driver, the Sapper, the Fusilier on the street as they recall the violence, the insults and the shock of seeing a comrade dying in the street in front of them. There is an explosive interview with a soldier who killed an IRA gunman who was fresh from the murder of two Royal Artillerymen. Building on the huge success of Ken's first book, this second volume will provide plenty of new material for the reader to reconsider afresh the role of Britain's soldiers in Northern Ireland.

Highly recommended read http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/190603334X/ref=cm_cr_mts_prod_img

Gerry Adams lends his support

2009-05-26T11:16:00.000-07:00

Gerry Adams ' story of life in his street when internment arrived gives a stark and human account of the rough end of 'Ulsterisation policy' Told with a sense of black humour Gerry's story may surprise a few readers.

Read Gerry Adams' Story http://www.sharedtroubles.net/storydetail.php?story_id=1094

Northern Ireland Story No.100

2009-05-06T09:29:00.000-07:00

A watershed of 100 individual stories has been reached! After launching in January 2009 Sharedtroubles.net has attracted stories from all sides of the Northern Ireland Conflict.

Story number 100 comes from David a young Orangeman who witnessed the stand off between The State and Unionist Orangemen.

Read David's story from Drumcree http://www.sharedtroubles.net/storydetail.php?story_id=1092

The Irish News Feature Sharedtroubles.net

2009-04-06T03:31:00.000-07:00

Read the article about Sharedtroubles.net from The Irish News

http://www.irishnews.com/articles/540/5860/2009/4/4/614406_377494731837Websiteco.html

International Actor James Nesbitt

2009-03-31T02:06:00.000-07:00

James Nesbitt has put his support behind Sharedtroubles.net James is the patron of the trauma support group WAVE who offer cross community support for those affected by the Northern Ireland Troubles. A renowned international actor, James is an active campaigner on behalf of reconciliation and a great advocate for Northern Ireland.

Read James Nesbitt's story http://www.sharedtroubles.net/storydetail.php?story_id=1055

USA Citizens express interest

2009-03-25T04:58:00.000-07:00

With the recent attacks by dissident IRA, Sharedtroubles.net is receiving international interest.

American citizens are particularily interested in reading the real stories from the people who were actually there. 'We had no idea that Protestants were murdered and the trouble was so widespread. Our media always presented the situation as a war between Catholics and the British Army' said Brad from Boston. 'It was interesting to read stories from a range of people it really opened my eyes'

Sharedtroubles has also received a story from a Canadian who was in Omagh on the day of the bombing.

Read his story http://www.sharedtroubles.net/storydetail.php?story_id=1047

The Peace People

2009-03-17T03:47:00.000-07:00

Mairead Corrigan McGuire extends her support to the Sharedtroubles website and places the amazing story of The Peace People on Sharedtroubles. The Northern Ireland Peace Process owes a great deal to the tireless work of this organization.

The Peace people inspired a generation in 1976 and continue to promote peace and tolerance today. Read their story on Sharedtroubles and be inspired.

http://www.sharedtroubles.net/storydetail.php?story_id=1049

British Agent Speaks Out on Dissident IRA Activity

2009-03-10T05:02:00.000-07:00

It is sad that over the past few days that we have had terrorist attacks in N. Ireland that has claimed the lives of two young unarmed soldiers injuring another two and injuring two pizza delivery men , then today we hear the news that a police officer has lost his life in another terrorist attack in Co. Armagh, I have watched as some "security experts, in London" on TV, have commented on these matters, and given their opinion on the incidents, some of which I can only describe as utter "Bullshit". As a person who has had inside knowledge of a terrorist organisation and the thinking of some of the people involved in some of N. Ireland's most horrific acts, I think there is much more to come, indeed for the past few years I have been telling journalists of what I believed what was happening behind the scenes, the answer from the honest journalists was " editors won't print stories about N. Ireland, as it might damage the peace process". Well while they were sleeping, and the government were dismantling the security apparatus that was in place in N. Ireland, ( to please Sinn Fein ) and to give them a foothold, others in the Republican family were gathering intelligence, buying guns, recruiting new volunteer's, and doing dry runs, we have heard Sinn Fein and others condemning these "micro groups" saying that they have no support in the community, "these are the same sound bites" that the provisional IRA, had been hearing for over twenty years, they did not listen, what makes you think that republican groups will listen now ? and another thing, the Provo's didn't have that much support in the community either.

People like Willie Frazer, and some politician's have voiced concern over the years that Government were acting two fast and prematurely in dismantling the security apparatus that was in place, "Yes there were problems with the UDR and others, well there is nothing in place now, The Chief Constable is the chief of a police force, he now finds himself in a war against a small army of fanatics, ordinary policing will not work on it's own. "wake up and smell the coffee".

Signed.

Kevin Fulton
Former undercover British Soldier

Critics attack Northern Ireland Truth Website

2009-03-06T11:34:00.000-08:00

Victim's Commissioner Patricia MacBride receives fierce criticism from Unionist MLA

Patricia MacBride published her story 'Oglagh' about her brother who was killed during the Troubles. Patricia wrote the personal story when she was 14 years old and in it she reflects on the death of her brother at the time. Patricia's brother was a member of the IRA.

Sharedtroubles.net welcomes everyone with a story regardless of their background.

UUP Jim Nicholson called Patricia MacBride for to be sacked as a Victim's Commissioner.

Read the BBC's report http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/7928945.stm

Read Patricia's story http://www.sharedtroubles.net/storydetail.php?story_id=1023

Facebook Page Created

2009-03-03T04:33:00.000-08:00

Sharedtroubles.net has created a Facebook page after http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sharedtroubles-Website/59479262233?ref=nf

Eamonn Holmes shares his Troubles story

2009-02-28T04:34:00.000-08:00

Eamonn Holmes the television and radio presenter has posted his personal story from Northern Ireland's troubles on Sharedtroubles.net

http://www.sharedtroubles.net/storydetail.php?story_id=1044

The Sash My Father Wore

2009-02-25T06:09:00.000-08:00

Nigel Lutton has posted his award winning story

'The Sash My Father Wore'

A real heart rending story which says more by saying less.

http://www.sharedtroubles.net/storydetail.php?story_id=102

'Blanketmen' author Richard O'Rawe posts story on Sharedtroubles

2009-02-24T12:53:00.000-08:00

Richard O'Rawe who served time alongside Bobby Sands has posted a moving story about Bobby's death whilst on Hunger Strike
http://www.sharedtroubles.net/storydetail.php?story_id=1043

2009-02-23T08:16:00.000-08:00

British Soldier captured by IRA

2009-02-23T07:50:00.000-08:00

Colin Demet was a 17 year old British Soldier when he was captured in the Ardoyne by the IRA
Read some of his story http://www.sharedtroubles.net/storydetail.php?story_id=1041

New revelations from Northern Ireland

2009-02-22T03:49:00.001-08:00

Aunt tells of her sorrow at the loss of her young nephew in a roadside execution.

http://www.sharedtroubles.net/storydetail.php?story_id=1027

Undercover agents

2009-02-20T10:28:00.001-08:00

Several undercover agents have posted their stories on Sharedtroubles.net which caused concern with my legal team.

Fortunately they kept their stories legal!
http://www.sharedtroubles.net/storydetail.php?story_id=112

Sharedtroubles website launched Jan 09

2009-02-20T10:24:00.001-08:00

I eventually got http://www.sharedtroubles.net/ launched with around 50 stories from all sides of the conflict. The response so far has been very good.

What's Your Story?

2008-12-07T14:15:00.001-08:00

Image copyright Pacemaker Press

http://www.sharedtroubles.net/ is an ambitious new website launched in December 2008 which creates an opportunity for anyone affected by N.Ireland's Troubles to share their personal experiences and emotions regardless of their religion, political persuasion or involvement.

Inital stories have been collected from a wide range of contributors from a variety of backgrounds including a British Sniper in Derry, UDR Soldiers, RUC officers, Civilians and ex-combatants.

The site was built in response to the fact that its creator found his two children had never heard of the Troubles and he became determined to created a living historical archive of people's experiences from all sides of the conflict.

After building the site's structure visits were made to survivors, ex-policemen, British Soldiers and many political representatives. The feedback was extremely positive and the generosity of individuals was astounding. Loyalist and Republicans, Civillians and Security Services were all keen to share their stories.

Anyone wishing to share their own story can do so by visiting http://www.sharedtroubles.net/

Stories are told entirely in your own words.

Sharedtroubles.net is currently inviting stories from the following categories

Survivors & Victims
Partners
Civillian
Civilian Loyalist
Civilian Republican
Orange Order
Journalists
Clergy
Political Community Workers

Security Services

RUC
PSNI
British Army
UDR
Prison Service

Emergency Services

Medical & Ambulance Service
Fire Brigade

Those Left Behind

Partners
Family & Friends

Ex-Combatants

Loyalist
Republican