Friday, 7 Apr 2023
Updated / Friday, 7 Apr 2023 21:37
By Conor Hunt
The names of all of those killed during the Troubles were read aloud
today at a special service in Dublin.
The commemoration, at the Unitarian church on St Stephen's Green, which
began at midday, is now in its 21st year.
This was a day when the victims of the Troubles were remembered.
Many of the names may have slipped from public attention over the
years, however, organisers say this was a chance to right that.
"I think it's important," said Rev Bridget Spain.
"The names are just lost lives. They really are lost lives. They come
alive when you mention their names. All of the ripples of sadness that
went off from those murders is horrendous and we can never go back
there," she said.
'We can never go back there,' says Rev Bridget Spain
For some who had gathered, this was personal.
Paula Rainey's father, Joseph Campbell, was murdered in 1977.
"Today it's just nice to sit in a peaceful place. It's very neutral,
and I get a lot of peace from it," Ms Rainey said.
"I think it's very important to remember the victims. When you come
here and you hear the names listed out, what you actually get is a
sense of all the people that you don't remember," she said.
Paula Rainey's father, Joseph Campbell, was murdered in 1977
The names of the victims were more familiar to some who had gathered.
Margaret Graham worked as nurse in Belfast throughout the Troubles. She
helped save many, she remembers though, those who were lost.
"I was in theatre, my first stint in theatre. We actually got a soldier
in who had been blown up. And I was set up to do an amputation. But
sadly, he died on the table... There was total silence around the
table. You know, things like that stay with you," Ms Graham said.
Margaret Graham worked as nurse in Belfast throughout the Troubles
"I suppose there's a lot of their names that certainly come back to
you... There's big episodes that you remember. There were patients that
I would have nursed in surgical wards that you knew were bomb or
shooting casualties that were going to die," she said.
"Looking back, you suddenly start to have some flashbacks and realising
that that was not a normal way to be existing at all and, I suppose
looking back, it's quite amazing how normal it became," Ms Graham said.
In all, nearly 3,600 names were read aloud today. The service lasted
over three hours.