A book and video bringing together a comprehensive collection of first-hand accounts from the Troubles was launched last night in Belfast, writes Roisin Ingle.
The book, Personal Accounts from Northern Ireland's Troubles: Public Conflict, Private Loss, features interviews, including one with Methodist Minister Dr David Clements, whose police officer father was killed in 1985. Introducing the book at Belfast's Waterfront Hall, Dr Clements said: "By sharing our stories we hope that the wider public and support services in Northern Ireland will become better informed about and more aware of the needs of those who have been directly affected by the Troubles." The book is edited by Ms Marie Therese Fay and Ms Marie Smyth of the Cost of the Troubles Study (COTTS), a charity formed after the 1994 IRA ceasefire to monitor the impact of the conflict.
A documentary, And Then There Was Silence, by Belfast-based company Northern Visions, was also commissioned by the COTTS.