Letter to the Editor: pity that BBC documentary aired after the election

I sat in tears Sunday evening watching Lost Lives on BBC1 Northern Ireland, a poignantly moving representation about the circumstances of the killing of individuals whose lives were cut short during The Troubles.

Lost Lives is an immensely powerful cinematic, feature-length film inspired by the book of the same name.

The book was written over seven years by five journalists and is the only book to record the circumstances of every death in the Troubles. It features an extraordinary cast of leading actors, reading extracts vividly.

I only wish this powerful film had been aired before the election and had been seen by many of those who thought they were voting for change before they cast their vote — perhaps on seeing they might have thought twice.

Thankfully, a generation in our country has no lived memory of these atrocities — however we must remember what happened and educate ourselves and all future generations so as not to repeat these terrible times!

Reflecting on Lost Lives and the political interregnum I am reminded of Edmund Burke’s more memorable thoughts which seem to have certain resonance in these uncertain times. “Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it”.

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing”, and finally for the politicians, “we must all obey the great law of change. It is the most powerful law of nature”. Burke’s statue still stands today as if on sentry duty outside Trinity College Dublin, to the left of the entrance.

Paul Horan

Assistant Professor of Nursing & Midwifery

Trinity College

Dublin 2