Let’s remember the lost children of the Troubles

Those taken too young deserve recognition

THIS month 19 families will be marking the anniversary of the death of a child during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. And this weekend a project to fully, accurately and sensitively document the children aged 16 and under who died violently on this island, England and abroad as a result of the conflict is being launched.

Derry-based journalist Freya McClements and I have been working together for the past year doing preliminary research on this neglected area.

Anyone familiar with the turmoil that engulfed Northern Ireland, which began 50 years ago, knows that there has been one major, seminal attempt to document those who died as a result of the Troubles between 1968 and 1998, called Lost Lives. It is a remarkable achievement, listing over 3,700 who were killed in the three decades of violence.

It was published 18 years ago, before the explosion in the internet and social media.

The giant volume complied by Brian Feeney, David McKittrick, Séamus Kelters, Chris Thornton and David McVea has become even more valuable as it gets rarer – the 2,000page book is now out of print – and selling on websites at multiples of its original price.

A detailed analysis of Lost Lives shows more than 140 children are listed as having been killed in the Troubles.

Remarkably, our initial research has revealed that the number of children killed during the Troubles and publicly recorded has been significantly underestimated, leading us to believe that the overall death toll is greater than we have thought up to now.

I was struck researching Children Of The Rising how supportive the families of the 40 children killed in Easter 1916 were of the project.

So far we have received the same reaction from the families of children who died more recently who we have contacted about publishing a book on the subject.

Harry Feeney, a successful artist now living in Mayo, is the brother of Kathleen Feeney, who was 14 years old when she was killed in Derry in 1973 by the IRA. He told us: ‘We as a family believe that this book will memorialise our sister who loved life and died too young. Kathleen will never be forgotten by her family and we truly appreciate her all being publicly remembered as the fun-loving girl she once was.’

ANNETTE McGavigan, 14, was shot by the British Army in 1971. Her brother, Martin McGavigan, told us: ‘We as a family have never forgotten Annette and we think it is only right that all of the children who were killed in the Troubles should be publicly acknowledged and remembered. ‘The McGavigan family are delighted to be involved in this important project and we would encourage other families like ours to get involved and make their voices heard.’ The sisters of Paul Maxwell, the young boy killed by the IRA along with his employer Lord Mountbatten and two others in 1979 added: ‘Paul Maxwell, our much-loved brother died in 1979 when he was 15 years old.

‘It is so important that he and all other children who died in the Troubles are remembered, not as statistics, but as individuals whose lives were cut tragically short.’

This project is not about blaming, but remembering those who died as the children they were, living full lives with a whole world before them.

If you are related to any of the children who died, or indeed know any of them, please contact me or Freya McClements by email at childrenofthe troubles@gmail.com. WRITE TO JOE AT: The Irish Mail on Sunday, Embassy House, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4

NEVER AFRAID TO TACKLE THE STORIES THAT MATTER