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Museum to address concerns over inclusion of military names

Demonstrators protested at the Museum of Free Derry over the decision to include the names of security force victims along with the names of civilian victims from the Troubles.
Demonstrators protested at the Museum of Free Derry over the decision to include the names of security force victims along with the names of civilian victims from the Troubles. Demonstrators protested at the Museum of Free Derry over the decision to include the names of security force victims along with the names of civilian victims from the Troubles.

THE BOGSIDE'S Museum of Free Derry has pledged to address “genuine concerns” over the inclusion of names of members of the security forces on a list which also features the names of civilians killed in the area.

A crowd of around 50 people staged a protest outside the museum at Glenfada Park yesterday over the inclusion of the names on an exhibit in the newly refurbished building.

Established by the Bloody Sunday Trust, the museum records the history of Derry’s Bogside during the early days of the Troubles, with particular focus on the 1972 killings.

Relatives of two Bloody Sunday victims Jim Wray and William Nash took part in the protest.

Margaret Wray said if the list was not changed she would have a coat her brother Jim was wearing when he was shot dead, removed from the museum.

However Jean Hegarty, whose teenage brother Kevin McElhinney was also among the victims, defended the inclusion of security force names.

Ms Hegarty, who works at the museum, said she understood the differing views on the issue but felt that a museum had to present facts.

There were a number of angry exchanges during yesterday’s protests and a small number of visitors to the museum opted to leave by a back door during the protest.

The Bloody Sunday Trust described the protest as "hostile and undignified".

A spokeswoman for the Trust said: “Nevertheless, the board of the Museum of Free Derry will seek to address some of the genuine concerns shared by several family members.”