Northern Ireland

Exhibition hopes to highlight loss of Troubles

An exhibition of shoes highlighting the many people killed during the conflict at the In Their Footsteps exhibition in Conway Mill during human rights week. Picture Mal McCann 
An exhibition of shoes highlighting the many people killed during the conflict at the In Their Footsteps exhibition in Conway Mill during human rights week. Picture Mal McCann  An exhibition of shoes highlighting the many people killed during the conflict at the In Their Footsteps exhibition in Conway Mill during human rights week. Picture Mal McCann 

AN exhibition which hopes to highlight the many lives lost and scarred as a result of the troubles in Northern Ireland has opened in west Belfast.

The `In Their Footsteps - Set the Truth Free Exhibition' was unveiled at the Conway Mill Courtyard on the Falls Road as part of Human Rights Week.

The exhibition has 150 pairs of shoes on display, which symbolise some of the lives lost and scarred as a result of the conflict.

A series of events, including the exhibition, have been organised by the Ballymurphy Massacre Campaign in a bid to highlight the human side of such atrocities.

The exhibition will run until Friday and families of those bereaved during the conflict have been asked to add to the collection by donating a pair of shoes.

Robert McClenaghan, from the McGurks Bar families said: "Over 3,600 people were killed as a result of conflict, and over 40,000 were seriously injured - this initiative is open to every single one of these families, no matter who they are if they agree that effective independent mechanisms should be put in place.

"This exhibition is a very potent visual reminder of all we have lost and it gives ordinary people an insight into that loss".

Meanwhile, a film telling the story of the Ballymurphy Massacre, when 11 people, including a Catholic priest and a mother-of-eight, were shot and killed by the British army during a 36-hour period in August 1971 following the introduction of internment, will be shown at Conway Mill on Thursday at 7pm.

The screening of `Ballymurphy - State Killings and the Search for Justice' will be followed by a question and answer session with family members and other victim’s campaigners.