The 50th anniversary of Bloody Friday yesterday serves as a sombre reminder of one of the darkest and most horrific days in our troubled history.
That July afternoon, nine people were killed and 130 injured as more than 20 IRA bombs exploded across Belfast in the space of just 75 minutes.
For those who were not there, it is hard to imagine the sheer terror and chaos of that day. Bombs went off at so many places, including residential streets, it was as if nowhere was safe.
Some of those who witnessed the sheer carnage inflicted on men, women and children provided graphic accounts that are extremely difficult to listen to, even five decades on.
It is also painfully clear that seeing such terrible sights has had an indelible impact on so many people.
The youngest person killed that day was a 14-year-old schoolboy. The oldest victim a 65-year-old woman. A young mother of seven children also died.
Relatives gathered yesterday to commemorate their loved ones in events heavy with a sense of loss and reflection.
There are those who also want answers. Robert Gibson, whose bus driver father Jackie died at Oxford Street station, believes there may be IRA members still alive with information about that day.
''The truth is something everybody deserves,'' he said.
While the IRA issued an apology for civilian deaths on the 30th anniversary of Bloody Friday, the republican movement must go further in ensuring victims and relatives get the answers they are entitled to.
Tragically, despite the revulsion and outrage, Bloody Friday did not lead to an end to violence.
In all, 97 people died in July 1972, including nine killed in an IRA bomb attack in Claudy, Co Derry on the last day of the month. That year was the bloodiest of the Troubles, with 476 deaths.
For younger generations, brought up in the years since the Good Friday Agreement, the horrendous times experienced by their parents and grandparents may seem almost beyond belief.
No sane person who went through the decades of conflict, the daily trauma of bombings and shootings, the sudden and violent loss of life, the coffins followed by weeping children, would wish it on anyone.
Difficult though it is, it is important that we remember how it was and make sure it never happens again.
