Although I grew up in the thick of the troubles, as a middle class family living in a well to do terrace off the Malone Road , they touched us less than many in the province. There were moments, like the Lavery’s pub bombing, when they came closer, but on the whole we watched the never ending sectarian violence unfold on the evening news from the comfort of our living room.
Random fact: 50 odd years on from the 1971 pub bombing I learnt that the acclaimed Irish poet, Seamus Heaney, lived just 5 minutes from our home.