Once Upon a Time in Northern Ireland

I was born in the 70s and grew up as a child in the 80s in the United States. I am an American of primarily Northern Irish (and British) ancestry, and when hearing news stories about bombings and violence I remember thinking how horrible these people who could have easily been my family if they had stayed. But I was a kid it was across the pond so whatever so I forgot five minutes after heading the news story.

I thought the approach to the film, a 5 part series of slow interviews, was a snooze fest at first. But as you watch the series, you realize how the Troubles went from isolated events that didn't register to families and communities being torn apart. It really builds and drives home the point that these were just ordinary people.

Really enjoyed this and learned a lot.

I was growing up during the time of The Troubles, but I live in America, and I am not Irish, so while I was aware of all of this going on, the immediacy was never there. Also, being an American, there are not a lot of things out there to watch and learn more about The Troubles. Maybe this documentary just barely scratches the surface for some, but for me, it was a very educational experience.

As others have noted, I was also taken aback (but in a good way) at the rawness, authenticity, honesty and the ability to self-reflect of most of the people in this documentary, both Catholics and Protestants alike who discussed their experiences. To me, this was as balanced and down-the-middle as humanly possible, and I also appreciated that very much.

Some may argue, that the "troubles" (too trivial a term for the "Horrors" they were) are past history, and to let it rest.

No.

You can learn from history, and hopefully avoid a repeat of it. (sadly due to human nature a faint hope).

This series examined the history of people who were involved in, (and those not directly involved), who suffered as a result, through absolutely riveting interviews interspersed with well selected news items. The interviewees came across as being totally truthful with very little disingenuity. (In a very few areas I caught a whiff of BS)

My background covers both sides involved, so a lot of the material was familiar to me. I do have an opinion on the root causes of the problem which allowed the "Horrors" to escalate, so perhaps at the start was viewing it in a slightly partisan way, but having watched this it's made it even clearer that no side "won". Everyone lost. Bravo to the team who made it.

This is one of the best documentaries I have seen on just about any subject. However, I know this subject well, so I can confirm the stories are true. They are told from the perspective of those who experienced the events, and told with incredible honesty. Even when I disagreed fundamentally with the perspective, I still found myself convinced of the honesty of the storyteller.

My only niggling concern was the lack of a detailed explanation on how Northern Ireland came about - British imperialism. The UK is to Ireland what Russia is to the Ukraine...400 years after the invasion.

To this day England does not understand Ireland. To this day England has a sense of right to be in a country not made by human maps, but by geography itself - it is a separate island, with a native people. In this documentary the Irish are still being referred to as 'terrorists' by the same people who are currently supplying ammunition to the Ukrainian fight for sovereignty. Contradiction???

Growing up in 80s in Dublin this was just something that was happening on the news. This brought the reality home to me for the first time. Two hours up the road was so far away back then. This is possibly the most important thing I have ever watched on tv. Mind blowing insight into the ordinary peoples lives at the time. I knew all of these story's but not like this. The emotion of the people talking about the time and the journeys they have been on are incredible. This should be shown to kids all over the world to show how division in a community can bring such hate and murder to the most ordinary of people.