Gallery

Scroll through the gallery below to explore powerful visual stories from the Troubles in Northern Ireland. These photographs, generously donated by local photographers, offer a poignant glimpse into the everyday realities and defining moments of this pivotal period in our shared history.

This gallery presents a visual archive of life during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Each image captures a moment in time—some quiet, some chaotic, all deeply significant. Collected through the generous contributions of both local and international photographers, this exhibition invites reflection on the human experience within a divided society.

Photographer: Germund Sjövall

Year: 1970

Germund Sjövall

Germund Sjövall arrived from Sweden in 1970 at the age of 22. He travelled across Ireland—visiting Dublin, Newry, Armagh, Dungannon, Strabane, Derry, and Belfast—mostly by hitchhiking.

Armed with a Leica camera, he documented local communities during the Troubles and severe flooding, capturing not only protests and unrest but also moments of everyday life.

These photographs were generously donated to the museum by the photographer.

Untitled 01

Photographer: Germund Sjövall

Year: 1970

Untitled 02

Photographer: Germund Sjövall

Year: 1970

Untitled 03

Photographer: Germund Sjövall

Year: 1970

Untitled 04

Photographer: Germund Sjövall

Year: 1970

Untitled 05

Photographer: Germund Sjövall

Year: 1970

Untitled 06

Photographer: Germund Sjövall

Year: 1970

Untitled 07

Photographer: Germund Sjövall

Year: 1970

Untitled 08

Photographer: Germund Sjövall

Year: 1970

Untitled 09

Photographer: Germund Sjövall

Year: 1970

Untitled 10

Photographer: Germund Sjövall

Year: 1970

This photograph was taken in Belfast, close to Falls Road.

Photographer: Germund Sjövall

Year: 1970

Untitled 11

Photographer: Germund Sjövall

Year: 1970

Untitled 12

Photographer: Germund Sjövall

Year: 1970

This photograph was taken in a revolutionary headquarters.

Photographer: Germund Sjövall

Year: 1970

Untitled 15

Photographer: Germund Sjövall

Year: 1970

Untitled 16

Photographer: Germund Sjövall

Year: 1970

Untitled 17 (Germund Sjövall, 1970)

Photographer: Germund Sjövall

Year: 1970

Untitled 18 (Germund Sjövall, 1970)

Photographer: Germund Sjövall

Year: 1970

Untitled 19 (Germund Sjövall, 1970)

Photographer: Germund Sjövall

Year: 1970

Untitled 20 (Germund Sjövall, 1970)

Photographer: Germund Sjövall

Year: 1970

Untitled 21 (Germund Sjövall, 1970)

Photographer: Germund Sjövall

Year: 1970

Untitled 22 (Germund Sjövall, 1970)

Photographer: Germund Sjövall

Year: 1970

Untitled 23 (Germund Sjövall, 1970)

Photographer: Germund Sjövall

Year: 1970

Untitled 24 (Germund Sjövall, 1970)

Photographer: Germund Sjövall

Year: 1970

Untitled 25 (Germund Sjövall, 1970)

Photographer: Germund Sjövall

Year: 1970

Bobbie Hanvey

Born in 1945 in Brookeborough, Northern Ireland, Bobbie Hanvey began his photographic career while working as a psychiatric nurse, initially photographing his patients. He later went on to become a professional photographer.

These photographs are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license, courtesy of the Photographic Archives at the John J. Burns Library, Boston College.

Bomb in the main street of Ballynahinch

Photographer: Bobbie Hanvey

Year: 1985

Damage from bomb in Main Street, Ballynahinch, Co. Down, caused by PIRA. Shots taken the next day showing damage to surrounding property.

Bomb in the main street of Ballynahinch 2 (Bobbie Hanvey, 1985)

Photographer: Bobbie Hanvey

Year: 1985

Damage from bomb in Main Street, Ballynahinch, Co. Down, caused by PIRA. Shots taken the next day showing damage to surrounding property.

INLA attack, car bomb (Bobbie Hanvey, 1980)

Photographer: Bobbie Hanvey

Year: 1980

INLA attack. Car bomb explodes at Downpatrick RUC station. Shots taken immediately after the explosion, see police traffic cones with metal from car-bomb stuck through it.

Brush with the law (Bobbie Hanvey, 1980)

Photographer: Germund Sjövall

Year: 1970

Photographs of traveller children shaking a brush at an RUC officer asleep in the back of a land-rover. Bobbie Hanvey interviewing a group of travellers for his Downtown Radio program “The Ramblin Man”.

RUC officers and Sarah Primrose

Photographer: Bobbie Hanvey

Year: 2002

RUC officers from Clogher station with Sarah Primrose who lived on a farm off the beaten path. These officers kept an eye on her welfare especially in the Winter, as she had no electricity or piped water. Sarah has since died.

Children burn tyres

Photographer: Bobbie Hanvey

Year: 1980

Children burn tyre and block Flying Horse Road, Downpatrick, Co. Down, anniversary of internment.

Children burn tyre 2

Photographer: Bobbie Hanvey

Year: 1980

Children burn tyre and block Flying Horse Road, Downpatrick, Co. Down, anniversary of internment.

Men playing cards in front of a republican wall mural

Photographer: Bobbie Hanvey

Year: 1985

Men playing cards in front of a republican wall mural, close to Divis Flats

Children on burnt-out cars

Photographer: Bobbie Hanvey

Year: 1980

Rioting on the anniversary of internment, children letting down tyres and on burnt-out cars.

Last PIRA bomb before 1994 ceasefire

Photographer: Bobbie Hanvey

Year: 1994

Last PIRA bomb before the 1994 ceasefire, Downpatrick. The “barrack buster” exploded after leaving the launching tube and devastated local businesses in St. Patrick’s Ave. before reaching its target, the RUC station.

Contact Us

Email us at museumofthetroubles@gmail.com
Charity Registration Number: NIC107970
Companies House: NI651235Founded in 23 February 2018
Company limited by Guarantee

Copyright

© Museum of the Troubles Initiative 2020.
Photographs courtesy of Patrick Speight.