A NEW interactive exhibition adding to the growing visitor and tourist experience of West Belfast is set to open its doors.
'The Falls – Where the Troubles Began' will open at St Comgall’s in Divis Street on Thursday, November 6. It tells the extraordinary story of the Falls community from 1969 to 1970, a tumultuous period when the streets surrounding the former primary school were propelled on to television screens around the world. Residents found themselves on the frontline as the conflict gathered in pace and intensity around them and the political landscape changed before their eyes.
The exhibition references the Divis Riots of 1964 when Ian Paisley threatened to lead loyalists to take down a tricolour in the front window of the Sinn Féin election headquarters, the exhibition gives first-hand accounts of the campaign for civil rights; the pogroms of August ’69; the arrival of British troops on the streets; and the Falls Curfew.
Through two post-conflict community archives – The Dúchas Oral History Archive and the Belfast Photographic Archive Project – the story of Divis and the Falls is brought to life through voices from the past – voices of people who were there and who bore witness to the historic events.
As the visitor journeys through the exhibition, through a handset and earphones they can listen to short audio stories from Falls residents at strategically-placed panels recalling their memories of growing up in this tight-knit Catholic community in the 1960s and their experiences of job and housing discrimination. As you move through, others recall being burnt from their homes, street confrontations with the British army, riots, gun battles and the deaths of loved ones.
The centrepiece of the exhibition is a custom-built mini-theatre where the visitor can sit and watch a specially curated ten-minute film featuring TV news reels from those years when the Falls was in the eye of the storm and when the northern state was rocked to its very foundations. The powerful footage will leave your chest and head pounding in equal measure as the dramatic events unfold before your eyes.
The visitor can spend as short or as long in the exhibition as they wish, depending on how much you want to interact with the various panels. The international visitor is also catered for with 12 languages available to help them navigate their way through the era-defining events.
At the heart of it all is St Comgall’s, which still bears the scars of 1969 bulletholes on its outside walls. The magnificently renovated building is stripped back on the inside, exposing the original brickwork, the setting laid deliberately bare to let the stories of people from the area take stark precedence.
The panels where visitors can listen to those who were an eyewitness to history
A sign at the entrance warns: “Some of the content presented herein is naturally difficult and challenging and visitors may find some of it distressing.” But the exhibition ends with hope, illustrating the resilience of the Falls community with the rebuilding of Bombay Street and a nod to the peace process.
But, still, it is the images and voices from yesteryear that will stay with you long after you leave.
“It’s a powerful exhibition,” said Seán Mag Uidhir, manager of The Falls – Where the Troubles Began. “We’ve had a number of visitors in who have taken a tour and it has had a real impact on them, especially those who knew nothing about the conflict.
“It’s fitting that the exhibition is in St Comgall’s as the school has stood for over 130 years and there have been at least three British military occupations of the school over that period.
Seán Mag Uidhir, manager of The Falls – Where the Troubles Began
“The design of the exhibition has stayed very true to the original school building and I think that’s very important as it adds to the feel of the exhibition and gives it an authentic experience.
“St Comgall’s was a witness to all these events so it's apt that the exhibition will be housed here to tell the history of the Falls.”
The Falls – Where the Troubles Began opens at St Comgall’s on November 6.
Adults £12; concessionary rate including pensioners, U18s, students and schoolchildren £8; special family rates available.
