A VICTIMS' charity has launched an interactive digital resource which aims to commemorate every life lost as a result of the conflict in the North since 1966.
The Memorial Map by Paper Trail marks a significant step in the effort to commemorate all victims equally and connect every loss of life to a location.
It currently records 4,481 individual lives lost as a result of the conflict and includes violence up to the present day.
As well as exploring the interactive Memorial Map by location, visitors can search for victims by their name and the date of their death. The new web app also includes an 'On This Day' feature that commemorates victims’ anniversaries as they occur.
Paper Trail stresses that the Memorial Map is a commemorative work-in-progress. Over the next year the charity’s manager Ciarán MacAirt will continue to locate, verify and amend records manually for anniversaries. Families and friends of each victim can also contact him directly from the Memorial Map if they wish him to amend an entry for their loved one.
Ciarán MacAirt said: "We commemorate each life lost during the terrible conflict in Ireland and Britain from 1966. Each entry marks a human life – a parent, a child, a partner, a friend, a neighbour – and grieving loved ones left behind.
“Paper Trail's Memorial Map connects the loss of each life to a location, and each place represents a home, a road, a parish, a town and a community impacted by violence. It helps us visualize how the conflict has damaged tens of thousands of lives across time and space.
“Paper Trail's Memorial Map also stands as a stark, visual warning that we cannot be complacent about peace either, as lives continue to be lost long after the signing of the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement in 1998. These latest victims include my talented pal, Lyra McKee, killed in Fanad Drive, Creggan, Derry, on 18th April, 2019.
“Paper Trail is inviting families and friends of victims to review the record that commemorates their loved one. They can contact me directly with any amendments or additional information. I will manually correct the entry myself. Otherwise, I will research each for anniversaries as they occur and remember them then.”
You can access the Memorial Map here.
