If you saw Five Minutes Of Heaven on BBC Two last night, a reminder that there's an interview with the writer, Guy Hibbert, on the Writers' Guild website.If you missed the drama (starring Liam Neeson and James Nesbitt, directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel) you can watch it for the next seven days on BBC iPlayer.
I was the same age as Alastair (Liam Neeson) in 1975 and living in Belfast. I was particularly struck by his saying that there was no one in his own community to tell him that this sort of killing was wrong. This was true for many people. The silent or explicit endorsement of violence did great damage and I've always had doubts about anyone of my age from any town in N. Ireland who claims to have been unaffected by the Troubles. It's not only those who were directly involved in violence, as victim or perpetrator, who suffered. Something happens to the spirit when the abnormal becomes the norm. The play reminded me of my wish to see a drama about N. Irish people who chose not to take the path of violence, either the infliction of violence or passive support for it. I'll have to get on and write that one myself, maybe! The film showed well the inner burden carried by some N. Irish people in their forties and fifties and it made me think how merciful we should be to each other - all of us, wherever we're from.
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