The Linen Memorial
to Lost Lives
The Linen Memorial is
an alternative history of The Troubles
in Northern Ireland. It is a counter-monument. The nonheirarchical, chronological list
of embroidered names of those killed has been recorded from 'a book of The Dead':
Lost Lives
by David McKittrick, Seamus Kelters, Brian Feeny, Chris Thornton, and David McVea (first published in 2000).
This monumental tome, and the names sewn on the handkerchiefs, record the toll of
human lives during Northern Ireland's sectarian violence; persons
listed are on either side of the political divide (and include perpetrators) without
bias.
In post-conflict Northern Ireland, people are reading Lost
Lives and visiting The Linen Memorial,
so that
those horrifically killed in the sectarian conflict in Northern
Ireland are remembered.
From 2007, Northern Ireland introduced an 'open' Day of 'private' Reflection
to consider the conflict as well as to think about lost loved ones.
See www.dayofprivatereflection.com
The memorial has been recognised by Healing Through Remembering
www.healingthroughremembering.org
whose offices are located in an historic Linen Handkerchief
manufacturing plant in Belfast.
June 21st, 2007, the longest day of the year, was the first
Day of Private Reflection
about the conflict in and about Northern Ireland.
The Linen Memorial was at
The Croi
at
The Corrymeela Community, Ballycastle, N. Ireland.
www.corrymeela.org
The memorial is dedicated to those who live with ongoing trauma and grief.
