Imperial War Museum to exhibit conflicting perspectives on Troubles

County Down British troops were still a presence on the streets in the late 1980s and 1990s as violence increased prior to the first IRA ceasefire in 1994. Photograph: IWM

Complicated and contested stories of conflicts have been told by the Imperial War Museum (IWM) for more than a century. Now, for the first time, it is to tackle the UK’s own war: the 30-year Troubles in Northern Ireland that embroiled civilians, paramilitary groups and the British army, leaving hundreds dead and communities traumatised.

“There was a realisation that this was something that the IWM should address,” said Craig Murray, lead curator of the exhibition. “We wanted to show that it’s complex, difficult – and not over. And we wanted to listen to how and why people disagree about what happened, and air different viewpoints.”