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Violence - Information on Deaths During the Conflict
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Page Compiled: Martin Melaugh and Fionnuala
McKenna
Material is added to this site on a regular basis - information on this page may change
At various times during the conflict different organisations and individuals have produced lists of those who have been killed as a result of 'the Troubles' in Northern Ireland. Currently there are a number of sources of comprehensive information on deaths. These are listed below. The major differences in the various databases relates to the definitions used when deciding which deaths to include, and also the time frames.
An Index of Deaths from the Conflict in Ireland, 1969-1993
Malcolm Sutton (1994)
This book (now out of print) provided information on deaths between July 1969 and December 1993. At the time it was the most comprehensive account of conflict-related deaths. A revised and updated (to December 2001) version is now available on-line at the CAIN site, see next entry.
Malcolm Sutton's on-line database of deaths 1969-2001
based on a revised and updated version of Malcolm Sutton's book. Since publication of his book Malcolm Sutton has been updating and revising the information in his files. In October 1999 he agreed to make the information available to the CAIN Project. In October 2002 the information was updated to December 2001.
See also:
Draft List of Deaths Related to the Conflict in:
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
Cost of the Troubles Study (CTS)
Series of reports on the impact of the conflict. The CTS produced a database of deaths but took a decision not published it. The various reports published by the CTS provide a detailed analysis of conflict-related deaths.
Lost Lives
The stories of the men, women and children who died as a result of the Northern Ireland troubles
By David McKittrick, Seamus Kelters, Brian Feeney and Chris Thornton (1999)
This book was published in October 1999 and contains detailed entries for most of the deaths that occurred as a result of the conflict.
Official Information
RUC list of troubles-related deaths produced by NIO, Belfast (1995)
RUC: The Grim Statistics, Police Review, Belfast (1986)
The major limitation of the information produced by the Royal Ulster Caonstabulary (RUC) is the fact that it does not include those deaths that occurred outside of Northern Ireland. See:
Irish Information Partnership
A group called the Irish Information Partnership collected information on deaths, compiled a database, and published some reports on the information during the 1980s. One such report was published on 14 October 1985. The information showed that more than 50 per cent of the 2,400 dead had been killed by Republican paramilitaries. In addition the data also showed that over 25 per cent of those killed by Republicans were Catholic civilians.
The McKeown Database of Deaths
In 2009 Michael McKeown agreed to make his database of deaths available on-line on the CAIN Web site. This is the only full database that is freely available for people to download. Copies of McKeown's publications are also available via the above link. McKeown's criteria for including deaths is more comprehensive that Sutton's hence the total number of deaths is slightly higher.
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