Bombay Street ’69 photos exhibited for the first time
Photographs capturing the moments when Bombay Street in west Belfast was burnt to the ground by loyalist mobs in 1969 are to be shown for the first time.
The 50 images, taken by amateur photographer Gerry Collins, also reveal the aftermath of the attacks as Catholic families attempted to salvage their possessions from the ruins.
As the 40th anniversary approaches in August, Mr Collins – now in his eighties – has given permission for the pictures to feature in a new exhibition.
Opening on Friday, ‘Bombay Street – Taken from the Ashes’ includes an array of images capturing everything from British soldiers arriving at the scene to families trying to save mattresses via first-floor windows.
Trouble flared across the north on August 15 in the aftermath of violence in Derry when 30,000 Apprentice Boys marched through the city.
In Clonard, west Belfast, around 1,800 families were made homeless when their houses were attacked.
Frankie Quinn, director of the Belfast’s Red Barn Gallery, described the images as “stunning”.
“These images are the only existing record of that fateful night and they provide a forceful, eloquent and historically significant first-hand view of its impact,” he said.
Bombay Street – Taken from the Ashes
Red Barn Gallery
43B Rosemary Street – Belfast
From June 26 until July 25 from 10am until 5pm (or until 9pm on Thursdays)
Admission is free
Photo Gallery
