Plot Synopsis

ONCE UPON A TIME IN NORTHERN IRELAND is a five-part documentary that combines unfiltered personal accounts with archival footage to tell the story of the people and communities who lived through Northern Ireland's violent past. The series runs chronologically from the beginning of The Troubles in the late 1960s to the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement signed 25 years ago, in April 1998. All five hours were available for streaming on Monday, May 22, 2023 on pbs.org. The series made its linear TV debut in the United States over three consecutive nights in late August 2023: Monday, August 28 through Wednesday, August 30. Episodes include:

"It Wasn't Like a Movie Anymore" (streaming debut on May 22; linear TV premiere on Monday, August 28 at 9pm): The opening episode charts Northern Ireland's progression from relative peace to full-blown conflict. When tensions between Catholic and Protestant communities explode, the British Army is deployed. When 13 unarmed Catholics are shot dead in Derry by British Paratroopers, the world looks on in shock. Known as "Bloody Sunday," it has far reaching political consequences and is seen by some as a recruitment drive for the Provisional IRA.

"Do Paramilitaries Lie Awake at Night?" (streaming debut on May 22; linear TV premiere on Monday, August 28 at 10pm): It is now 1972, and a deeply segregated society has emerged, with many Catholic and Protestant working-class communities policed by paramilitary organizations. Hatred and fear of the "other side" are endemic, as is a devotion to one's own culture and traditions. Six months after Bloody Sunday, the IRA explode 19 bombs across Belfast in an hour, killing nine and injuring 130 others. But punk music emerges as a unifying force for some young Catholics and Protestants, who defy the chaos and segregated world around them.

"So Many Broken Hearts" (streaming debut on May 22; linear TV premiere on Tuesday, August 29 at 9pm): The devastating impact of the conflict is explored through the stories of three women as IRA prisoners begin their hunger strike in protest against Margaret Thatcher's policies. Tit for tat killings, car bombs and assassinations are now part of everyday life in Northern Ireland. Fatigue, from a population desperate for a respite from the violence, is creeping in.

"Loose Talk Costs Lives" (streaming debut on May 22; linear TV premiere on Tuesday, August 29 at 10pm): By the late 1980s, the news in Northern Ireland is a daily list of the dead -- but 14 bloody days in March 1988 mark a new level of harrowing savagery. The conflict also becomes an intelligence war, as the move to prevent further terrorist violence is concentrated on infiltrating paramilitary organizations. "Trust nobody" is the mantra as fear and suspicion permeate all parts of everyday life.

"Who Wants to Live Like That?" (streaming debut on May 22; linear TV premiere on Wednesday, August 30 at 10pm): In 1994, President Bill Clinton controversially invites Gerry Adams, President of Sinn Fein (often referred to then as the 'IRA's political wing'), to the United States. For some it's a symbol of international support for peace talks. But others, whose families have been devastated by the violence, are horrified. A year earlier, an IRA bomb exploded prematurely on Belfast's Shankill Road, killing the bomber and nine Protestant men, women and children. In the days afterwards, loyalist gunmen retaliated assassinating many Catholics. It seemed that violence might escalate further as tensions ran high, but following years of negotiations between politicians, paramilitaries and the British and Irish Governments, an IRA ceasefire was announced in 1994. A loyalist paramilitary ceasefire followed 6 weeks later. There is widespread joy when the Good Friday Agreement is finally announced in 1998. But peace comes at a cost. The early release of all paramilitary prisoners from prison -- a key part of the agreement -- causes anguish for many, especially the injured and bereaved, who face what all post-conflict societies face, a peace built upon the violence of the past.