'We literally became prisoners in our own home' - The Irish community on the Birmingham Pub Bombings
ITV Central Reporter Ravneet Nandra spoke with those who's lives changed forever after the Birmingham Pub Bombings
Maurice Malone was just seven years old when the bombs exploded at two pubs in Birmingham city centre in 1974.
He said he felt the impact of that night almost instantly. His mother was scared of him walking to school alone the day after, and took him instead.
Even at seven, Maurice knew something was odd when he and other Irish children were not allowed to play in the playground.
And it wasn't until he came home and saw his dad when he was told about the bombings. It happened half a century ago but the impact is still being felt today.
Not just by the survivors and victims families, but by the Irish community and the police officers.
'We and the Irish community had become a suspect community, treated as terrorists in the city'
Bombs exploded in the Mulberry Bush and the Tavern in the Town pubs killing 21 and injuring almost 200 others.
Six people, called the Birmingham Six, were jailed for the murders, but were exonerated and freed 17 years later. It remains Britain's biggest unsolved mass murder.
The IRA is thought to have been responsible, despite never claiming responsibility.
Maurice believed things changed for the Irish community overnight. He said he woke up the following morning and his world changed.
He said: "It transpired dad had gone into the factory Friday morning which was the day after the bombings, and he'd been attacked by people who he'd work along side for years and years, people he classed as his friends.
"They turned on him and he got a few beatings at work. And him and other fellows who were Irish were told to leave to leave the factory for their own safety.
"That was code for: your jobs gone, you're not coming back to work here again.
"I've always said my dad died that night as well but he didn't realise and he didn't find out till years later because it broke him, it broke our family. He dealt with it the only way he thought he could and he turned to drink.
"His life spiralled downwards from there. He moved back to Ireland and left myself and my mum.
"We and the Irish community had become a suspect community, treated as terrorists in the city."
Maurice explained that he was hardly allowed out, other than to school, for fear of being approached and attacked.
This was mirrored among other family and friends who were Irish. His mum had a very strong Irish accent and wouldn't use the bus any more.
He said the wider Irish community were 'appalled and sickened' at what happened, but there was still hatred in Birmingham against the Irish regardless.
"It felt like the world was against us...The animosity and the hatred and the fear amongst the community was palpable. And also a sense of shame...
"It's quite ironic when I look back and reflect the same hands that built the city then stood accused of tearing the city apart... we literally became prisoners in our own home."
Maurice saw a shift in tension away from the Irish community as he grew older, saying it may be because people had a better understanding of the troubles in Ireland, and a level of understanding and acceptance of what happened.
"I would have hoped my father had still been alive and been there for me. He was, at that age, my hero, my role-model.
"And all of a sudden he was taken away, so, I think it certainly shaped how my life turned out and I would imagine for a lot of lives in the Irish community and I think if that wouldn't have happened, things would have been very different for a lot of people."
A government spokesperson said: "Our deepest sympathies remain with all those who continue to be affected by the horrific pub bombings in Birmingham in 1974."
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