Mother's Day (2018) Online

My kids disbelieve me when I tell them that when I was younger, walking past a pub, an army recruitment centre or going to the town centre at Christmas could you put you at risk of a random IRA bomb attack.

I have been to Warrington and seen the memorial plaque to the two young victims of the IRA bombs in 1993. Tim Parry and Johnathan Ball.

This drama-documentary was harrowing to watch, especially the first half an hour. I rather like to forget the IRA campaign of terror in mainland Britain which affected it from the early 1970s onwards.

Mother's Day looks at the grieve faced by Tim Parry's parents who died five days after he was severely injured by the bomb. Colin & Wendy Parry eschewed hate and bitterness. They wanted the memory of their son to continue and become a symbol of hope and peace.

Parallel to the Parry's story is that of Susan McHugh, a housewife in Dublin. Horrified by the bomb attack in Warrington that led to the death of two children, she organises a public campaign against terrorist violence.

However McHugh has started a journey on a rocky path, maybe she was a little naive at the beginning. When she arrives in Belfast she meets victims of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland. Republican mothers whose children were killed by the British police and army and whose deaths aroused little concern. By 1993, 138 children had lost their lives as a result of violence.

Mother's Day is difficult to view, the actors give low key performances preferring to avoid any over sensationalized portrayals. It also tries to be even handed. In total 157 children lost their lives during the Troubles.

What the drama did not show was that as the explosions took place, the British government and Irish republicans were already exploring options for a peace process. In 1994, a ceasefire was announced by the IRA.