What was the first big news story that caught your attention when you were young!

Wanderer2010

The coverage of the trial of the below, Rose West, was the first time I had seen reports on the news of a serial killer, the first time hearing about torture and bodies being raped and mutilated but I think what horrified my innocent mind most was that this ordinary looking, dowdy woman was the one accused of 10 murders, including her 2 daughters. I remember they did a whole week of documentaries on the worst female serial killer of modern times for a while after the verdict. Ill never forget the images, the reports and the victims. Chilling.

prinzeugen

Polmont train crash in 1984.. Only because I was on it.

The one that struck home though was Hillsborough. My uncle was at the game in the Liverpool end. Remember the frantic phone calls from my mum,aunts and gran and grandad trying to get info.

About 10pm he phoned to say he was safe. He explained that he didn't want to use the phone as there were others that needed to use them more than him and he had gone to the local hospital with a few others to donate blood.

We all remember the "Big stories" from when we were younger as we dont have the 24/7 news coverage that we do now.

Everytime a leader farts is "breaking news" now.

When I was a youngster, a big news story was one that got regular TV shows stopped for a "News Flash". Last time I recall that happening was the Queen Mother dying.

Cupcake_Crisis

Princess Diana would be the first I have any real memory of.

I remember coming home from school, would have been in 1st year, and watching the coverage of 9/11 on the telly with my mam.

arybvtcw0eolkf

CoolHandBandit wrote: »

Vietnam war reports.

Same here. I remember wondering why the Americans were refusing to let people onto their helicopters and why helicopters were being pushed overboard from an aircraft carrier.

We were witnessing the end of the Vietnam war.

Not a news report as such (thankfully) but drills on TV as to what actions to take in the event of a nuclear war.

Samsgirl

A local boy in Waterford was murdered in 80's. He was slightly younger than myself and my friends. Can remember seeing the local estate on the news and then the courthouse.

RonanP77

Shergar was the first I remember, I would've been 5 or 6 at the time.

soap1978

Gulf war

gabsdot40

I lived near Birmingham as a child in the 1970s. There was a terrible murder and the murderer was nicknamed the Black Panther.
I didn't know much about the murder but the name gave me nightmares.

Sam Kade

infogiver wrote: »

I'm 52 and born in 1965 and distinctly remember my mother lifting me into her arms to point out the moon "where the men went in a space ship" for Apollo 11 and back out to the garden again to ask God to bring Apollo 13 safely

I was born in 1964 and the troubles in the north was the big story I remember, we all thought we were doomed. This thread makes me feel old when 25 year olds barely remember 9/11

Cee-Jay-Cee

Elvis death back in 1977

Cianmcliam

The Pope getting shot in 1981.

Ben Dunne high as a kite on cocaine walking outside on the ledge of a suite on the 17th floor of a hotel in Florida with a prostitute pleading with him to come back inside - all filmed live by one of those Florida traffic helicopters.

There's very little online in 2017 (and no video) about this but byjesus RTÉ's 9pm News had the whole of Ireland enthralled like never before! (and the There's something for yourself" "Thank you, big fella" sequel played out in the High Court years later was almost as captivating!)

Water John

Denise Wojeck, I remember her name.

Roadtoad

The Arch_Duke, a lovely fellow, heading off to Sarajevo for a weekend break.

Water John

Toad, the oldest person on Boards.

JupiterKid

John Lennon getting shot or the Stardust disaster. I was 5 going on 6 years of age at the time.

The news stories I really remember well was the IRA Hunger Strikers and the lifting of the Mary Rose.

gerard2210

Stardust disaster

lazygal

I feel so old.
The Berlin Wall coming down is the first one.
The subsequent collapse of the USSR afterwards.

Donal55

Being marched down from St. James CBS to see de Valera lying in state.

Nekarsulm

Deleted User wrote: »

Ben Dunne high as a kite on cocaine walking outside on the ledge of a suite on the 17th floor of a hotel in Florida with a prostitute pleading with him to come back inside - all filmed live by one of those Florida traffic helicopters.

There's very little online in 2017 (and no video) about this but byjesus RTÉ's 9pm News had the whole of Ireland enthralled like never before! (and the There's something for yourself" "Thank you, big fella" sequel played out in the High Court years later was almost as captivating!)

And the jokes doing the rounds.. "He drives a Mercedes, but he couldn't get an Escort out of a bath"

Remember the Miners strike in the UK, and the nightly TV images of Police baton-charges, and buses with the windows smashed and wire mesh installed to stop the bricks.
Our house was heated by a big old Esse stove, that only burned anthracite.
This became as scarce as gold dust during the strike, and a rumour would go around that some fuel yard somewhere had got a pallet of the stuff.
Myself and the father would set off in the Cortina to some desolate yard in the wilds of north Monaghan/south Armagh hoping to get to buy a few cwt.
That was the last year of the Esse, a solid fuel Stanley was installed the next Autumn.

JimmyTClarke

The Warrington Bombing in 1993 was the first news story to really grab my attention. This was mainly due to the fact that I was around the same age as Tim Parry at the time. The Troubles were always 'in the background' so to speak. But to see a child of my own age perishing in such a horrific way really magnified the brutality of the conflict.

chite

Foot & mouth disease - won't forget the image of the carcasses of livestock being burnt in large mounds.

Given how integral farming has always been in this country, it gave me a little scare at the time seeing many aspects of rural life being affected.

jacksie66

This post has been deleted.

JupiterKid

freshpopcorn wrote: »

I'm almost twenty five and their were stories I'd slightly remember from when I young such as Veronica Guerin, the Omagh bombing and of course 9/11.The first real story I remembered following tough was when Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman were murdered in Soham. I suppose I really connected with the story because I was around their at the time and I was certain they'd come home during those lovely Summer days.

What was the first big news story that caught your attention when you were young!

You are still very much a youngster freshpopcorn!:P I'm just turned 42 and can remember news events from 36 years ago. I'm getting old.:(

Hank Scorpio

9/11 stands out, my school played it over the intercom. There were others before it, but that one is what I instinctively thought of.

Heisenberg1

The Hillsborough disaster I watched it live with my mother I was 10 at the time and I also remembered the Challenger disaster.

wakka12

The soham murders stick out in my mind more than anything else. I just remember the absolutely massive coverage, i was really young at the time but I remember my parents being glued to the tv listening about it more than anything

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/2623813/ian-huntley-soham-murderer-holly-wells-jessica-chapman-lian/

Funnily enough I was just googling it and the murderer is in the news again just a few days ago. Wants a sex changed so he can have an easier time in a womens prison. Couldn't make it up could ya

Your Face

The Battle of Austerlitz.

"Empires in drubbing shocker"

JupiterKid

Hillsborough was horrific. I'll never ever forget seeing photos of people literally getting crushed to death at the barriers splashed across the front pages of the tabloids in the shops.

The 1980s was a bad time for disasters - quite a few airplane crashes, the capsizing of the car ferry Herald of Free Enterprise, train crashes (anyone remember Cherryville in '83?), catastrophic fires and the constant bad news from the North.

niallb

Salmon Leap wrote: »

That was Dr Tiede Herrema. As far as I remember he was kidnapped by Eddie Gallagher & Marian Coyle. Ended with a siege in a house in Monasterevin IRRC.

I saw that from a train. I was on my way to Limerick with my mum and the train stopped on the track where you could see the activity around the house clearly. I was 8.

Four Phucs Ache

I'm 36 and remember poll tax for some reason, possibly because my dad watched spitting image.

I remember the Challenger disaster and the pictures.

One thing that always sticks in my mind due to the massive meltdown my grandad had was a possible front-page picture of a statue of holy Mary with the word c**t spray painted on it.The newspaper had a purple square in the corner but I can't remember the name of it.I think it stopped printing in the 90's

Tell me how

Four Phucs Ache wrote:

The newspaper had a purple square in the corner but I can't remember the name of it.I think it stopped printing in the 90's

The Irish Press?

Four Phucs Ache

Tell me how wrote: »

The Irish Press?

Found it !! The Evening Press !!!!!!!

Nekarsulm

Four Phucs Ache wrote: »

I'm 36 and remember poll tax for some reason, possibly because my dad watched spitting image.

I remember the Challenger disaster and the pictures.

One thing that always sticks in my mind due to the massive meltdown my grandad had was a possible front-page picture of a statue of holy Mary with the word c**t spray painted on it.The newspaper had a purple square in the corner but I can't remember the name of it.I think it stopped printing in the 90's

Was that at the time of the Anne Lovett tragedy in Granard in 1984?

RhubarbCrumble

Deleted User wrote: »

Berlin Wall coming down I suppose when I was nine.

Same here, at the same age too.

Four Phucs Ache

Nekarsulm wrote: »

Was that at the time of the Anne Lovett tragedy in Granard in 1984?

Highly possible, I would have been 4 and remember not being allowed to look at the picture.

Zaph

Earliest stuff I can remember all seems to have happened in 1975 - de Valera dying, the Herrema kidnapping and a vague recollection of seeing the US embassy in Saigon being evacuated on the news. Obviously I had no idea what the Vietnam War was all about at that time or what the significance of the evacuation was.

Beyondgone

The day the War of the Roses kicked off..total shocker... yeah, I'm ancient.. I remember the munich Olympics being the top story. That one stuck with me for some reason. Them and the bader meinhofer gang. Those "wanted" posters slapped up everywhere on the continent.

Day Lewin

Ah, you sweet young things....

Assassination of President Kennedy in 1963.

endacl

Seeing footage on the news of the riots following the deaths of Bobby Sands and those other poor misguided fools.

DEFTLEFTHAND

Just thinking of Martin McGuinness and I'd say the 94 IRA ceasefire would have been something that resonated. I thought it was a funny word.

I remember my father used to shout Ceasefire, Ceasefire!! at my brother and I when we fought.

fire_man

The Gulf war around 1990 only 6 watching it on news.Was scary at the time.

Charles Babbage

juno10353 wrote: »

The Aberfan disaster in 1966 where a childrens school was buried under an avalanche of slack from the coalmines killing 116 children and 28 adults.

Aberfan made an impact as I had recently started school.

Going Forward

Four Phucs Ache wrote: »

The newspaper had a purple square in the corner but I can't remember the name of it.I think it stopped printing in the 90's

The Evening Press.

bonzodog2

Aberfan, RFK,MLK,Moon landings,Biafra

Mackman

I kind of remember the Berlin Wall coming down, I would have been 5. Definitely remember Italia '90 and Jamie Bulger.

quadrifoglio verde

The omagh bombing in 98. I was 6. I vividly remember the news story that day and it's the only part of the troubles that stick with me. Perhaps because it happened in our country.

Innocent people, Catholics and protestants, people doing there shopping, people on holidays and all of a sudden they're lives are wiped out. The ages of some of the children who died in it and thinking they were only a few years older than me.

Innocent lives just taken and for what?

I'd two great uncles who were drinking in Greacens bar when the bomb exploded in monaghan in the 70s. The young lady who had just poured one of them a pint was killed, yet I barely bat an eyelid when I see it come up on reeling in the years. But every time I see 1998 being shown, I know they'll show scenes from the 15th of August and think back to my 6 year old self

Jack the Stripper

I was too busy figuring out how cars and girls worked.

andekwarhola

bodice ripper wrote: »

This thread like a month ago.

If that's the first thing you remember, you are showing remarkable intelligence and technical dexterity posting this at one month old.

I was a toddler, but I think I remember my dad picking me up in his arms and showing me people climbing on a wall on TV and telling me it's a very important day, the Berlin Wall came down in 1989 and I was born in early 1987 so I often wonder if I just imagine remembering it. In another memory that feels like the same one - or at least the same day - I was on either my mother or fathers lap and they were telling me about the man on tv and how he'd been in prison for a very long time but he was going home today, and his name was Nelson Mandala. My dad was singing the song, Free Nelson Mandala. I didn't know what prison was.

I remember everyone talking about a little boy called Jamie, and being strangely frightened but not really knowing why.

The first big story I remember clearly was Princess Diana's death, when I was about ten. I remember the funeral on tv and feeling sorry for her sons because they had to be brave in front of all those people when they probably wanted to just cry for their mummy.

I didn't really take 9/11 in properly until later that evening when the news were showing footage, and a man was just falling from the tower, like a rag doll. I remember it really hitting me that he wasn't a rag doll but a real person. Someones daddy, son, brother, someone real. I was really upset about that particular poor man for a long time.