Bloody Sunday (1972)
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- For other incidents referred to by this name, see Bloody Sunday.
On Sunday January 30, 1972, in an incident since known as Bloody Sunday, 14 unarmed men and boys were shot dead (one of whom died 4 months later) and 13 others were wounded by British paratroopers after a Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association march in the Bogside area of the city of Derry, Northern Ireland. The march was organized by Derry Stormont MP Ivan Cooper to protest against internment without trial of Irishmen, predominantly Catholic, in Northern Ireland.
While the start of the IRA's campaign against British rule had begun three years prior to Bloody Sunday, the IRA had been a considerably smaller and weaker organization. Bloody Sunday boosted the status of the organisation, and many young Catholics, who felt aggrieved at what they perceived as the injustice of the day, joined the IRA. Graffiti in Belfast prior to Bloody Sunday famously stated that IRA stood for I Ran Away. Memory of Bloody Sunday overshadows most other violent instances in the history of the recent troubles of Northern Ireland, arguably because it was carried out by the forces of the British Government and not paramilitaries.
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Events of the Day
Many details of the day's events are in dispute, with no agreement even on the number of marchers present that day. Although the organisers, Insight claimed that there were 30,000 marchers, Lord Widgery said that there were 3,000 to 5,000 present that day. In The Road To Bloody Sunday, Dr. Raymond McClean put an estimate of 15,000 on the crowd which is the same figure used by Bernadette Devlin McAliskey when referring to the incident in Parliament.
For those looking to examine the facts for themselves there has been a wealth of material produced relating to the day. There have been (see [numerous]) books and articles written, and documentary films made on the subject.
The march's route had originally taken it to the Guildhall, but due to army barricades, it was redirected to Free Derry Corner. A small group of teenagers broke off from the main march and persisted in pushing the barricade and marching on the Guildhall. They attacked the British barricade with stones and shouted insults at the troops. At this point, a water cannon, tear gas and rubber bullets were used to disperse the rioters. These confrontations between soldiers and youths were common, and observers reported that the rioting was not intense. Two people were shot and wounded by soldiers on William Street.
At a certain point, reports of an IRA sniper were given to the British command centre. The order to fire live rounds was given and one young man was shot and killed. The aggression against the British troops escalated, and eventually the order was given to mobilise the troops in an arrest operation, chasing out the tail of the main group of marchers to the edge of the field by Free Derry Corner.
Despite a cease-fire order from British HQ, over a hundred rounds were fired directly into the fleeing crowds by troops under the command of Major Ted Loden. Twelve more were shot dead, many of them killed while attempting to aid the fallen. Fourteen others were wounded, twelve by firing from the soldiers and two were knocked down by armoured personnel carriers while fleeing the shooting.
The dead
- John Duddy, 17, shot in the chest from behind, in the car park of Rossville flats. Four witnesses stated Duddy was unarmed and running away from the paratroopers when he was killed. Three of them saw a soldier take deliberate aim at the youth as he ran.
- Patrick Doherty, 31, shot from behind while crawling to safety in the forecourt of Rossville flats. Doherty was photographed by French journalist Gilles Peress seconds before he died. Despite the evidence of "Soldier F" at the Widgery Tribunal, the photographs show he was unarmed.
- Bernard McGuigan, 41, shot in the back of the head when he went to help Patrick Doherty. He had been waving a white handkerchief at the soldiers to indicate his peaceful intentions.
- Hugh Gilmour, 17, shot in the chest from behind while running away from the paratroopers on Rossville Street. A photograph taken seconds after Gilmour was hit corroborated witness reports that he was unarmed.
- Kevin McElhinney, 17, shot from behind while crawling to safety at the front entrance of the Rossville Flats. Two witnesses stated McElhinney was unarmed.
- Michael Kelly, 17, shot in the stomach while standing near the rubble barricade in front of Rossville Flats. Widgery accepted Kelly was unarmed.
- John Young, 17, shot in the head while standing at the rubble barricade. Two witnesses stated Young was unarmed.
- William Nash, 19, shot in the chest near the barricade. Witnesses stated Nash was unarmed and going to the aid of another when killed.
- Michael McDaid, 20, shot in the face at the barricade while walking away from the paratroopers. The trajectory of the bullet indicated he was killed by soldiers positioned on the Derry Walls.
- James Wray, 22, wounded and shot again at close range while lying on the ground. Witnesses who were not called to the Widgery Tribunal stated that Wray was calling that he was unable to move his legs before he was shot the second time.
- Gerald Donaghy, 17, shot in the stomach while running to safety between Glenfada Park and Abbey Park. Donahghy was brought to a nearby house by bystanders where he was examined by a doctor. His pockets were turned out in an effort to identify him. A later police photograph of Donaghy's corpse showed nail bombs in his pockets. Neither those who searched his pockets in the house nor the British army medical officer (Soldier 138) who pronounced his death shortly afterwards saw any bombs. Donaghy had been a member of Fianna Éireann, a Junior IRA brigade.
- Gerald McKinney, 35, shot just after Gerald Donaghy. Witnesses stated that McKinney had been running behind Donaghy, and he stopped and held up his arms, shouting "Don't shoot!", when he saw Donaghy fall. He was then shot in the chest.
- William McKinney, 26, shot from behind as he attempted to aid Gerald McKinney (no relation). He had left cover to try and help the older man.
- John Johnston, 59, shot on William Street 15 minutes before the rest of the shooting started. Johnson died of his wounds four months later, the only one not to die immediately or soon after being shot.
The perspectives and analyses on the day
Thirteen people were shot dead, with another man later dying of his wounds. The official army position, backed by the British Home Secretary the next day in the House of Commons, was that the Paratroopers had reacted to the threat of gunmen and nail-bombs from suspected IRA members. However, all eye-witnesses (apart from the soldiers), including marchers, local residents, and British and Irish journalists present, challenge the army's account - they maintain that soldiers fired indiscriminately into the crowd, or were aiming at fleeing people and those tending the wounded, and that the soldiers were not fired upon. No British soldier was hit by any bullet or reported any injuries, nor were any bullets or nail-bombs recovered to back up their claims. In the rage that followed, the British embassy in Merrion Square in Dublin was swamped by an irate crowd, and in the melée the building was burned down. Anglo-Irish relations hit one of their lowest ebbs, with Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Patrick Hillery, going specially to the United Nations in New York to demand UN involvement in the Northern Ireland "troubles". However, since Britain has a veto on the UN's Security Council, this was never a realistic option.
While there were many IRA men present at the protest, all were unarmed as it was anticipated that the Paratroopers would attempt to "draw them out". MP Ivan Cooper had been promised beforehand that no armed IRA men would be near the march. Many of the Paratroopers who gave evidence at the Tribunal testified that they were told by their officers to expect a gunfight and had been encouraged to "get some kills".
The official coroner for the City of Londonderry, retired British army officer Major Hubert O'Neill, issued a statement that August. He declared,
"the army ran amok that day...They were shooting innocent people. These people may have been taking part in a march that was banned but that does not justify the troops coming in and firing live rounds indiscriminately. I would say without hesitation that it was sheer unadulterated murder."
In the immediate aftermath of Bloody Sunday, the British government under Prime Minister Edward Heath established a commission of inquiry under the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Widgery. Many of the witnesses were prepared to boycott the inquiry as they lacked faith in his impartiality, but were eventually persuaded to take part. His quickly-produced report supported the army's account of the events of the day. Among the evidence presented to the inquiry were Greiss tests on the hands of the dead which seemed to show that some of them had handled explosives. The same test provided positive results which helped to convict the Birmingham Six, Maguire Seven and Judith Ward; these results were later established to have been false and the convictions were quashed, although at the time the Griess test was regarded as accurate. Most Irish people and witnesses to the event disputed the report's conclusions, and regarded it as a whitewash. It is now widely accepted that nail bombs photographed on Gerard Donaghy were planted there after his death, and firearms residue on some deceased came from contact with the soldiers who themselves moved some of the bodies. In fact, in 1992, John Major, writing to John Hume stated:1
"The Government made clear in 1974 that those who were killed on 'Bloody Sunday' should be regarded as innocent of any allegation that they were shot whilst handling firearms or explosives. I hope that the familes of those who died will accept that assurance."
In January 1997, the English television station Channel Four carried a report on its news programme which suggested that members of the Royal Anglican Regiment had also opened fire on the protestors and could have been responsible for 3 of the 14 deaths.
The Saville Inquiry
Although British Prime Minister John Major had rejected John Hume's requests for a new inquiry into the killings, his successor, Tony Blair was more sympathetic. A second commission of inquiry, chaired by Lord Saville, was established in January 1998 to re-examine 'Bloody Sunday'. Hearings were concluded in November 2004, and the report is currently being written. The Saville Inquiry was a far more comprehensive study, interviewing a wide range of witnesses, including local residents, soldiers, journalists and politicians. The evidence so far has easily undermined the credibility of the original Widgery Tribunal report. Allegations were made that some bodies were placed next to guns and explosives, and other substances (including playing cards) have been found to cause false positives in tests for explosives. Some of the scientists responsible for the original reports to the Widgery Tribunal now dismiss the interpretations that were put on their findings by the Ministry of Defence. Lord Saville has declined to comment on the Widgery report, and has made the point that the Saville Inquiry is an inquiry into 'Bloody Sunday', not the Widgery Tribunal.
Evidence given by Martin McGuiness, the deputy leader of Sinn Féin, to the inquiry stated that he was second-in-command of the Derry branch of the IRA and was present at the march. He did not answer questions about where he had been staying because he said it would compromise the safety of the individuals involved.
Many observers allege that the MoD acted in a way to impede the inquiry. Over 1,000 army photographs and original army helicopter video footage were never made available. Additonally, guns used on the day by the soldiers that should have been evidence in the inquiry were destroyed by the MoD. The MoD claimed that all the guns had been destroyed, but some were subsequently recovered in various locations (such as Sierra Leone, Beirut, and Little Rock, Arkansas [1]) despite the obstruction [2].
By the time the inquiry had retired to write up it's findings it had interviewed over 900 witnesses, over a seven year period, at a total cost of £155m, making it the biggest investigation in British legal history.
In mid 2005 the play, BLOODY SUNDAY: Scenes from the Saville Inquiry, based on the drama of the Saville inquiry opened in London, and subsequently travelled to Derry and will move on to Dublin in October [3]. The writer, journalist, Richard Norton-Taylor, distilled four years of evidence into two hours of stage performance by Tricycle Theatre [4]. The play received glowing reviews in all the British broadsheets including, the Times: "**** The Tricycle's latest recreation of a major inquiry is its most devastating"; the Daily Telegraph: "I can't praise this enthralling production too highly... exceptionally gripping courtroom drama", and, The Independent: "***** A necessary triumph".
The impact of 'Bloody Sunday' on Northern Ireland divisions
Despite the controversy, all sides agree that 'Bloody Sunday' marked a major negative turning point in the fortunes of Northern Ireland. British opposition leader Harold Wilson reiterated his belief that a United Ireland was the only possible solution to Ulster's Troubles. William Craig, the then Stormont Home Affairs Minister, suggested that the west bank of Derry should be ceded to the Republic of Ireland.
When it arrived in Northern Ireland, the British Army was welcomed by Catholics as a neutral force, there to protect them from Protestant mobs, the RUC and the B-Specials. After Bloody Sunday, many Catholics turned on the British army, seeing it no longer as their protector but as their enemy. Young nationalists became increasingly attracted to violent republican groups. With the IRA and Sinn Féin having moved away from mainstream Irish nationalism/republicanism towards Marxism, a new breakaway organisation called the Provisional IRA, began to win the support of newly radicalised, disaffected young people.
In the following twenty years, the Provisional IRA and other smaller republican groups such as the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) mounted a campaign of what they described as 'war' on the British, by which they meant the RUC, the British Army, the Ulster Defence Regiment of the British Army (and, according to their critics, the Protestant and unionist establishment). With rival paramilitary organisations appearing in both the nationalist/republican and unionist/loyalist communities (the Irish National Liberation Army, a republican rival to the Provos, the Ulster Defence Association, Ulster Volunteer Force, etc on the loyalist side), a bitter and brutal war took place that cost the lives of thousands. Terrorist outrages involved such acts as the killing of three members of a Catholic pop band, the Miami Showband, by a gang including members of the UVF who were also members of the local army regiment, the UDR and in uniform at the time, to the killing by the Provos of World War veterans and their families attending a war wreath laying in Enniskillen and the killing of two young children at Warrington in England.
With the official cessation of violence by some of the major paramilitary organisations, and the creation of the power-sharing executive at Stormont Parliament Buildings in Belfast under the Belfast Agreement, the Saville Tribunal's re-examination of what remains one of the blackest days in Ireland for the British army offers a chance to heal the wounds left by the events of the notorious Bloody Sunday in January 1972.
Artistic reaction
Image:Derry mural 4.jpg This incident has been commemorated in the popular protest song by U2, "Sunday Bloody Sunday". The song begins by expressing the anger of the singer at the events before evolving into a call for all Christians, both Catholic and Protestant in Northern Ireland to abandon sectarianism and "claim the victory Jesus won, on a Sunday, Bloody Sunday". In other words, to fight to achieve a genuinely Christian society through Jesus Christ's victory over death in the resurrection on Easter Sunday. In the popular live recording, Bono clearly states (during the intro), "This is not a rebel song", lest the song be misrepresented as pro-the Provisional IRA and Sinn Féin. In the version from their 1988 concert film Rattle and Hum, Bono used the song as a platform to denounce Irish-Americans he believed knew little about the real complexities of Northern Ireland but funded the Irish republican movement, and "the glory of dying for the revolution," leading the audience in a chant of "No more!".
The John Lennon album Sometime In New York City features a song titled "Sunday Bloody Sunday", inspired by the incident, as well as the song The Luck Of The Irish, which was more about the conflict in Ireland in general. (Lennon was of Irish descent.)
Paul McCartney (also of Irish descent) issued a single shortly after Bloody Sunday titled "Give Ireland Back To The Irish", expressing his views on the matter.
The events of the day have also been dramatized in the two 2002 films, Bloody Sunday (starring James Nesbitt) and Sunday by Jimmy McGovern. Their portrayal of events is much closer to the opinion of the protestors and media witnesses than the official explanation of events offered by the British Army.
External links
- The Saville Inquiry
- The Bloody Sunday Trust
- CAIN Web Service
- Guardian Coverage
- BBC Coverage
- "Bloody Sunday" film from 2002
- "Sunday" film 2002
The events of the day
Contemporary newspaper coverage
- "13 killed as paratroops break riot" from The Guardian, Monday January 31 1972
- "Bogsiders insist that soldiers shot first" from The Guardian, Tuesday February 1 1972
Importance and impact
Further Reading
- Note 1: {{{Author|}}}{{|{{{3}}}}}}|show1| (1997)}}{{{{{Year|}}}}}}|show1|.}} {{|{{{3}}}}}}|show1|[{{{URL}}}}} Eyewitness Bloody Sunday{{|{{{3}}}}}}|show1|]}}{{|{{{3}}}}}}|show1|, {{{Pages}}}}}{{|{{{3}}}}}}|Show1|, Wolfhound: Printing Press}}. {{{ID|}}}
- {{{Author|}}}{{|{{{3}}}}}}|show1| (1997)}}{{{{{Year|}}}}}}|show1|.}} {{|{{{3}}}}}}|show1|[{{{URL}}}}} The Road To Bloody Sunday (revised edition){{|{{{3}}}}}}|show1|]}}{{|{{{3}}}}}}|show1|, {{{Pages}}}}}{{|{{{3}}}}}}|Show1|, Guildhall: Printing Press}}. {{{ID|}}} (extracts available online)
- {{{Author|}}}{{|{{{3}}}}}}|show1| (1998)}}{{{{{Year|}}}}}}|show1|.}} {{|{{{3}}}}}}|show1|[{{{URL}}}}} Bloody Sunday In Derry{{|{{{3}}}}}}|show1|]}}{{|{{{3}}}}}}|show1|, {{{Pages}}}}}{{|{{{3}}}}}}|Show1|, Brandon : Printing Press}}. {{{ID|}}}
Categories: Cleanup from May 2005 | NPOV disputes | History of Northern Ireland | Government reports | Derry | 1972 | Sunday
