Bloody Sunday, everyone has heard of this name for a bloody Sunday in Ireland. This term is probably best known from the band U2, who attacked the government for their actions with their single ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’. But what exactly happened on this Sunday? Why did innocent people have to die for the world to wake up? Before you read any further, here’s what you need to know:
The IRA is the name for paramilitary organizations that adhere to an Irish state without any ties to the United Kingdom. The IRA does not use violence in their actions. Bloody Sunday is seen as a turning point in the Irish civil war, which lasted about thirty years. The IRA did not take action until 1969, three years before the massacre.
Free Derry
The political situation in Ireland had been tense for some time and was completely out of control. The Catholic minority in the country felt seriously discriminated against by the government. In Derry, at the time the second largest city in Ireland, the police increasingly dealt blows. They could no longer keep the uprisings under control. On August 12, 1969, Catholics managed to completely drive government troops out of their neighborhood. These insurgents were encouraged throughout the country. They were welcomed as heroes throughout the country and Derry became known as ‘Free Derry’.
The government, which immediately wanted to stamp these developments into the ground, called in the British army for help. At the beginning of 1971, this army declared all parades and uprisings prohibited. Anyone who took part in this would be imprisoned without any form of trial. With this measure the army wanted to achieve peace and quiet. However, these measures had completely different effects. A large protest march in Derry left no fewer than 29 people dead, including eight British soldiers. After these shootings, the city turned into a completely uncontrollable area. Ultimately, this area was marked as a war zone and riots and looting were commonplace until early 1972.
Bloody Sunday
Tensions were running very high in early January 1972. On January 30, 1972, these tensions reached a critical point. Catholics decided to organize a political protest march in Derry. In principle the IRA did not want to use violence and wanted to hold a peaceful protest march. Things went wrong when a group of young people tried to reach the center but were stopped by British government forces. The young people felt left out and started throwing stones. British Army soldiers did not hesitate for a moment and shot rubber bullets and released tear gas. The situation got out of hand and the army felt hemmed in. This, combined with reports that an IRA sniper was probably on the loose, caused the army to lose control and start shooting around.
This resulted in the British army developing a one-sided shooting approach. IRA protesters, almost all unarmed, tried to flee from the army . This reckless shooting by the army left fourteen people dead and another fourteen seriously injured.
Perished
- John Duddy. He was seventeen years old and unarmed. He was running for his life when he was shot seven times in the back.
- Patrick Doherty. He was 31 years old and was shot in the head from behind. He was looking for a hiding place. A white handkerchief stuck out of his pocket, the sign of peacefulness. Patrick was unarmed.
- Bernard McGuigan, 41 years old. He was shot in the head from behind as he tried to help Patrick Doherty. He waved Patrick’s white handkerchief to surrender. Despite that, he still got the shot.
- Hugh Gilmour, seventeen years old. Shot while taking cover in his home. It later turned out that he was unarmed.
- Kevin McElthinney, seventeen years old. Was shot trying to reach Hugh Gilmour’s body. Like the others, Kevin was unarmed.
- Michael Kelly, 17, was shot dead as he stood with his hands raised outside Rossville Flats. Michael was unarmed and did not participate in the uprising.
- John Young, seventeen years old. Unarmed and did not participate in the uprising, but was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
- William Nash, nineteen years old and on his way to help an injured person. He was shot on the way to the wounded man. Nash was unarmed.
- Michael McDaid, twenty years old. Was hit by a bullet from a sniper. The trajectory of the bullet was later examined. This showed that a sniper had hit him from the city walls of Derry.
- James Wray, 22 years old. He was already wounded on the ground when a British soldier shot him at close range. His legs were paralyzed from an earlier shot. So he couldn’t move.
- Gerald Donaghy, seventeen years old. He died in the presence of a doctor. There were nail bombs in his clothing pockets when his body was found. However, the doctor stated that these were not present during his presence.
- Gerald McKinney, 35 years old. His last words were ‘Don’t shoot’. Despite his surrender, he was shot in the chest.
- William McKinney, 26, tried to save Gerald. A soldier asked him to run away. When William did this, he was shot twelve times in the back by another soldier.
- John Jonhson, 59, was shot while on his way to visit a friend. He did not participate in the protests. Johnson died in hospital from his injuries, 4.5 months after the massacre.
World is watching
After this massacre, Ireland received criticism from all over the world about the actions of the army. Interest in the political situation came from all countries. The images of the massacre went around the world. Political Europe and America demanded an investigation. This investigation was conducted by the Widgery Tribunal and found the military ,innocent,. It was admitted that the soldiers of the British army reacted and acted recklessly.
People never agreed with that until now. It was not until 1998 that a large-scale and much more accurate survey was conducted. In 2010 it emerged that the soldiers were not as innocent as they said at the time. As a result, relatives still received compensation and an apology from the government.
A criminal investigation into the massacre was launched in 2012. Fifteen detectives will interrogate the British soldiers and interview eyewitnesses. This investigation is still ongoing.
Popular culture and Bloody Sunday
Many well-known artists have written and released songs about Bloody Sunday. Yoko Ono and John Lennon were the first. The most famous, however, is that of the Irish pop group U2. They had a huge hit with Sunday Bloody Sunday . This issue takes a serious swipe at the actions of the Irish government. The song was even banned in Ireland for a while. The Irish band The Cranberries also wrote the song Zombie. This song tells the story of an eyewitness.
In 2002, Paul Greengrass made a film about the events. He won an Oscar for this film.