[3][4] All of those shot were Catholics. What happened next was essentially a search operation gone wrong, as the British Army hoped to find members of The Squad hiding out in the crowd. Among the evidence presented to the tribunal were the results of paraffin tests, used to identify lead residues from firing weapons, and that nail bombs had been found on the body of one of those killed. Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association, Narrative of events of Bloody Sunday (1972), deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland, Bloody Sunday: Scenes from the Saville Inquiry, 'Bloody Sunday', Derry 30 January 1972 – Names of the Dead and Injured, Extracts from 'The Road to Bloody Sunday' by Dr Raymond McClean, "1972: 'Bloody Sunday' report excuses Army", "Bloody Sunday killings to be ruled unlawful", Principal Conclusions and Overall Assessment of the Bloody Sunday Inquiry, Significant Violent Incidents During the Conflict, "Events surrounding one of the darkest days in history", Report of the Bloody Sunday Inquiry, Volume I, Chapter 9, 'Bloody Sunday', 30 January 1972 – A Chronology of Events, "The beginning of the march – Chapter 14 – Volume II – Bloody Sunday Inquiry Report", "Relief and vindication in Derry at findings in 5,000-page report", "Bloody Sunday: soldiers should face trial but not jail, families say", "Written Answers. On Bloody Sunday he was a young local priest, crouching and desperately waving a blood-stained handkerchief, seeking safe passage from troops as a fatally injured youth was carried away. [111] After Bloody Sunday many Catholics turned on the British army, seeing it no longer as their protector but as their enemy. Major Michael Steele: With MacLellan in the operations room and in charge of passing on the orders of the day. The incident remained a source of controversy for decades, with competing accounts of the events. On 10 November 2015, a 66-year-old former member of the Parachute Regiment was arrested for questioning over the deaths of William Nash, Michael McDaid and John Young. [129], Irish poet Seamus Heaney's Casualty (published in Field Work, 1981) criticises Britain for the death of his friend. The following year the British government announced that it would offer financial compensation to relatives of the victims. [91], The inquiry was expected to report in late 2009 but was delayed until after the general election on 6 May 2010. Many witnesses intended to boycott the tribunal as they lacked faith in Widgery's impartiality, but were eventually persuaded to take part. Although British prime minister John Major rejected John Hume's requests for a public inquiry into the killings, his successor, Tony Blair, decided to start one. Bloody Sunday precipitated an upsurge in support for the Irish Republican Army (IRA), which advocated violence against the United Kingdom to force it to withdraw from Northern Ireland. ... “Bloody Sunday … There were 10,000–15,000 people on the march, with many joining along its route. They were then driven to hospital, either in civilian cars or in ambulances. There were 10,000–15,000 people on the march, with many joining along its route. [5] On 10 August, Bombardier Paul Challenor became the first soldier to be killed by the Provisional IRA in Derry, when he was shot by a sniper on the Creggan estate. These gun-happy louts must be removed from the streets". [38] The soldiers claimed Donaghy was holding a black cylindrical object,[39] but the Saville Inquiry concluded that all of those shot were unarmed. It found that all of those shot were unarmed, that none were posing a serious threat, that no bombs were thrown and that soldiers "knowingly put forward false accounts" to justify their firing. Some in the Army also thought there had been undue violence by the paratroopers.[24][25]. [51], In all, 26 people were shot by the paratroopers;[3][2] 13 died on the day and another died of his injuries four months later. What happened on Bloody Sunday was both unjustified and unjustifiable. [22] By the end of 1971, 29 barricades were in place to prevent access to what was known as Free Derry, 16 of them impassable even to the British Army's one-ton armoured vehicles. [70] However, some broke off from the march and began throwing stones at soldiers manning the barriers. [122], Paul McCartney (who is of Irish descent)[123] recorded the first song in response only two days after the incident. [49] More than 100 rounds were fired by the soldiers. He was released on bail shortly after. Following a 12-year investigation, Saville's report was made public in 2010 and concluded that the killings were both "unjustified" and "unjustifiable". This paper is an investigation into the events of that day. [80], Two days after Bloody Sunday, the British Parliament adopted a resolution for a tribunal into the shootings, resulting in Prime Minister Edward Heath commissioning the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Widgery, to undertake it. [88][89] The MoD claimed that all the guns had been destroyed, but some were subsequently recovered in various locations (such as Sierra Leone and Beirut) despite the obstruction. [130], The Irish rock band U2 commemorated the incident in their 1983 protest song "Sunday Bloody Sunday". It described the soldiers' shooting as "bordering on the reckless", but accepted their claims that they shot at gunmen and bomb-throwers. The report was widely criticised as a "whitewash". [67], In the days following Bloody Sunday, Bernadette Devlin, the independent Irish nationalist Member of Parliament for Mid Ulster, expressed anger at what she perceived as British government attempts to stifle accounts being reported about the shootings. It was the culmination of months of … [26] The arrest operation was codenamed 'Operation Forecast'. The Widgery Tribunal, held in the immediate aftermath, largely cleared the soldiers and British authorities of blame. Nash had been one of the fatalities killed at the barricade and later placed by paratroopers into an Army. Corrections? [41], The paratroopers disembarked and began seizing people. There is no doubt, there is nothing equivocal, there are no ambiguities. [74], In 1992, John Major, writing to John Hume stated: "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". THE Bloody Sunday massacre in 1972 is remembered as one of the darkest and bloodiest events of The Troubles in Northern Ireland - with the British Army … Bloody Sunday is the name given to the events of Sunday, 22 January, 1905 in St Petersburg, Russia, where unarmed demonstrators led by Father Georgy Gapon were fired upon by soldiers of the Imperial Guard as they marched towards the Winter Palace to present a petition to Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. [20] A further six soldiers had been killed in Derry by mid-December 1971. Lord Widgery, in his now discredited tribunal, said that there were only 3,000 to 5,000. The paratroopers, on foot and in armoured vehicles, chased people down Rossville Street and into the Bogside. [90], By the time the inquiry had retired to write up its findings, it had interviewed over 900 witnesses, over seven years, making it the biggest investigation in British legal history. I never want to call into question the behaviour of our soldiers and our army, who I believe to be the finest in the world. [131], The events of the day have been dramatised in two 2002 television films, Bloody Sunday (starring James Nesbitt) and Sunday by Jimmy McGovern. [13] Bloody Sunday fuelled Catholic and Irish nationalist hostility towards the British Army and worsened the conflict. The Derry coroner, however, was unequivocal, calling the deaths “unadulterated murder,” and nationalists campaigned for more than two decades for the government to establish a new inquiry. The same day, irate crowds burned down the British embassy on Merrion Square in Dublin. The events in Selma galvanized public opinion and mobilized Congress to pass the Voting Rights Act, which President Johnson signed into law on August 6, 1965. It has been divided into two sections; the first, which is narrative of what transpired; the It has been argued that firearms residue on some deceased may have come from contact with the soldiers who themselves moved some of the bodies, or that the presence of lead on the hands of one (James Wray) was easily explained by the fact that his occupation regularly involved the use of lead-based solder. The soldiers fired rubber bullets, CS gas and water cannon. Two people were knocked down by the vehicles. Support for the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) rose, and there was a surge of recruitment into the organisation, especially locally. Fourteen people died: 13 were killed outright, while the death of another man four months later was attributed to his injuries. The Saville Report agreed that this is an "accurate description of what happened". [2] Other protesters were injured by shrapnel, rubber bullets, or batons, and two were run down by army vehicles. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Bloody Sunday, demonstration in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, on Sunday, January 30, 1972, by Roman Catholic civil rights supporters that turned violent when British paratroopers opened fire, killing 13 and injuring 14 others (one of the injured … [47], The soldiers went through the car park and out the other side. A unit of the British Army's Ulster Defence Regiment refused to carry out duties until 1 Para was withdrawn from the Shankill. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. [135], In October 2010, T with the Maggies released the song "Domhnach na Fola" (Irish for "Bloody Sunday"), written by Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh and Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill on their debut album. There were many claims of paratroopers beating people, clubbing them with rifle butts, firing rubber bullets at them from close range, making threats to kill, and hurling abuse. The hearings were concluded in November 2004, and the report was published 15 June 2010. This area was like a courtyard, surrounded on three sides by high-rise flats. Bloody Sunday took place seven years before the events of “Gold Stick,” on January 30th, 1972. It was led by Lord Widgery, the lord chief justice of England, who concluded that the demonstrators fired the first shot but that none of those dead appeared to have carried weapons. It was murder. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. [84] In the event, one man was witnessed by Father Edward Daly and others haphazardly firing a revolver in the direction of the paratroopers. However, some of the demonstrators confronted the soldiers, pelting them with stones and other projectiles. [120] The flags were removed to be replaced by Union Flags. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. But the conclusions of this report are absolutely clear. [42], One group of paratroopers took up position at a low wall about 80 yards (73 m) in front of a rubble barricade that stretched across Rossville Street. on the loyalist side), the Troubles cost the lives of thousands of people. At the same time the city was perceived to be deprived of public investment: motorways were not extended to it, a university was opened in the relatively small (Protestant-majority) town of Coleraine rather than Derry and, above all, the city's housing stock was in an appalling[peacock prose] state. [92], The report of the inquiry[93] was published on 15 June 2010. This would become an important event in the military struggle between the IRA and the British armed forces in Ireland at the time. IRA activity also increased across Northern Ireland with thirty British soldiers being killed in the remaining months of 1971, in contrast to the ten soldiers killed during the pre-internment period of the year. "Bloody Sunday" refers to the March 7, 1965, civil rights march that was supposed to go from Selma to the capitol in Montgomery to protest the shooting death of activist Jimmie Lee Jackson. And I have seen for myself the very difficult and dangerous circumstances in which we ask our soldiers to serve. Bloody Sunday occurred in Dublin on 21 November 1920 and would mark a turning point for the War of Independence leaving 31 people dead in a single day. [64] Apart from the soldiers, all eyewitnesses—including marchers, local residents, and British and Irish journalists present—maintain that soldiers fired into an unarmed crowd, or were aiming at fleeing people and those tending the wounded, whereas the soldiers themselves were not fired upon. Thirteen people were killed and 15 people wounded after members of the Army's Parachute Regiment opened fire on civil rights demonstrators in the Bogside - … Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. [72] He declared: This Sunday became known as Bloody Sunday and bloody it was. Butler stated, "…the Sunday Bloody Sunday thing had just happened in Ireland, when the British troops opened fire on the Irish demonstrators… So I came up with the title 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath', and sort of put it in how the band was feeling at the time, getting away from management, mixed with the state Ireland was in. [21] At least 1,332 rounds were fired at the British Army, who also faced 211 explosions and 180 nail bombs,[21] and who fired 364 rounds in return. [46] The Saville Report says it is "probable" that at least one soldier fired from the hip towards the crowd, without aiming. The other soldiers went out the southeast corner and shot four more civilians, killing two. [59], Many observers allege that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) acted in a way to impede the inquiry. Never in question was the fact that after less than 30 minutes of shooting, 13 marchers lay dead. Bloody Sunday, 1920 - killing & dying in the Irish revolution | The Century Ireland project is an online historical newspaper that tells the story of the events of Irish life a century ago 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. It was done as an act of war". In June 2010 the Saville Report, the final pronouncement of a government inquiry initiated by British Prime Minister Tony Blair in 1998, concluded that none of the victims had posed any threat to the soldiers and that their shooting was without justification. [30] Lord Widgery, in his now discredited tribunal,[31][32][33][34] said that there were only 3,000 to 5,000. In 2014 loyalists in Cookstown erected the flags in opposition, close to the route of a St.Patrick's Day parade in the town. [95], The report concluded that an Official IRA sniper fired on British soldiers, albeit that on the balance of evidence his shot was fired after the Army shots that wounded Damien Donaghey and John Johnston. [45] This fatality, Jackie Duddy, was running alongside a priest, Father Edward Daly, when he was shot in the back. [77] In 2008 a former aide to British prime minister Tony Blair, Jonathan Powell, described Widgery as a "complete and utter whitewash". [9][10] The soldiers denied shooting the named victims but also denied shooting anyone by mistake. [109] William Craig, then Stormont Home Affairs Minister, suggested that the west bank of Derry should be ceded to the Republic of Ireland. Later identified as a member of the Official IRA, this man was also photographed in the act of drawing his weapon, but was apparently not seen or targeted by the soldiers. n January 30 1972, British Army soldiers opened fire on a crowd of civil rights marchers in the Bogside, Londonderry. Upon the issuing of the report in 2010, British Prime Minister David Cameron went before Parliament to apologize for the shootings. It was wrong. The Saville Report concluded that all of those shot were unarmed and that none were posing a serious threat. [6][7][8] The Saville Inquiry, chaired by Lord Saville of Newdigate, was established in 1998 to reinvestigate the incident. He claimed that McGuinness, the second-in-command of the Provisional IRA in the city at the time, and another anonymous Provisional IRA member gave him bomb parts on the morning of 30 January, the date planned for the civil rights march. [50], On 2 February 1972, the day that 12 of those killed were buried, there was a general strike in the Republic. The paratroopers badly beat a number of protesters and had to be physically restrained by their own officers. [87] Over 1,000 army photographs and original army helicopter video footage were never made available.

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