WHY WE SHOULD REMEMBER... BLOODY SUNDAY
MARY^ EVANSWhat was the mood in Northern Ireland
before the events of Bloody Sunday?
It was very fraught. The Troubles [conflict
between mostly Protestant unionists
(loyalists), pushing for Northern Ireland to
remain within the UK, and largely Catholic
nationalists hoping for the region to become
part of the Republic of Ireland] had begun in
earnest in 1969. Nobody knew how long they
would last or what their extent would be, but
by the early seventies it was clear that things
were very, very difficult.Bloody Sunday happened at the very
beginning of 1972, which proved to be
horrendous – the worst year of the Troubles,
with almost 500 people killed. It had huge
implications, not just for people in Northern
Ireland but also for Anglo-Irish affairs, which
were reaching one of the most difficult points.What happened that day?
The Northern Ireland Civil Rights Associa-
tion had organised a march in Derry/London-
derry on 30 January 1972 to protest againstthe deeply unpopular policy of internment
[imprisonment without trial] introduced in
Northern Ireland in August 1971.
The original plan was for the protesters to
leave the Creggan area and march towards
the city centre. But they were diverted away
from the centre and ended up moving
towards Free Derry Corner, as it was known.
At this juncture you get very contested
narratives of what precisely occurred.
It’s been subjected to endless scrutiny and
a number of inquiries over the decades.“Bloody Sunday was a defining moment in the
Troubles. As well as generating huge emotion,
it also screamed a political challenge”
As we approach the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, DIARMAID FERRITER speaks
to Rhiannon Davies about the destructive legacy of the events of 30 January 1972
Protesters face British
Army soldiers in Derry/
Londonderry on
,CPWCT[FWDDGF
“Bloody Sunday”. On this
day 13 protesters were
killed outright and at least
13 more were injured