"Bloody Sunday",Derry,Northern Ireland,1972

Bloody Sunday (Irish: Domhnach na Fola) is the term used to describe an incident in Derry, Northern Ireland, on 30 January 1972 in which 26 civil rights protesters were shot by members of 1st Battalion of the British Parachute Regiment led by Lieutenant-Colonel Derek Wilford and his second-in-command Captain Mike Jackson, who had joint responsibility for the operation; during a Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association march in the Bogside area of the city. Thirteen people, six of whom were minors, died immediately, while the death of another person 4� months later has been attributed to the injuries he received on the day. Two protesters were injured when run down by army vehicles.^[1] Many witnesses including bystanders and journalists testify that all those shot were unarmed. Five of those wounded were shot in the back.

Two investigations have been held by the British Government:

• The Widgery Tribunal, held in the immediate aftermath of the event, largely cleared the soldiers and British authorities of blame, but was criticised as a "whitewash".^[2][3][4]
• The Saville Inquiry, established in 1998 to look at the events again (chaired by Lord Saville of Newdigate), has yet to report.

The Provisional Irish Republican Army's (IRA) campaign against Northern Ireland being a part of the United Kingdom had begun in the two years prior to Bloody Sunday, but perceptions of the day boosted the status of and recruitment into the organisation.^[5] Bloody Sunday remains among the most significant events in the recent troubles of Northern Ireland, arguably because it was carried out by the army and not paramilitaries, and in full public and press view.^[6]

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[edit] 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. The organisers, "Insight", claimed that there were 30,000 marchers; Lord Widgery, in his tribunal, said that there were only 3,000 to 5,000. In The Road To Bloody Sunday, local GP Dr. Raymond McClean estimated the crowd as 15,000, which is the figure used by Bernadette Devlin McAliskey in Parliament.

A wealth of material has been produced relating to the day, including numerous books and articles, as well as documentary films made on the subject.^[7]

The march's planned route had taken it to the Guildhall, but because of 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 army 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. Such confrontations between soldiers and youths were common, though observers reported that the rioting was not intense.^[8] Two people were shot and wounded by soldiers on William Street.

At a certain point, reports of an IRA sniper operating in the area were allegedly given to the Army command centre. The order to fire live rounds was given, and one young man was shot and killed when he ran down Chamberlain Street away from the advancing troops. This first fatality, Jackie Duddy, was among a crowd who were running away. He was running alongside a priest, Father Edward Daly, when he was shot in the back. The aggression against the British troops escalated, and eventually the order was given to mobilise the troops in an arrest operation, chasing the tail of the main group of marchers to the edge of the field by Free Derry Corner.

Despite a cease-fire order from the army HQ, over a hundred rounds were fired directly into the fleeing crowds by troops under the command of Major Ted Loden. Twelve more were killed [1], many of them as they attempted to aid the fallen. Fourteen others were wounded, twelve by shots from the soldiers and two knocked down by armoured personnel carriers.

[edit] The dead

• John (Jackie) Duddy (17). Shot in the chest 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 Joseph Doherty (31). Shot from behind while attempting to crawl to safety in the forecourt of Rossville flats. Doherty was the subject of a series of photographs, taken before and after he died by French journalist Gilles Peress. Despite the evidence of "Soldier F" that he fired at a man holding and firing a pistol, Widgery acknowledged that the photographs showed Doherty was unarmed, and that forensic tests on his hands for gunshot residue proved negative.
• 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. ^[9]
• Hugh Pious Gilmore (17). Shot in the chest as he ran from the paratroopers on Rossville Street. Widgery acknowledged that a photograph taken seconds after Gilmore was hit corroborated witness reports that he was unarmed, and that tests for gunshot residue were negative.
• Kevin McElhinney (17). Shot from behind while attempting to crawl to safety at the front entrance of the Rossville Flats. Two witnesses stated McElhinney was unarmed.
• Michael G. Kelly (17). Shot in the stomach while standing near the rubble barricade in front of Rossville Flats. Widgery accepted that Kelly was unarmed.
• John Pius Young (17). Shot in the head while standing at the rubble barricade. Two witnesses stated Young was unarmed.
• William Noel Nash (19). Shot in the chest near the barricade. Witnesses stated Nash was unarmed and going to the aid of another when killed.^{[citation needed]} Widgery considered it likely that Nash was shot by a civilian firing at soldiers.
• Michael M. McDaid (20). Shot in the face at the barricade as he was walking away from the paratroopers. The trajectory of the bullet indicated he was killed by soldiers positioned on the Derry Walls.
• James Joseph Wray (22). Wounded then shot again at close range while lying on the ground. Witnesses who were not called to the Widgery Tribunal stated that Wray was calling out to say that he could not move his legs before he was shot the second time. ^[10]
• Gerald Donaghy (17). Shot in the stomach while attempting to run to safety between Glenfada Park and Abbey Park. Donaghy 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 say they saw any bombs. Donaghy had been a member of Fianna �ireann, an IRA-linked Republican youth movement. Paddy Ward, who gave evidence at the Saville Inquiry, claimed that he had given two nail bombs to Donaghy several hours before he was shot dead [2].
• Gerald (James) McKinney (34). Shot just after Gerald Donaghy. Witnesses stated that McKinney had been running behind Donaghy, and he stopped and held up his arms, shouting "Please don't shoot!", when he saw Donaghy fall. He was then shot in the chest.^[11]
• William A. McKinney (27). Shot from behind as he attempted to aid Gerald McKinney (no relation). He had left cover to try to help the older man.^{[citation needed]}
• John Johnston (59). Shot on William Street 15 minutes before the rest of the shooting started. Johnson died of his wounds 4� months later, the only one not to die immediately or soon after being shot.

Edited by Spartakus - 04-Mar-2007 at 14:23

The monument above says "Their epitaph is in the continuing struggle for democracy", which is an obvious rejection of the sectarian actions of both sides of the divide at this nadir of the troubles, and I think that is the enduring point for me, as not everybody was part of  terrorist group or had extreme views either way, but just wanted to continue living in peace, which is something a lot of people overlook, and end up stigmatising an entire population.

indeed. Many Lessons were learnt from this and those lessons shouldn't be forgotten in a more modern context.

Sending an elite Unit of troops, that were ready for real combat, into a civil situation is a really dangerous thing to do. The Parachute Regiment should probably not have been there and certainly shouldn't ahve been on duty at that time. These are perhaps issues that should be looked at with troops in modern combat situations, does it work to have an elite force coming against civillians...

Fortunately, for Britain and Northern Ireland, things have moved on a lot since then. More mistakes were made, more problems need to be healed, but there is a stark difference between 1972 and 2007.

In the defence of the Parachute Regiment and the enquiry that is still active. I do believe there are some questions still being aswered about the day. I certainly wouldn't want to make comments about an investigation that is still active, but I do believe there will be some interesting conclusions. But lets hope it does also bring this chapter of history to a close.

Well there have been a lot of specculations about the day coming out in the media during the investigation, since 2000. I'm pretty sure there will be more information about the IRA's involvement and perhaps more information about the IRA itself.

I think there will be more answers about the effectiveness of command as well, something that hasn't been fully investigated previously.

Not that I am defending the position of those involved nor do I want to create some conspiracy here. I just think the inquiry will come out with some interesting information about the event. At a cost of �400million, I really hope that it does. Although I really doubt the position of the Paras will change.

I think it is set to be released later this year?

Originally posted by Dolphin Offaly eh? Monaghan Man meself.. I don't think the inquiry will change much, there is too much to lose for both sides I think, too many old wounds and too many lies at the highest level.

Apologies for Double Postings. :(:(

Originally posted by aslanlar Wow, didn't know about that. I've always known bloody sunday to be solely for the 22nd of January 1905, Russia, which resulted in the 1905 attempted revolution of the Tsar.

That's the problem with history: every day of the week is in fact bloody , if you know enough of it.