The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) began a murder investigation after the Saville report was released. Upon the issuing of the report in 2010, British Prime Minister David Cameron went before Parliament to apologize for the shootings. Video, Fighting the 'stigma' of dementia in Asian families, Covid-19: Trump rejects plan for early vaccines at White House, Australia storms: Byron Bay's Main Beach 'all but disappeared', Brexit: Negotiators to enter 'extra mile' Brexit talks, Ambrose Dlamini: Eswatini's PM dies after testing positive for Covid-19, New Zealand sex worker wins six-figure sum in sexual harassment case, Brexit: Tentative progress made as EU hints at concessions, Coronavirus: Germany to go into lockdown over Christmas, US treasury and commerce departments targeted in cyber attack, John le Carré: Espionage writer dies aged 89. there was enough evidence to prosecute one paratrooper - known only as Soldier F - for the murders of James Wray and William McKinney. Who had fired the first shot long remained a point of contention—with the army maintaining that it had fired only after being fired upon and the Roman Catholic community contending that the soldiers had opened fire on unarmed protesters. There were further IRA bombings in Belfast city centre, killing nine people and injuring many more. The majority of demonstrators were instead directed towards Free Derry Corner in the Bogside. Bloody Sunday (Irish: Domhnach na Fola) —sometimes called the Bogside Massacre —happened on 30 January 1972, in the Bogside area of Derry, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Get exclusive access to content from our 1768 First Edition with your subscription. Certainly the event cast a long shadow. In mid-1971 Northern Ireland’s Unionist government, led by prime minister Brian Faulkner, sought to curtail Republican paramilitary violence by arresting suspected Irish Republican Army (IRA) volunteers. Bloody Sunday, demonstration in Londonderry (Derry), 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 later died). 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. The demonstrators marched toward Guildhall Square in the city centre, but the British army had cordoned off much of the area, prompting most of the marchers to alter their course and head toward Free Derry Corner. UK Defence Minister Gavin Williamson said the government will offer full legal support to Soldier F, including paying his legal costs and providing welfare support. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Britannica Kids Holiday Bundle! Bloody Sunday occurred on January 30, 1972, in the city of Derry when the parachute regiment of the British army opened fire on a Civil Rights march killing 13 people, another victim died later from his wounds. 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British troops responded by firing rubber bullets and a water cannon. Faulkner implemented internment after securing the reluctant approval of Westminster. image captionJames Wray and William McKinney were among 13 people shot dead at a civil rights march on 30 January 1972. The government had decided it was the only way it could restore order. NOW 50% OFF! The British Embassy in Dublin was burned to the ground by an angry crowd. 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 - … By 1969 Northern Ireland was spiraling out of control and rioting became more fierce such as The Battle of Bogside. Coleraine, Northern Ireland: Britain's Lord Chief Justice Lord Widgery is shown in helicopter in Coleraine, Northern Ireland, Monday, after conducting first day of inquiry into the deaths of 13 people shot dead in Londonderry, January 30, known as Bloody Sunday. It also found that none of the soldiers had fired in response to attacks by those throwing projectiles and that none of those who were shot had posed any threat to the soldiers. 1972 Press Photo Britain's Lord Widgery shown in during Bloody Sunday probe This is an original press photo. After prolonged skirmishes between groups of youths and the Army, soldiers from the Parachute Regiment moved in to make arrests. The Stormont government had banned such protests. The families of those who died in the 1972 Bloody Sunday killings in Derry are to challenge a legal decision not to prosecute any more former soldiers in … It would also lead to one of the biggest mistakes for the British in their fight for power in Northern Ireland during the troubles. Outrage at “Bloody Sunday” swept the country. The incident has been commemorated by Irish band, U2, in their 1983 protest song"Sunday Bloody Sunday". However, Army barricades blocked marchers. The following year the British government announced that it would offer financial compensation to relatives of the victims. Monday, July 20th 2015. The Widgery Tribunal largely cleared the soldiers and British authorities of blame, although he described the soldiers' shooting as "bordering on the reckless". 26 unarmed civil rights protesters and spectators were shot by … The IRA sought revenge for Bloody Sunday by attacking the Parachute Regiments HQ in Aldershot in England. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. The inquiry found that none of the casualties were posing a threat or doing anything that would justify their shooting. .css-1xgx53b-Link{font-family:ReithSans,Helvetica,Arial,freesans,sans-serif;font-weight:700;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;color:#FFFFFF;}.css-1xgx53b-Link:hover,.css-1xgx53b-Link:focus{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;}Read about our approach to external linking. .css-14iz86j-BoldText{font-weight:bold;}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 - a predominantly Catholic part of Londonderry - on Sunday 30 January 1972. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/event/Bloody-Sunday-Northern-Ireland-1972. Troops were deployed to police the march. On January 30, 1972, British soldiers opened fire on unarmed civilians in the Bogside area of Derry who were marching in … The John Lennon album Some Time in New York City features a song entitled "Sunday Bloody Sunday", inspired by the incident, as well as the song "The Luck of the Irish", which dealt more with the Irish conflict in general. These suspects would be questioned and detained without trial until the situation eased. 14 victims. Blodiga söndagen (engelska: Bloody Sunday, iriska: Domhnach na Fola) var en incident den 30 januari 1972, då många katoliker i Nordirland protesterade mot den brittiska politiken, varvid 13 civila demonstranter (män och pojkar) sköts ihjäl av brittiska soldater, och ytterligare 13 skottskadades. Bloody Sunday, demonstration in Londonderry (Derry), 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 later died). Bloody Sunday: Tense wait for soldier prosecution decision, Fighting the 'stigma' of dementia in Asian families. The 5,000-page Saville Report found that the first shot in the vicinity of the march had been fired by the British army and that, though there was some firing by republican paramilitaries, it did not provide any justification for the shooting of the civilian casualties. .css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:link{color:inherit;}.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:visited{color:#696969;}.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:link,.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:visited{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:link:hover,.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:visited:hover,.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:link:focus,.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:visited:focus{color:#B80000;-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;}.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:link::after,.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:visited::after{content:'';position:absolute;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;left:0;z-index:2;}Bloody Sunday: Tense wait for soldier prosecution decision, Bloody Sunday: 'Job well done' says former soldier, Bloody Sunday victims should get 'substantial sum', Bloody Sunday: Sir Hugh Orde questions investigations, Bloody Sunday: 18 soldiers 'considered for prosecution'. About 15,000 people gathered in the Creggan area of Derry on the morning of 30 January 1972 to take part in a civil rights march. Documentary-style drama showing the events that led up to the tragic incident on January 30, 1972 in the Northern Ireland town of Derry when a protest march led by civil rights activist Ivan Cooper was fired upon by British troops, killing 13 protesters and wounding 14 more. Updates? Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. The story revolves around two young men who are caught up in the crossfire: one is an idealistic civil rights leader & the other a Catholic teen. Omissions? The march began shortly after 15:00 GMT and the intended destination was the city centre. A deadline to finish negotiations had been set for Sunday, but the UK and EU agreed to keep talking. However, some of the demonstrators confronted the soldiers, pelting them with stones and other projectiles. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. The standard nationalist narrative of Bloody Sunday in 1972 is that it created the Provisional IRA and largely spawned the subsequent conflict in Northern Ireland. On 30 January 1972 troops fired on unarmed protesters in a civil rights march in … Having weighed up 125,000 pages of material, prosecutors said on 14 March that they will prosecute Soldier F for the murders of James Wray and William McKinney. Prime Minister Tony Blair announced that a new inquiry would be held, headed by judge Lord Saville. (Click link to hear Jackson’s statement. It was derided as a whitewash by the victims' families, who spent years campaigning for a fresh public inquiry. Five months earlier, in August 1971 and against a backdrop of escalating violence and increased bombings in Northern Ireland, a new law was introduced giving the authorities the power to imprison people without trial - internment. Ordered to arrest as many demonstrators as possible, the army proceeded to confront the marchers, and violence erupted. 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. Eamonn McCann wrote, “After Bloody Sunday, the most powerful feeling in the area was the desire for revenge. It said no warning was given to any civilians before the soldiers opened fire and that none of the soldiers fired in response to attacks by petrol bombers or stone throwers. The day after Bloody Sunday the government announced there would be an inquiry led by the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Widgery. Fourteen died, six of whom were minors. Just before 16:00 GMT, stones were thrown and soldiers responded with rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannon. Bloody Sunday began as a peaceful—but illegal—demonstration by some 10,000 people organized by the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association in opposition to the British government’s policy of interning suspected members of the IRA without trial. The bombing failed to kill paratroopers as intended but instead killed a Catholic chaplain, and six civilian members of staff. 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. Two men were shot and wounded. Bloody Sunday 1972. The incident remained a source of controversy for decades, with competing accounts of the events. 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 shooting dead 13 … Since the deaths of Cusack and Beattie and the introduction of internment there had been mass support for the IRA, but it had been tempered with a vague uneasiness about the morality of killing peop… Soldiers attacked … | History If you want to know the incident called as Bogside Massacre, you have to read Facts about Bloody Sunday 1972. Now, … At 16:10 GMT, soldiers began to open fire. Paul McCartney (who is of Irish descent) also issued a sin… A Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA) march had been organised to protest against the continuation of Internment without trial in Northern Ireland. Prime Minister David Cameron said the killings were "unjustified and unjustifiable". A fact from this article was featured on Wikipedia's Main Page in the On this day section on January 30, 2011 , January 30, 2014 , and January 30, 2017 . Saville found there was "some firing by republican paramilitaries" but that on balance the Army fired first. Get more interesting facts about Bloody Sunday 1972 below: There has been debate over whether or not the soldiers involved should be prosecuted. The shootings led to widespread anger in Derry and further afield. Sympathizers staged sit-ins, traffic blockades and demonstrations in solidarity with the voting rights marchers. submitted their files to the Public Prosecution Service. Read about our approach to external linking. Fourteen people were killed, many more were injured, and more than 60 people were arrested during the indiscriminate shooting of unarmed civilians. And William McKinney were among 13 people shot dead at a civil rights Association protest! 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