FACTUAL BACKGROUND

The start of "The Troubles"

As the situation continued to deteriorate Brian Faulkner, Prime Minister of the NI Parliament at Stormont, requested that internment, imprisonment without trial, be introduced. The Conservative Government under Ted Heath acceded to this request (against military advice - with the quid pro quo of a ban on all marches and parades in Northern Ireland. In the early hours of the 9th August 1971, in a huge operation, thousands of British troops arrested hundreds of people from their homes. The Government's aim was to round up suspects and to deal a crushing blow to the IRA. But the RUC were working with out of date intelligence and many innocent civilians were arrested. There were also allegations of police brutality against internees. The Nationalist community began a massive civil disobedience campaign and that year saw a major escalation in the level of violence. Internment was a political disaster.

The build up to the Bloody Sunday march

The Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA) organised an Anti-internment march in Derry on Sunday 30th January 1972. Like previous marches, Stormont banned it. NICRA issued statements, carried in the Northern Ireland media, asking for the event to be peaceful, "Sunday would be 'make or break' day for the cause of civil rights and the release of internees. Any riot, any trouble, any incident must be confined to members of the British army." In the days leading up to the march both factions of the IRA, Provisional and Official, had given assurances that they would withdraw from the area on the day. 

Just three weeks before the march and shortly after visiting Derry, where he met with Army & Police commanders, General Robert Ford, Commander of Land Forces (CLF) for Northern Ireland wrote a memo to his superior officer Lieutenant General Harry Tuzo about the deteriorating situation in Derry. Ford said the regular rioters in Derry, the Derry Young Hooligans (DYH) were beyond control by rubber bullets and CS gas. His conclusion was that: "The minimum force necessary to achieve a restoration of law and order is to shoot selected ring leaders among the DYH, after clear warnings have been given."

The day of the march

By 3.00pm the march, had left the Creggan estate and was starting to wind its way down towards the centre of Derry. The original route was to lead to the Guildhall Square in the centre of the city, where a rally was to be held. 

By 3.35pm the march had reached the William Street/Rossville Street junction known to local army units in Derry as "Aggro corner". The junction was effectively the interface between the city and the Bogside and it was here that rioting occurred, almost on a daily basis. Barrier 14 at the lower end of William Street would prevent the march from continuing to the Guildhall. The organisers had anticipated this and were stewarding the marchers towards Free Derry Corner in the Catholic Bogside, where they were to be addressed by politicians including MP Bernadette Devlin and Lord Fenner Brockway. However an estimated 150-200 young marchers broke through steward lines and advanced towards barrier 14 at the lower end of William Street. Verbal abuse soon led to stone throwing at the soldiers of 'A' Company 2nd Battalion Royal Green Jackets who were manning the barrier. 

By now the majority of the marchers had made their way down William Street and most had either turned right in the direction of Free Derry Corner, towards the rally or congregated around the William Street/Rossville Street junction, watching events at the lower end of William Street from a safe distance. Several hundred people however had continued on down towards barrier 14. 

After several minutes of further stone throwing and with tension building, and after a loudspeaker warning to disperse from an RUC inspector, the soldiers fired rubber bullets and turned water cannon and CS gas on the rioting crowd. Amid the chaos one marcher, Jim Wray, sat cross-legged in front of the barrier making a peaceful protest amid the swirl of CS gas.

The first shots

One of the marchers who witnessed the shootings was Charlie Meehan: "I saw movement inside the windows of the building and was amazed to see two Paratroopers crouching in a sniping position…one of the Paras in the building lifted his rifle to the shooting position…he fired one shot and hit a youth…As we ran a second man was shot in the shoulder as he ran along side me" 

"I heard the sound of a rubber bullet being fired and I saw it bounce off the wall on my right and then I ran to pick it up. As I was bending down to pick it up I heard a shot ring out and I felt a twinge in my right hip. I fell to the ground and I saw the blood coming from a hole in my trousers just above the knee. I then realised I was shot." (Damian Donaghey) 

"I heard rubber bullets being discharged and also saw clouds of gas rising where the crowd of people had stopped at the Rossville Street junction…I was walking diagonally towards the entrance of Columbcille Court when I felt a blow to my right leg and shoulder. At this stage I thought I had been hit by a Rubber bullet. At this point a man came up to me and told me that I was wounded." (John Johnston) 

The wounded John Johnston

"While at the corner of William Street and Rossville Street I heard two much louder reports among the sounds of the rubber bullet guns, and went up to see what had happened. After some five minutes a man approached me and asked if I was a reporter. He told me two men had been shot by the army, and asked me to come and see them." (BBC journalist David Capper) 

The army disputes the fact that it was they who fired first. One soldier, Major Loden, reported hearing a signal shot hit a drainpipe at the back of the Presbyterian church on Great James street. "One high velocity round was fired from the direction of Rossville flats at the wire cutting party. The shot struck a drainpipe on the east wall of the Presbyterian church approx. 4 ft above the heads of the wire cutting party." (Diary of operations) 

The army insists that this shot was fired at them before their soldiers opened fire. Other than Major Loden no other soldier, on the day, reported hearing this shot and there is no record of it in the army log, although other soldiers later came to mention it in their evidence. 

The two soldiers who did open fire, firing a total of five shots, stated that they were firing at nail bombers. The soldiers, Corporal 'A' and Private 'B' stated that nail bombs were thrown at their position and they opened fire on men who were about to throw bombs at them. They do not refer to a shot or in fact firing at someone who fired at them. Significantly the two soldiers did not mention the drainpipe shot in any of their statements until three days after the event. In addition to this, the Paras had a forward observation post overlooking this area and no soldier in this post reported hearing nail bombs. 

The two wounded men were not found to be in possession of nail bombs. John Johnston, who was visiting a relative and was accidentally caught up in the march, subsequently died of a brain tumour later that June and his family believe his death was hastened by his injuries on Bloody Sunday. 

The majority of available evidence strongly suggests that directly following the shootings of Damian Donaghey and John Johnston a single shot was fired at the Paras of Machine Gun Platoon. Once shot, both Donaghey and Johnston were carried to a flat in Columbcille court. The balcony above this flat was a common space for drying clothes. This area was covered by wooden slats and provided a clear line of sight to the Paras in the derelict buildings on the opposite side of William Street. Members of the Official IRA on hearing news of the shootings made their way to this balcony where they had an arms dump containing a .303 rifle. Once in position an 'Official' took aim and fired. He fired a single shot but missed. The 'Official', who was then challenged by a group of local men hurriedly left the scene with the rifle and dumped it in a car parked nearby. 

The Paras go in 

Some ten minutes later at 4.07pm the Paras were ordered into the Bogside. C Company went through barrier 14 in William Street on foot, followed by four armoured personnel carriers (pigs). Anti Tank platoon, Mortar platoon and Composite went through barrier 12 in Little James Street in a convoy of ten vehicles. Minutes later they started firing. The Paras claimed they were shot at. 

In the Rossville flats carpark 

The first person to be killed on Bloody Sunday was 17-year-old Jackie Duddy, shot from behind as he ran away from the soldiers towards the shelter of the Rossville Flats. Father Edward Daly was an eyewitness to his shooting. Waving a white handkerchief he led the group which carried his body away. This scene was to become the iconic image of Bloody Sunday (below). 

Also shot and wounded in the car park of the Rossville flats was Peggy Deery,37, Michael Bridge,25, Michael Bradley,22, and Patrick McDaid, 24. Eighteen year old Alana Burke was knocked down and badly injured by a army pig. 

Kells Walk 

On the other side of Rossville Street, Paras from Anti Tank platoon made their way to the low wall at Kells Walk opposite the Rossville flats. 

Man in front of barricade sees paras approach low wall

Some 60 yards ahead of them marchers hurled abuse and threw stones from behind a rubble barricade. The Paras opened fire. 

Low wall at Kells Walk is slightly to the left of this image

"We ran towards a small wall surrounding a garden in front of kells Walk. A crowd of people were facing us. They were south of the rubble barricade…as soldier 'F' of my section reached the pavement by the end of the small wall, he went down into a kneeling position beside it, raised his rifle to his shoulder and, without pause or hesitation, commenced firing towards the centre of the crowd…Within seconds, other soldiers came on the scene, some kneeling and some standing, joined in the firing. I could see strikes on the barricade. Two people towards the centre of the barricade, who had been facing us, fell within a few seconds of each other in the opening burst of firing." (Private 027) 

"….I saw another person fall and I later found out he had been shot dead….I then turned on my back and saw a person's head burst open and blood was pouring out. All I saw was red. This person fell on my side and blood came all over me and covered my hands…at this point it was total chaos and the shooting was really heavy. The bullets were bouncing off the barricade above our heads." (Denis McLaughlin) 

Four men - Michael Kelly, 17, William Nash, 19, Michael McDaid, 20, and John Young, 17, - were shot and killed. Almost simultaneously Hugh Gilmour, 17, was shot and killed outside the entrance to block 1of the Rossville Flats. 

Hugh Gilmour (centre)

Alex Nash, 51, William's father, was shot and wounded as he tried to reach his son. In statements made later a number of the Paras claimed they were fired upon but their evidence is inconsistent. No other eyewitnesses reported seeing gunmen firing from the rubble barricade. 

"There was a barricade across Rossville Street in front of us. There were at least two gunmen at the barricade firing at us." (Private 'H') 

The Soldiers of Anti Tank platoon then left the low wall at Kells walk and moved forward into Glenfada Park. Their position was then occupied by members of Composite platoon. 

At this point, Kevin McElhinney,17, was shot dead as he crawled away from the rubble barricade towards the entrance to the Rossville Flats. 

Glenfada Park 

In Glenfada Park, a block of two storey flats surrounding a small enclosed courtyard just off Rossville Street, many civilians were seeking shelter from fire, several gathering around the body of the dying Michael Kelly. A group of them attempted to carry him to safety into the adjacent Abbey Park. As the group moved across the courtyard they heard someone cry, "Here comes the Paras!" According to several eyewitnesses a number of Paras entered Glenfada Park and started firing casually into the crowd. "One Para was holding his rifle on its side at waist height. He was not aiming and was simply firing sporadically from the hip as he was walking forward," said eyewitness Charlie McLaughlin. "..I looked to my right and saw three Paras had entered Glenfada Park…the Paras were firing and I could hear bullets whizzing past my head and hitting the wall…I would describe the shooting as random rather than specifically aimed, and quite heavy," said another, John O'Kane. 

The contrast between the accounts given by civilians and those of the Paras in Glenfada Park could scarcely be greater. 

"…we moved position to our right to Glenfada Park where I saw one of the men light something. I saw it fizzle and spark, and I realised it was some form of bomb. He raised his arm as if to throw the bomb. I fired two aimed shots at the man. The first I saw strike him in the shoulder and the second strike him in the stomach. The bomb did not explode." (Lance Corporal 'F') 

"I ran up the alleyway with 'F' into Glenfada Park area. We were followed by two others…..on entering the square I saw two men standing about twenty five metres away, both of them were holding what appeared to be small rifles in their hands. There was a small group of people standing near to them. I fired three aimed shots at one of the men and I saw him fall to the ground" (Private 'G') 

It is likely that six men Joseph Mahon,15, William McKinney,27, Joe Friel,20, Michael Quinn,17, and Danny Gillespie, 27, were shot and wounded in the initial burst of fire. Jim Wray, 22, - the peaceful protestor - was also shot and wounded and fell to the ground. Several eyewitnesses then reported that a Para effectively executed Jim Wray as he lay on the ground. "I heard a woman's voice shouting out, saying 'don't move', be still'… I saw a Para walking towards the body of Jim Wray…The solder pointed the rifle at Jim Wray's back and fired two shots into his back at point blank range." (Joseph Mahon) 

Abbey Park 

The available evidence strongly suggests that this Para then moved into the alley way joining Glenfada Park with Abbey Park. It appears he then opened fire into Abbey park, killing Gerard McKinney,35, and Gerard Donaghey,17. Gerry McKinney was struck by a bullet which entered below the left arm pit and excited below the right arm pit. The injury is consistent with him having his hands above his head as no bullet enters or passes through either arm. A bullet from soldier 'G's' rifle was later recovered from the body of Gerard Donaghey. 

The Paras claim they came under attack from bullets and nail bombs as they entered Glenfada Park. One soldier, soldier H, dispensed 22 rounds in Glenfada Park. He claimed he fired 19 shots at a figure with a rifle behind a frosted glass window in a ground floor maisonette, but no glass was broken in a frosted window in Glenfada Park. Another man, Patrick O'Donnell, 41, was also shot and wounded in Glenfada Park, bringing the total number shot in this small courtyard to seven. 

Even Lord Wigery seems to have cast doubt on the soldiers' version of events in his summary of evidence: 

'It seems to me more probable that the civilians in Glenfada Park were running away than that they were seeking a battle with the soldiers in such a confined space…the balance of probability suggests that the time when these four men (James Wray/Gerald McKinney/Gerald Donaghey/William McKinney) were shot the group of men were not acting aggressively and the shots were fired without justification…19 of the 22 shots fired by soldier H were wholly unaccounted for…' (Widgery Report para 84) 

The Rossville flats forecourt 

Across the street from Glenfada Park in the forecourt of block 2 of the Rossville flats next to a wall running parallel to the City Walls Paddy Doherty, 32, was crawling to shelter. Eyewitnesses report he was shot from the direction of Glenfada Park. As he lay dying he called out for someone to help him. Barney McGuigan, 41, could not bear to hear him. Witnesses say Barney took out a white handkerchief and slowly edged his way from the safe shelter of a phone box so he could try and comfort Paddy Doherty. As he moved out Barney was shot dead by a single Para bullet. It now seems likely that Barney McGuigan was the final person to be shot dead on Bloody Sunday.   Two other men were also shot and wounded in this location, Paddy Campbell, 53 and Daniel McGowan, 38. 

The body of Hugh Gilmour on the left

In total 13 people died on the day and 15 were wounded, John Johnston dying several months later. 

The aftermath 

In the immediate days after Bloody Sunday there was intense shock and grief in Derry. A funeral service for the victims was held in St. Mary's Church Creggan. The shock and grief soon turned to thoughts of anger and revenge - the British Embassy in Dublin was bombed and burned to the ground. 

British Prime Minister Edward Heath's response was to set up a tribunal of inquiry chaired by the then Lord Chief Justice, Lord Widgery. Minutes of the meeting between the Prime Minister, Lord Widgery and Lord Hailsham, show that Heath warned Widgery that in preparing his report he should bear in mind that Britain was not only fighting a military war in Ireland, it was also fighting a propaganda war. 

When Lord Widgery reported his conclusions in April 1972 he said of the marchers: "None of the deceased or wounded is proved to have been shot whilst handling a firearm or bomb …but there is a strong suspicion that some others had been firing weapons or handling bombs". The Derry community was outraged - maintaining the protest was entirely peaceful. Of the soldiers, he stated; "at one end of the scale some soldiers showed a high degree of responsibility; at the other, notably in Glenfada Park, firing bordered on the reckless." Many others present on the day would have felt this was somewhat of an understatement. The Widgery Inquiry was immediately seen as a whitewash in Derry, and its findings were soon to be widely discredited as evidence that contradicted the army version of events emerged. 

The fall out from Bloody Sunday and the Widgery Inquiry was huge. The Provisional IRA was already beginning to establish itself as a force but the events in Derry on that day boosted their membership and gave them the tacit support of many in the Irish Catholic community north and south of the border. "The Troubles" exploded and nearly three decades of violence followed. 

Today 

The new evidence, both eyewitness and forensic, has increasingly cast doubt on Widgery's conclusions and the soldier's version of events. In December 1992 the then Prime Minister, John Major publicly stated that the 14 dead "should be regarded as innocent of any allegation that they were shot whilst handling firearms or explosives." A lengthy campaign by the families of those who died on Bloody Sunday and pressure from the Irish Government finally led to Prime Minister Tony Blair announcing a second inquiry, chaired by Lord Saville of Newdigate. It commenced in March 2000. 

The inquiry is currently taking evidence from witnesses. It is expected to report its findings in late 2003.

Please note: All images used in this section (Factual) are original photographs taken on the day