The Guardian - Date: 26th Jan 02 
" Mesmerising and horrific."

Marking the anniversary (of Bloody Sunday), Jimmy McGovern presents this searing docudrama, drawing from eyewitness interviews (British soldiers included), and made with full cooperation of those families affected by the tragedy. "Your white coat makes a good target," observes one latter-day member of Oliver's Army, with the frantic medic in his sights. Essential viewing for those whose knowledge of " Bloody Sunday" is restricted to the Bono lyric.

The Daily Telegraph
Distressing, gripping, provocative …. with a palpable sense of terror and confusion that remains to this day. 

The Times - Date: 26th Jan 02  
There is nothing equivocal about Jimmy McGovern's version of Bloody Sunday. From the start, it nails its colours to the mast.

Socialist Worker - Date: 16th Jan 02 - Eamonn McCann
"McGovern puts Tory Prime Minister Edward Heath on the screen giving Lord Chief Justice Widgery instruction on the conclusion he wants form the first inquiry: "Remember we are not just fighting a military war in Northern Ireland we're fighting a propaganda war as well." McGovern, that is, shows the source of the evil which burst on the Bogside located in the conscious intensions of the political, military and legal elite, whereas Greengrass suggests a general moral deficiency in the political and security apparatus.

He shows the moment the garrison commander is told that the deployment decision had been made "at the very top", and indicates his assumption (which he has recorded) that this meant it was a cabinet decision.

TV Times - Date: 26th Jan -1st Feb 02 
" (Sunday) is one of the most powerful, mesmerising pieces of television you'll see this year. You're eased into things slowly, but when the shootings start the drama punches you hard in the stomach, twists your insides around and leaves you so numb with shock you won't notice the tears rolling down your cheeks. McGovern at his very best."

Radio Times - Date: 26 Jan - 1 Feb 
As a piece of film-making, 'Sunday' is tense and frequently electrifying. The killings are depicted to great effect by the screen fading to black as young rioters run into a hail of gunfire. And the final scenes, where young men take the oath of allegiance to the IRA, are chilling.

Guardian - Date: 29th Jan 02 - Garath McLean
"…. McGovern's effort provided more rounded portraits of characters and a community, and more insight into the repercussions of the events of Bloody Sunday. …. 

Such was the grit of McGovern's script, it seemed terribly appropriate that Leo Young (an impressive Ciarán McMenimin) was a coal man by trade. "Britain was booming. Europe was booming. Derry was on the dole," was part of his opening address, setting a poetic tone and introducing the black humour that makes you realise what a craftsman McGovern is. That Leo's hands weren't as dirty as General Ford's - or indeed Ted Heath's who was landed with the ultimate culpability for Bloody Sunday's events - was an irony that should have escaped no one. ….

For all the power of the performances of the predominantly male cast - from the Paras to the fresh-faced, dead-eyed Catholic boys swearing allegiance to the IRA - the warm, beating heart of 'Sunday' was in the female characters. Maura and Mrs Young were played with electrifying brilliance by Eva Birthistle and Brid Brennan respectively, while as the sister of a shot Catholic, Cara Kelly was commendable. …

One suspects that, in the end, 'Sunday' will be judged as more "viciously anti-British" than Greengrass's version, especially as it will be all too easy to attach the proviso that McGovern is some sort of class warrior with his sights set on the Establishment. The Establishment is lucky if it's just McGovern with his sights trained there. Twenty-seven unarmed civilians weren't quite so lucky."

The Guardian - Date: 28th Jan 02 - Mark Lawson
"I prefer 'Sunday'..."