Bloody Sunday, Bloody
Friday, and the IRA
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Sunday Bloody Sunday
In the 1960’s anger and violence mounted after attacks on civil rights marchers by
protestant loyalists. 1969 the Battle of Bogside occurred in the aftermath of an
Apprentice Boys of Derry march. Barricades were erected around the area to resist
police intrusion and only when order could not be restored was the British Army
called in.
The Catholics welcomed the Army, but soon that relationship fell apart. July 8th
Seamus Cusack and Desmond Beattie were shot and killed in Bogside by British
soldiers. The soldiers claimed the pair were armed but locals stated otherwise.
Due to escalating violence through Northern Ireland, people could now be held in
prison without trial also all marches and parades were banned. This did not sit well
with the people of Northern Ireland, 21 people ended up being killed in riots against
the internment. August 10th the first British Soldier was killed by the Provisional
IRA in Derry. Six more soldiers were killed, 1932 rounds were fired at the British
Army, 180 nail bombs and 211 explosions.
Provisional IRA violence increased across NI resulting in 30 more deaths, they had
also established barricades and no-go areas for the British Army.
The March
January 1972 a march was organized in Derry to protest against internment. Authorities who knew about the
march agreed to let it happen but would stop it from reaching Guildhall Square. 1st Battalion travelled to Derry to
arrest rioters during the march.
The march was redirect to Free Derry Corner but a group of teenagers broke off from the march and insisted that
they should continue to march to Guildhall Square by breaking through barricades. They attacked the British
Army barricades with stones and were met with tear gas and rubber bullets.
Reports of an IRA sniper in the area were apparently given to the Army command centre which allowed the
british army to go into Bogside. They were ordered to fire live rounds and ended up killing a man as he ran away
from the troops. Jackie Duddy was a part of the crowd running away, he ran alongside a priest when he was shot
in the back. The british troops continued their violent streak and were told to mobilize for arrests.
More than 100 live rounds were fired directly at fleeing crowds, twelve more were
killed. Some were killed as they attempted to help people who were already shot.
Fourteen people were wounded.
Victims
Jackie Duddy was shot in the chest
and back in the car park of
Rossville Flats. Shot in the chest in
the car park of Rossville flats.
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 Patrick Joseph Doherty was
shot from behind while attempting
to crawl to safety in the forecourt of
Rossville flats.
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 Bernard McGuigan was shot in
the back of the head when he went
to help Patrick Doherty. He wanted
the soldiers to know he meant no
harm so he waved a white
handkerchief in the air.
Hugh Pious Gilmour was shot through his right
elbow, the bullet then entering his chest as he ran
from the paratroopers on Rossville Street
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Kevin McElhinney. Shot from behind while
attempting to crawl to safety at the front entrance of
the Rossville Flats.
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Michael Gerald Kelly. Shot in the stomach
while standing near the rubble barricade in front of
Rossville Flats.
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John Pius Young. Shot in the head while
standing at the rubble barricade.
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William Noel Nash. Shot in the chest near the
barricade. Nash was attempting to aid a wounded
person when he was shot
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Michael M. McDaid. Shot in the face at the
barricade as he was walking away from the
paratroopers.
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James Joseph Wray. Wounded then shot again
at close range while lying on the ground.
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Gerald Donaghy. Shot in the stomach while
attempting to run to safety between Glenfada Park
and Abbey Park.
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Gerald (James) McKinney. Shot just after
Gerald Donaghy. Witnesses stated that McKinney
had been running behind Donaghy, and he stopped
and held up his arms, shouting "Don't shoot! Don't
shoot!", when he saw Donaghy fall. He was then
shot in the chest.
William Anthony McKinney. Shot from behind as he attempted to aid Gerald
McKinney (no relation). He had left cover to try to help Gerald.
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 John Johnston. Shot in the leg and left shoulder on William Street 15 minutes
before the rest of the shooting started.
Even though thirteen people were killed, the British Army was backed up saying
they were just responding to possible nail bomb attacks. No marchers that were
shot were armed, and all were fleeing. No soldiers were fired upon.
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Following this attack, crowds burned down the British embassy and the
relationship between England and Ireland disintegrated.
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Bloody Sunday marked a turn of events in Northern Ireland and the PRIA, no
longer were the british trusted,
The Troubles began which claimed thousands of lives through bombings, nail
bombings, snipers etc
•
Bloody Friday
Who? Belfast Brigade of the IRA
Where? Belfast Northern Ireland
When? 1972
What: Series of bombings
Bloody Friday
British Government led by William Whitelaw held secret talks with the Provisional
IRA. The IRA agreed to a temporary ceasefire on June 26th because they thought it
would be the start of a slow withdrawal of British troops from Northern Ireland.
When no action towards a peace settlement occurred, the ceasefire stopped.
Bloody Friday was the IRA’s response to the breakdown of talks. They decided to
cause financial harm. They wanted to send a message to the British Government that
they were willing to create havoc unless demands were met. Some also saw it as
payback for Bloody Sunday that occurred in Derry six months earlier.
The IRA Belfast Brigade organized the attack, a total of 22 bombs were planted and
the explosions killed 9 people and injured 130 civilians. During the bombing the city
resembled a war torn country. Of the injured 77 were women and children.
The Belfast Brigade claimed responsibility for the bombings and said they gave
warnings that it would happen. This showed that they did not aim to harm people but
effect the financial organizations belonging to the British. Thirty years after the
attack the IRA formally apologized for harming civilians.
TIMELINE
 ~2:10 pm (Smithfield Bus Station) : Car bomb explodes
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 ~2:16 pm (Brookvale Hotel): Bomb explodes containing 50lbs of explosives
exploded at the Brookville Hotel. Area was cleared and there were no injuries.
 ~2:23 pm Railway station: Suitcase bomb 30lbs of explosives. Wrecked the
inside of the station and blew the roof off.
 ~2:45 pm Crumlin Road: car bomb explodes at a Taxi depot, nearby were
houses of prison wardens.
Oxford Bus Bombing
2:48 pm (Bus depot, Oxford Street): Car bomb explodes at bus depot, busiest bus
station in Northern Ireland. Resulted in the greatest loss of life and most casualities.
Some victims were torn to pieces which led authorities to believe that 11 people had
actually died. Ages of the victims included 19, 27, 15, 39, 45 and 18. Many were
killed outright by the blast, bus driver Jackie Gibson was killed by flying shrapnel
after completing his route.
~2:48 pm Railway station on Great Victoria Street: van bomb explodes, four
buses are wrecked and 44 damaged.
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 ~2:50 pm (Ulster Bank, Limestone Road): Car bomb explodes, area had not
been cleared and several injuries occurred.
 ~2:52 pm : Railway station Botanic Avenue: car bomb explodes outside the
states. Damaged the property but no injuries occurred.
 ~2:55 pm : Queen Elizabeth Bridge: Car bomb explodes, damages the
structure of the bridge.
 ~2:57 pm (Liverpool ferry terminus, Donegall Quay): Car bomb explodes
and damages Liverpool Bar
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~2:57 pm (Gas Department offices, Ormeau Avenue) : Car bomb explodes causing extensive damage
to the offices of the Gas Department
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~2:59 pm (Garmoyle Street): Parcel bomb explodes and wrecks the building of John Irwin seed
merchants.
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~3:02 pm (Agnes Street): A car bomb explodes outside a group of houses, no warning was received but
only minor injuries occurred.
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~3:04 pm (M2 motorway bridge, Bellevue): Car bomb explodes but only partially detonates thus
nearby buildings were not damaged.
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~3:05 pm (Filling station, Upper Lisburn Road): Car bomb explodes and sets the gas pumps on fire.
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~3:05 pm (Electricity substation): Van bomb explodes and damages the substation
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~3:05 pm (Railway bridge, Finaghy Road North): Lorry bomb explodes on the railway bridge.
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~3:09 (Railway footbridge) : bomb explodes on footbridge. No injuries
 ~3:12 pm (Eastwood's Garage, Donegall Road): Car bomb explodes
destroying Eastwood’s Garage. Several people were injured
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 ~3:15 pm (Stewartstown Road): Bomb explodes. No injuries.
 ~3:15 pm (Cavehill Road): car bomb explodes outside a row of shops, no
bomb warning was given. Two women and man die in the blast, a mother of
seven dies in her car, her 11 year old daughter who is also in the car at the time is
badly injured. An elderly woman (65) and teenage boy (14) were also killed in
the blast. The boy’s remains were so badly damaged that his father could only
identify him but the items in his pocket.
 ~3:25 pm (Railway line near Lisburn Road): Bomb explodes on the railway.
 ~3:30 pm (Grosvenor Road): Bomb explodes at carrier depot, only minor
injuries occurred.
Aftermath and Reaction
According to sources, republicans seemed rather impressed with the explosions. William Whitelaw called
the bombings “appallingly bloodthirsty”. Catholic victims received a lot of attention moreso than protestant.
Media outlets stated that anyone who supported the violence was as sick as the people who created it.
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Firefighters were seen on TV shoveling body parts into bags at the bus station. A Police officer described
the bombing site at the Oxford Bus station as:
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"The first thing that caught my eye was a torso of a human being lying in the middle of the street. It was
recognisable as a torso because the clothes had been blown off and you could actually see parts of the human
anatomy. One of the victims was a soldier I knew personally. He'd had his arms and legs blown off and
some of his body had been blown through the railings. One of the most horrendous memories for me was
seeing a head stuck to the wall. A couple of days later, we found vertebrae and a rib cage on the roof of a
nearby building. The reason we found it was because the seagulls were diving onto it. I've tried to put it at
the back of my mind for twenty-five years.”[
479 people died in the Troubles in 1972, more than in any other year of the
conflict.
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The City of Belfast Youth Orchestra set up a memorial trust for Stephen Parker,
the teenager who was killed.
Irish republican reaction
The IRA believed that it was an operation gone wrong. They viewed the attack as
a disaster and believed that not enough people were warned to stay clear of the
bombing sites. They regretted their actions and in 2002 apologized for the
casualties.
WARNING: GRAPHIC
PHOTOS
Assignment: Please write a reflective journal
piece about your feelings during about the
events. You can choose any side to write
about. Does not need to be formal.
Bloody friday
Letters to the Editor
Funeral with no shouted commands
but only sobs of four small children
TO-DAY (Monday) I went to a funeral-that of one of "Bloody Friday's" victims.
It wasn't one of those funerals we know so well in Belfast, with the uniformed men, the ceremonial shots, the shouted commands,
the graveside oration.
The only uniforms were the black and white vestments of the clergy. The only arms were those of Christ crucified on the Cross
which led the Cortege.
No shouted commands- only the sobbing of four small children. No graveside oration, only the tears in the eyes of a husband as
final tribute.
If there is power in the sobs of children and the tears of husbands and fathers, wives and mothers then the cause espoused by the
terrorist is on the point of death:
its followers now are but walking. dead, animated husks, soulless and mindless. rejected and disowned by any creature capable of
pity and compassion.
The earth which thudded on that coffin covered only a body, not the bestial deed which sent it there, an ever-pointing finger of
condemnation to all involved - the terrorists who planned the bombing campaign, the terrorists who made the bombs, the terrorists
who planted them: the politicians who wouldn't talk until all their demands were met and the politicians who talked too much and
too often said the wrong thing; the leading churchmen, who merely mouthed pious attitudes. condemning violence in general but
never aiming at specific deeds and organisations:
The trade unionists who permitted discrimination to be the unwritten rule in our industrial life and the industrialists and
businessmen who bowed to this evil on their premises; the neighbours, who were true neighbours and friends-until intimidation
entered their street.
To-day's victim had the dignity and honour of innocence and motherhood to take to her grave and Maker, and leaves her legacy of
a peace-loving, and In the course of time, happy family.
Her killers will face their Maker with her blood and many others on their hands and can only leave a. their legacy hatred, sorrow
and despair.
A FACE IN THE CROWD,
Belfast 13.
"A black sin ... that will never be erased"
By the Editor of the
Sunday Independent
Dublin
These are dark days for Ireland. We live in an age of cowardice, with the guilt spread evenly between
the highest and the lowest in the land.
We fostered the men who planned the murders of innocent men, women, boys and girls in Belfast on
Friday. We fed these people with propaganda. We took advantage, when we could, of their exploits.
And because we are not a morally courageous people, we never seriously tried to stop their terrible
excesses.
Those among us who could have acted to halt the course of tragedy preferred to do nothing. Those
who could have spoken out, when words might have meant something, chose to hold their tongues.
And the rest of us were content to let matters slide.
Now all of us must pay the price for this neglect. There is a black sin on the face of Irish Republicanism
today that will never be erased. Murder now lies at the feet of the Irish nation and there is no gainsaying that fact.
We cannot change past, however much we regret its record. But if we wish to restore the honour of our
people, now is the time to act.
We must break the paralysis that leaves the good name of the Irish people in the hands of
unscrupulous men. And we must find a way to make restitution for our failings.
The gallantry of those who planted bombs in the middle of Belfast's shopping areas on Friday (and
then ran like hell) will be sanctified by the almighty god of Irish republicanism and reverently
embalmed- in what we are pleased to call our national heritage.
We won't have a ballad to commemorate the butchered fragments of a woman we saw on the telly
being shovelled up by a fireman.
Who said Dan Breen is dead? His spirit is alive and well and looking forward to a cosy corner in
whatever parliamentary system we are going to have for the next 50 years.
Is nobody going to shout stop!