Bloody Sunday Research Paper

The unjustifiable actions undertaken by the British Army in the Bogside area of Derry City on Sunday the 30th of January 1972 and the predictably callous vindication of their activities bestowed via the Widgery Tribunal, have both had irrevocable and far reaching consequences for the evolution of the conflict in Ireland. Moreover, the impact of Bloody Sunday and the associated whitewashed investigation carried out by the British, cannot be underestimated in the growth of the Troubles. As a consequence of this event, the process of trying to end sectarianism through constitutionalism was hastily cast aside and more forceful paths to the negotiating tables were adopted. In response to this changing emphasis, the prevailing powers deployed an

Therefore, while being informed by the stark realities of Bloody Sunday and the lack of accountability for the disaster, it is the intention of this essay to demonstrate the importance of this awful incident in the progression of the conflict in Ireland. In order to achieve the task at hand, the paper will first need to impart an understanding of what life was like at the beginning of the nineteen-seventies for marginalised Catholics in Northern Ireland. Once this impression has been delivered the paper will briefly examine the dynamics of that faithful day and the immediate aftermath. The paper will essentially examine how the fallout from Bloody Sunday shaped the evolution of the conflict in

In effect the entire Provence was teetering on the edge of a precipice never yet experienced. As a consequence of punitive sectarian overtones and the internment without trial of thousands of Catholics for an unspecified period of time, violence and rioting was understandably never far from the stage. As the ferocity escalated from 18 people killed in 1969, to 26 in 1970 and 186 in 1971, the Provence was beginning to buckle. Nevertheless, despite the fragility of the situation and the circular threat of intimidation, violence and reprisals, a stoic and peaceful citizen’s rights movement bravely emerged. The main aim of the Northern Ireland Citizens Rights Association (NICRA) was to peacefully effect change through democratic means and achieve equality of opportunity for all sections of society in Northern Ireland. Fundamentally, however, the prominence of the NICRA was to be atomised in the wake of Bloody Sunday and extremist avenues to change were to become the norm. Furthermore, it is probably safe to say that the situation in many parts of Ulster was so volatile during this period, that if the atrocity of Bloody Sunday had not tipped the delicate balance of sensibilities, then undoubtedly there would have emerged some other incident capable of igniting the tinder box which constituted Northern Ireland in