In the 1970s and 1980s, a group in favour of Northern Ireland joining the Republic started bombings and tried to remove British troops and British rule in Northern Ireland. This group was called the Provisional IRA. Many people were killed or maimed in the bomb blasts. Other groups like the Ulster Defence Force (UDA) fought the IRA and the nationalist population. These groups carried out terrible shootings and killings. People were murdered just because they were from a certain religious group. These killings are called sectarian killings. Other people were murdered because they were members of the RUC police force, or in the British army, or just because they worked for the security forces.
Bloody Sunday 1972
1972 Irish Independent, 31st January
31st January 1972: Bloody Sunday in Derry, thirteen demonstrators were shot dead.
Irish Independent1972 Irish Independent, 31st January
Irish Independent
Irish Independent
1972 Irish Independent, 31st January
31st January 1972: Bloody Sunday in Derry, thirteen demonstrators were shot dead.
Irish Independent
On Sunday, the 30th of January 1972, British troops fired on protesters in Derry, in an area called the Bogside. This day became known as Bloody Sunday. Twenty-seven civil rights marchers were shot and thirteen died. Many of these victims were teenagers caught up in the civil rights rally. The army reported that they had shot at protesters who were armed, however witnesses later gave evidence to say that those who were shot were unarmed. Bloody Sunday was an event which caused terrible suffering and sadness amongst those who lost loved ones. It also led to an increase in violence as people attacked the army and committed revenge killings.
Following Bloody Sunday in 1972, the British Government took power away from the Northern Ireland Government and began to rule the North directly from London. This was called direct rule.
The year 1972 was the worst year of the troubles in Northern Ireland. In that year, 470 people were killed and there were almost 2,000 bombings. People began to think that war in the North of Ireland would never end.