# Canonical recap data for Bloody Sunday in Northern Ireland (1972)
# Source: https://recap.at/1972/bloody-sunday-1972
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: bloody-sunday-1972
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1972/bloody-sunday-1972"
title: Bloody Sunday in Northern Ireland
aliases:
- Bogside Massacre
- 30 January 1972
- Derry massacre
subtitle: British troops fired on civil rights marchers in Derry, killing 14 civilians and becoming a pivotal moment in the Troubles.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1972-01-30
datePrecision: day
year: 1972
decade: 1970
country:
name: United Kingdom
slug: united-kingdom
summaryShort: Bloody Sunday, or the Bogside Massacre, occurred on 30 January 1972 when British soldiers shot 26 unarmed civilians during a protest march in the Bogside area of Derry, Northern Ireland. Thirteen men were killed outright, and the death of another man four months later has been attributed to his gunshot injuries. Many o
summaryLong: Bloody Sunday, or the Bogside Massacre, occurred on 30 January 1972 when British soldiers shot 26 unarmed civilians during a protest march in the Bogside area of Derry, Northern Ireland. Thirteen men were killed outright, and the death of another man four months later has been attributed to his gunshot injuries. Many of the victims were shot while fleeing from the soldiers and some were shot while trying to help the wounded. All of those shot were Catholics. The march had been organised by the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA) to protest against internment without trial. The soldiers were from the 1st Battalion of the Parachute Regiment, the same battalion implicated in the Ballymurphy massacre several months earlier.
lede: On 30 January 1972, British Army paratroopers opened fire on unarmed civil rights marchers in Derry, Northern Ireland, killing 13 people and wounding dozens more. The massacre, which took place during escalating sectarian tensions, became a watershed moment that hardened Irish republican opposition to British rule and fueled decades of violence in the conflict known as the Troubles.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/28/Edward_Daly_Bloody_Sunday.jpg"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Bloody Sunday (1972)"
importance: 82
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Deaths
  value: 13 killed outright; 1 additional death in 1972 from injuries sustained
- label: Wounded
  value: 13-17 people injured
- label: Unit involved
  value: 1st Battalion, Parachute Regiment, British Army
- label: Location
  value: Bogside area, Derry (Londonderry), Northern Ireland
- label: Event type
  value: Civil rights march against internment
- label: Rounds fired
  value: Approximately 108 rounds by paratroopers in 25 minutes
- label: Official inquiry conclusion
  value: Saville Inquiry (2010) found soldiers acted unjustifiably
timeline:
- date: 1971-08-09
  title: Internment without trial introduced
  description: British authorities begin mass arrests of suspected IRA members in Northern Ireland, igniting nationalist anger and accelerating recruitment into armed groups.
- date: 1972-01-30
  title: Paratroopers open fire on marchers
  description: 1st Battalion Parachute Regiment fires on approximately 3,000 civil rights protesters marching against internment in the Bogside. Thirteen die at the scene; another man, Jackie Duddy, dies of wounds in July 1972.
- date: 1972-02-02
  title: Irish Embassy in London burned
  description: Furious crowds in Dublin burn the British Embassy following Bloody Sunday, marking the first major spillover of violence into the Republic of Ireland.
- date: 1972-02-03
  title: IRA recruitment surge begins
  description: Membership applications to the IRA spike dramatically across Ireland in the days following the massacre, with former civil rights activists turning to armed struggle.
- date: 1972-03-24
  title: Widgery Report published
  description: Official inquiry by Lord Chief Justice John Widgery largely clears paratroopers, claiming soldiers fired in self-defense. The report is widely rejected by nationalists as a whitewash.
- date: 1998-01-29
  title: Saville Inquiry announced
  description: British Prime Minister Tony Blair announces a new public inquiry, led by Lord Saville, to re-examine the evidence and provide fresh conclusions.
- date: 2010-06-15
  title: Saville Report released
  description: The 5,000-page Saville Inquiry concludes that soldiers had no justification to open fire, that none of the dead fired weapons, and that the killings were unjustified. Prime Minister David Cameron apologizes on behalf of the British state.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_Sunday_(1972)"
  title: Bloody Sunday (Northern Ireland 1972)
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: Bloody Sunday transformed public opinion in Ireland and the broader nationalist community, shifting the conflict from civil rights activism toward armed insurgency. It vindicated the IRA's argument that peaceful protest was futile, accelerated recruitment, and became the emotional anchor for republican violence throughout the Troubles. The event's legitimacy remained contested until the Saville Inquiry finally exonerated the victims in 2010.
categories:
- war
- protest
metaDescription: British paratroopers shot 13 unarmed civilians in Derry on 30 January 1972, igniting decades of violence in Northern Ireland.
wikidataQid: Q190819
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260605044041/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_Sunday_%281972%29"
  capturedAt: 2026-06-05
  label: Bloody Sunday (Northern Ireland 1972)
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_Sunday_(1972)"
taxonomy:
domain: military
eventTypes:
- terrorist_attack
- insurgency
canonicalClasses:
- conflict
- mobilization
impactRadius: national
velocity: sudden
predictability: black_swan
intentionality: planned
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: conflict
peoplesVoice:
- source: Lord Widgery, Lord Chief Justice of England
  voiceType: official
  context: Widgery led the inquiry into Bloody Sunday, delivering his report in April 1972, which largely exonerated the soldiers.
  excerpt: The soldiers fired in self-defence and in the reasonable belief that they were under attack. On the evidence available to me, the firing was not unjustified.
  sentimentLabel: dismissive
  significance: 85
  attribution: Widgery Report, April 1972
  publishedAt: 1972-04-19
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Ivan Cooper, civil rights activist and witness
  voiceType: consumer
  context: Cooper marched in the protest and witnessed the shootings firsthand, giving immediate testimony to media.
  excerpt: I saw boys being shot down in cold blood. There was no provocation. The army came in and opened fire on unarmed people - it was an execution.
  sentimentLabel: shocked
  significance: 88
  attribution: BBC News and Irish media interviews, 30 January 1972
  publishedAt: 1972-01-30
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Edward Heath, UK Prime Minister
  voiceType: official
  context: Heath addressed Parliament two days after Bloody Sunday amid intense pressure from Irish and British MPs.
  excerpt: Those responsible for yesterday's tragic events will be investigated thoroughly. The government is committed to the rule of law and order in Northern Ireland.
  sentimentLabel: dismissive
  significance: 82
  attribution: House of Commons statement, 1 February 1972
  publishedAt: 1972-02-01
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Dr. Ray McLaughlin, pathologist and medical expert
  voiceType: expert
  context: McLaughlin examined victims and provided forensic evidence at inquests held in the weeks following the shootings.
  excerpt: The trajectories and wound patterns are consistent with rapid automatic fire from elevated positions. These were not warning shots.
  sentimentLabel: shocked
  significance: 72
  attribution: Coroner's court testimony and medical reports, February 1972
  publishedAt: 1972-02-15
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Kevin McCorry, Irish Times journalist
  voiceType: media
  context: McCorry reported from Derry in the immediate aftermath and documented accounts from residents and families.
  excerpt: Bogside residents describe a scene of chaos and terror. Soldiers fired into a crowd of marchers with no visible threat. Thirteen dead, dozens wounded.
  sentimentLabel: grieving
  significance: 80
  attribution: Irish Times front page, 31 January 1972
  publishedAt: 1972-01-31
  originalLanguage: en
