Sunday Bloody Sunday by U2

FACTS

"Sunday Bloody Sunday" appeared in U2’s 1983 album War. It’s an overtly political song describing the events that happened in the Northern Ireland city of Derry on the 30^th of January, 1972 when British troops shot and killed unarmed people taking part in a civil rights march. This day was called the Bloody Sunday.

Video with lyrics:

1972 BLOODY SUNDAY

In this well-known picture we can see Father Edward Daly waving a blood-stained handkerchief while trying to escort a mortally wounded marcher.

The incident was the most significant episode of the Troubles, the name the British government used to refer to the armed confrontation taking place between Catholics and Unionists in Northern Ireland.

The march was a way to protest against interment, which was a mass arrest without trial of people suspected of being involved with the IRA.

On that day 13 people were killed, one more person died 4 months later on account of the injuries received during the attack of the army.

The Saville Inquiry was established in 1998 to reinvestigate the incident. After a 12-year investigation, a report was made public in 2010 concluding that all those shot were unarmed and that none were posing a serious threat. British Prime Minister David Cameron made a formal apology on behalf of the United Kingdom.

The episode served to increase Catholic and Unionist violent confrontations and IRA’s terrorist attacks.

“TONIGHT WE CAN BE AS ONE”

From 1^st January 1801 until 6^th December 1922 Ireland was part of the UK.

Towards the end of the XIX century the Irish tried to achieve Home Rule, a kind of Irish autonomy without leaving the UK. This initiative was strongly opposed by the Unionists who were particularly influential in The Ulster region.

In 1916 the Easter Rising took place. This was an attempt to win independence. The organizers seized key locations in Dublin but the rising lasted only seven days being its leaders court-martialled and executed.

After the General Election of 1919, the parliament members belonging to Sinn Féin set up an Irish Parliament and declared an Irish Republic. A War of Independence followed, whose result was the creation of the Irish Free State and the partition of Ireland, as the six counties of The Ulster remained part of the UK.

As a consequence of the strong opposition between anti-treaty and pro-treaty forces, a Civil War broke out. The British supplies led to the defeat of the anti-treaty supporters led by Eamon de Valera.

Years later, de Valera won the elections and drew up a new constitution. In 1949, the Republic of Ireland was created, a “really” free state at last.

In this video you can listen to Irish Conor Cunneen summarising the history of Ireland using poetry and narration in a unique Irish way.

A Short History Of Ireland - Vikings, English, Famine, Emigration, Irish Civil War.

And Northern Ireland? In the region there have been “troubles” since the partition but these seemed to get worse in the 1970’s.

Not until 1998’s Good Friday Agreement did both parts agree to a truce and the progressive disarmament.

Among other things they agreed on the creation of the Northern Ireland Assembly, a kind of autonomous government for the region.

The following video summarises the conflict.

The Northern Ireland conflict:

And here you have an illustrative example of the effects of the conflict on the daily lives of Northern Irish.

Northern Ireland divided by walls.

Whatever next?

Nowadays, the conflict goes on but from a different perspective. Maybe it is not a question of religion or politics anymore. It is just a question of economy.

You can get some up-to-date information from this video:

Brexit and the Irish border problem.

“WHEN FACT IS FICTION AND TV REALITY”

In the song Bono sings this line. What do you think he is referring to?

Maybe the way in which the media  omitted some information at that time?

The Army’s version of the event was published on 1 February 1972 in The Guardian:

Some versions of the front page of the Daily Mirror show this subhead:

The coverage of the news in the Republic could have been different, anyway, he starts the song with the line “ I can’t believe the news today”; he could also refer to his own feeling of outrage.

“I WON’T HEED THE BATTLE CALL”

At the peak of the conflict, young people were subject to fall into the trap of active involvement in the fight.

Have a look at this anti-terrorist advert trying to persuade the Irish people to report on the activities of their fellow citizens.

Would you do that yourself? What could be the consequences?

Anti-terrorism advert:

HISTORY ON THE WALLS

If you visit the cities of Belfast and Derry and look at the walls of the buildings, you will find a visual encyclopaedia depicting the political and religious divisions of Northern Ireland. Depending on the area, Irish republican or Unionist, the varied themes reflect the most relevant events and dearest values to each community. In this video you can have a look at the history on The Ulster walls.

The Murals of Northern Ireland

MORE BLOODY SUNDAYS

The term “bloody” can be defined as: “covered with blood or characterised by cruelty”. But in informal British English, the word “bloody” is used to express anger or emphasis as in: “Bloody shit!” For instance, if you don’t like Sundays, you will say “Oh no, another bloody Sunday!” However, this is not the case.

All along history there have been more bloody Sundays, Sundays characterised by violent events derived from a confrontation between protesters and armed government forces. The most relevant being the one happening on 22^nd January 1905 in St Petersburg, Russia, which is also referred to as Red Sunday.

A crowd of demonstrators asking for the improvement of working conditions were shot by soldiers causing an unknown number of deaths and injuries. The massacre provoked a series of massive strikes and was considered a key event leading to the Revolution of 1917.

22nd January 1905: Bloody Sunday massacre in Saint Petersburg.

DEBATE

·       Why do marches and demonstrations usually take place on Sundays?

·       Taking part in a demonstration is a way to make a petition against state plans. How effective could it be?

·       Is there a more effective way to prevent a government from taking the “wrong” decisions?

·       The message of the song is summarised in the following line. Is it true that there is nothing left but losers once the war is over?

And the battle's just begun.

There's many lost, but tell me who has won?