Barry McColgan
Dermot Crowley Ógra Shinn Féin
West Tyrone
Widgery is dead; the Saville inquiry, brought about by the resolute campaigning of the families has ensured that it has been resigned to the dustbin of history.
The families of the victims can feel very proud of themselves knowing that their unwavering campaigning brought the British Government to a point were they have had to apologise and shine the light of truth on the events of Bloody Sunday, exonerating the victims and proclaiming their innocence.
(Kay Duddy, of Bloody Sunday Families celebrates release of Saville Inquiry)
(Barry McColgan, Ógra Shinn Féin speaking alongside John Kelly of the Bloody Sunday Families in London, February 07)
Dermot Crowley Ógra Shinn Féin
West Tyrone
Widgery is dead; the Saville inquiry, brought about by the resolute campaigning of the families has ensured that it has been resigned to the dustbin of history.
The families of the victims can feel very proud of themselves knowing that their unwavering campaigning brought the British Government to a point were they have had to apologise and shine the light of truth on the events of Bloody Sunday, exonerating the victims and proclaiming their innocence.
(Kay Duddy, of Bloody Sunday Families celebrates release of Saville Inquiry)The 30th January 1972 is a date forever and brutally etched into the minds of the people of Derry.
Bloody Sunday would come to represent all that is wrong with the British occupation in Ireland, a willingness to suppress those who dared rise up in the name of democracy, a brutal desire to shoot the people down in full view of the watching world, and to blatantly and shamelessly lie and cover up the state murder of innocent civilians.
Fast-forward almost 40 years, and it's very clear that Israel have been taking very precise lessons from the Brits in their most recent slaughter of humanitarian workers.
Bloody Sunday was another reminder of Britain's bloodied and illegimate occupation of Ireland, and a throwback to another Bloody Sunday, when the Black and Tans butchered innocent civilians, indiscrimately firing into the stands of Dublin's Croke Park.
The massacre in Derry shone a spotlight on the gerrymandering and degradation of the nationalist and republican people in the north, and was the beginning of huge outpourings of organised solidarity across the world.
There was massive anger across Ireland and the world, the British Embassy was rightfully burned to the ground in Dublin, marches sprung up across the globe, and many famous people joined in their condemnation, Teddy Kennedy lambasted the Brits, and John Lennon penned and sung the famous 'Bloody Sunday' song.
Even the clergy joined in solidarity with the victims and families, retired bishop of Derry Edward Daly, who administered last rights to victims on the day, speaking as recent as yesterday said,
"I felt a responsibility to tell the story of what I saw and what I saw was a young fellow who was posing no threat to anybody being shot dead unjustifiably."
Closer to Derry, and across Ireland, young people were outraged by the murder, cover up and lies. Many from a generation already radicalised by the pogroms and the civil rights movement, joined the Irish Republican Army.
Bloody Sunday demonstrated to many that the British Government were not interested in listening to the demands of peaceful demonstrators, and were only too willing to murder and injure civil rights protesters with impunity.
While the actions of the British Paratroop Regiment was intended too suppress the people, to divide, and scare them into hiding, it had the opposite effect.
Over the next 38 years, the nationalist and republican people of the north got of their knees, resisted and organised against the oppression and inequality and transformed the northern state, of constant inspiration in all of this have been the innocent men murdered on the streets of Derry.
Bloody Sunday would come to represent all that is wrong with the British occupation in Ireland, a willingness to suppress those who dared rise up in the name of democracy, a brutal desire to shoot the people down in full view of the watching world, and to blatantly and shamelessly lie and cover up the state murder of innocent civilians.
Fast-forward almost 40 years, and it's very clear that Israel have been taking very precise lessons from the Brits in their most recent slaughter of humanitarian workers.
Bloody Sunday was another reminder of Britain's bloodied and illegimate occupation of Ireland, and a throwback to another Bloody Sunday, when the Black and Tans butchered innocent civilians, indiscrimately firing into the stands of Dublin's Croke Park.
The massacre in Derry shone a spotlight on the gerrymandering and degradation of the nationalist and republican people in the north, and was the beginning of huge outpourings of organised solidarity across the world.
There was massive anger across Ireland and the world, the British Embassy was rightfully burned to the ground in Dublin, marches sprung up across the globe, and many famous people joined in their condemnation, Teddy Kennedy lambasted the Brits, and John Lennon penned and sung the famous 'Bloody Sunday' song.
Even the clergy joined in solidarity with the victims and families, retired bishop of Derry Edward Daly, who administered last rights to victims on the day, speaking as recent as yesterday said,
"I felt a responsibility to tell the story of what I saw and what I saw was a young fellow who was posing no threat to anybody being shot dead unjustifiably."
Closer to Derry, and across Ireland, young people were outraged by the murder, cover up and lies. Many from a generation already radicalised by the pogroms and the civil rights movement, joined the Irish Republican Army.
Bloody Sunday demonstrated to many that the British Government were not interested in listening to the demands of peaceful demonstrators, and were only too willing to murder and injure civil rights protesters with impunity.
While the actions of the British Paratroop Regiment was intended too suppress the people, to divide, and scare them into hiding, it had the opposite effect.
Over the next 38 years, the nationalist and republican people of the north got of their knees, resisted and organised against the oppression and inequality and transformed the northern state, of constant inspiration in all of this have been the innocent men murdered on the streets of Derry.
(Barry McColgan, Ógra Shinn Féin speaking alongside John Kelly of the Bloody Sunday Families in London, February 07)I was born in Omagh, County Tyrone in 1984, some 12 years after the massacre.
Despite being born so long after Bloody Sunday, I grew up with the images and the stories of that day surrounding me. It always triggered a deep feeling of anger and disgust, yet also immense sorrow for the victims and their families.
I attended the annual march as a boy and in more recent times, Ógra Shinn Féin have brought young republicans from across Ireland for the entire weekend of the march to provide, education, debate and discussion around the events of Bloody Sunday, of truth and justice and international events around the world with similarities to the
state murder on that day.
From initial limited knowledge and understanding of Bloody Sunday, the engagements with the families and truth campaigners have deepened and developed our understanding, and shown us the true extent to the cover up. If anything the more I learnt, the more I was angered.
The murder of the 14 innocent men on that fateful day in January 1972 should not have happened; all their lives were unnecessarily cut short because of the directed and calculated actions of foreign and illegal occupying soldiers.
The families have done their loved ones proud, they have campaigned tirelessly for truth and justice, they have kept their memory alive, they have given hope to thousands upon thousands of victims of oppression and brutality across the world and they have never ever given up and have carried the campaign to were it is today, they have declared to the world their relatives and the people of Derry's innocence.
Despite being born so long after Bloody Sunday, I grew up with the images and the stories of that day surrounding me. It always triggered a deep feeling of anger and disgust, yet also immense sorrow for the victims and their families.
I attended the annual march as a boy and in more recent times, Ógra Shinn Féin have brought young republicans from across Ireland for the entire weekend of the march to provide, education, debate and discussion around the events of Bloody Sunday, of truth and justice and international events around the world with similarities to the
state murder on that day.
From initial limited knowledge and understanding of Bloody Sunday, the engagements with the families and truth campaigners have deepened and developed our understanding, and shown us the true extent to the cover up. If anything the more I learnt, the more I was angered.
The murder of the 14 innocent men on that fateful day in January 1972 should not have happened; all their lives were unnecessarily cut short because of the directed and calculated actions of foreign and illegal occupying soldiers.
The families have done their loved ones proud, they have campaigned tirelessly for truth and justice, they have kept their memory alive, they have given hope to thousands upon thousands of victims of oppression and brutality across the world and they have never ever given up and have carried the campaign to were it is today, they have declared to the world their relatives and the people of Derry's innocence.
(Ógra Shinn Féin marching in Bloody Sunday March, January 2009)
When I think of the extremely arduous, at many times torturous journey the families have been on, and their unyielding drive, I am reminded of the words of another young man, deeply politicised and affected by the events of Bloody Sunday, Bobby Sands,
”'Never give up'. No matter how bad, how black, how painful, how heart-breaking, 'Never give up', 'Never despair', 'Never lose hope'. Let them bastards laugh at you all they want, let them grin and jibe, allow them to persist in their humiliation, brutality, deprivations, vindictiveness, petty harassments, let them laugh now, because all of that is no longer important or worth a response.”
At this momentous yet emotive time, our thoughts are with the families of the Bloody Sunday victims. You have our ongoing support and solidarity.
1 comment:
Good clear, concise and to the point article. More of these should be penned by other young people around important issues like Bloody Sunday at apt times like this. G
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