Free Derry

Free Derry (lga|Saor Doire|no_translate=yes) was a self-declared autonomous nationalist area of Derry, Northern Ireland, between 1969 and 1972. Its name was taken from a sign painted on a gable wall in the Bogside in January 1969 which read, “You are now entering Free Derry". The area, which included the Bogside and Creggan neighbourhoods, was secured by community activists for the first time on 5 January 1969 following an incursion into the Bogside by members of the police force, the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC). Residents built barricades and carried clubs and similar arms to prevent the RUC from entering. After six days the residents took down the barricades and police patrols resumed, but tensions remained high over the following months.

Violence reached a peak on 12 August 1969, culminating in the Battle of the Bogside—a three day pitched battle between residents and police. On 14 August units of the British Army were deployed at the edge of the Bogside and the police were withdrawn. The Derry Citizens Defence Association (DCDA) declared their intention to hold the area against both the police and the army until their demands were met. The army made no attempt to enter the area. The situation continued until October 1969 when, following publication of the Hunt Report, military police were allowed in.

The Irish Republican Army (IRA) began to re-arm and recruit after August 1969. In January 1970 it split into the Official IRA and the Provisional IRA. Both were supported by the people of the Free Derry area. Meanwhile, relations between the British Army and the nationalist community, which were initially good, deteriorated. In July 1971 there was a surge of recruitment into the IRA after two young men were shot and killed by troops. The government introduced internment on 9 August 1971, and in response, barricades went up once more in the Bogside and Creggan. This time, Free Derry was a no-go area, defended by armed members of both the Official and Provisional IRA. From within the area they mounted gun attacks on the army, and the Provisionals began a bombing campaign in the city centre. As before, unarmed 'auxiliaries' manned the barricades, and crime was dealt with by a voluntary body known as the Free Derry Police.

Support for the IRA increased further after Bloody Sunday in January 1972, when thirteen people were shot dead by British troops at a march in the Bogside. The support began to wane after the killing by the Official IRA of a local youth who was home on leave from the British Army. After a Provisional IRA ceasefire, during which it entered talks with the British Government, broke down, the British took the decision to move against the "no-go" areas. Free Derry came to an end on 31 July 1972, when thousands of troops moved in with armoured cars and bulldozers to occupy the area.

Background

Derry City lies on the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. It has always had a majority nationalist population. Until the 1960s, however, the Ulster Unionist Party had a majority on the local council, Londonderry Corporation. The Unionists maintained their majority, firstly, by manipulating the constituency boundaries (gerrymandering) so that the South Ward, with a nationalist majority, returned eight councillors while the much smaller North Ward and Waterside Ward, with unionist majorities, returned twelve councillors between them; secondly, by allowing only ratepayers to vote in local elections (as opposed to one man, one vote) so that a higher number of nationalists, who did not own homes, were disenfranchised; and thirdly, by denying houses to nationalists outside the South Ward constituency. The result was that there were far more nationalist families (about 2,000) than unionists (practically none) on the housing waiting list, and that housing in the nationalist area was crowded and of a very poor condition. [ [http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/events/crights/pdfs/csj84.pdf The Campaign for Social Justice in Northern Ireland, "Londonderry: One man, no vote" 19 February 1965 (CAIN)] ] The South Ward comprised the Bogside, Brandywell, Creggan, Bishop Street and Foyle Road, and it was this area that would become Free Derry. [ [http://www.museumoffreederry.org/introduction.html Museum of Free Derry website] ]

The Derry Housing Action Committee (DHAC) was formed in March 1968 by members of the Derry Branch of the Northern Ireland Labour Party and the James Connolly Republican Club, [McCann, Eamonn, "War and an Irish Town", p. 27] including Eamonn McCann and Eamon Melaugh. It disrupted a meeting of Londonderry Corporation in March 1968 and again in May, blocked traffic by placing a caravan that was home to a family of four in the middle of the Lecky Road in the Bogside, and staged a sit-down protest at the opening of the second deck of the Craigavon Bridge. [http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/events/derry/chron.htm The Derry March - Chronology of Events Surrounding the March (CAIN)] ] After the meeting of Londonderry Corporation was again disrupted in August, Eamon Melaugh telephoned the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA) and invited them to hold a march in Derry. The date chosen was 5 October 1968, an adhoc committee was formed (although in the event most of the organizing was done by McCann and Melaugh) and the route was to take the marchers inside the city walls, where nationalists were traditionally not permitted to march. [McCann, Eamonn, "War and an Irish Town", p. 37] The Minister of Home Affairs, William Craig, made an order on 3 October prohibiting the march on the grounds that the Apprentice Boys of Derry were intending to hold a march on the same day (according to Martin Melaugh of CAIN "this particular tactic...provided the excuse needed to ban the march"). When the marchers attempted to defy the ban on 5 October they were stopped by a police (Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC)) cordon. The police drew their batons and struck marchers, including Stormont MP Eddie McAteer and Westminster MP Gerry Fitt. [Lord Cameron, "Disturbances in Northern Ireland", chapter 4, paragraph 49] Subsequently the police "broke ranks and used their batons indiscriminately on people in Duke Street". Marchers trying to escape met another party of police and "these police also used their batons indiscriminately." [Lord Cameron, "Disturbances in Northern Ireland", chapter 4, paragraph 51] Water cannons were also used. The police action caused outrage in the nationalist area of Derry, and at a meeting four days later the Derry Citizens' Action Committee (DCAC) was formed, with John Hume as chairman and Ivan Cooper as vice-chairman. [McCann, Eamonn, "War and an Irish Town", p. 45]

The first barricades

Another group formed as a result of the events of 5 October was People's Democracy, a group of students in Queen's University Belfast. They organised a march from Belfast to Derry in support of civil rights, starting out with about forty young people on 1 January 1969.Bowes Egan and Vincent McCormack, "Burntollet" (1969) ISBN 0-95014-510-6 ( [http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/events/pdmarch/egan.htm CAIN Web Service] )] The march met with violent opposition from loyalist counter-demonstrators at several points along the route. Finally, at Burntollet Bridge, five miles outside Derry, they were attacked by a mob of about two hundred wielding clubs—some of them studded with nails—and stones. Half of the attackers were later identified from press photographs as members of the B-Specials. The police, who were at the scene, chatted to the B-Specials as they prepared their ambush, and were then unable to protect the marchers, many of whom ran into the river and were pelted with stones from the bank. [The Sunday Times Insight Team, "Ulster", Penguin, 1972, pp. 66-67] Dozens of marchers were taken to hospital. The remainder continued on to Derry where they were attacked once more on their way to Craigavon Bridge before they finally reached Guildhall Square, where they held a rally. Rioting broke out after the rally. Police drove rioters into the Bogside, but did not come after them. In the early hours of the following morning, 5 January, members of the RUC charged into St. Columb's Wells and Lecky Road in the Bogside, breaking windows and beating residents.1,500 arm to defend their area, "Irish Times", 6 January 1969] In his report on the disturbances, Lord Cameron remarked that "for such conduct among members of a disciplined and well-led force there can be no acceptable justification or excuse" and added that "its effect in rousing passions and inspiring hostility towards the police was regrettably great." [Lord Cameron, "Disturbances in Northern Ireland", chapter 14, paragraph 177]

That afternoon over 1,500 Bogside residents built barricades, armed themselves with steel bars, wooden clubs and hurleys, and told the police that they would not be allowed into the area. DCAC chairman John Hume told a meeting of residents that they were to defend the area and no-one was to come in. Groups of men wearing armbands patrolled the streets in shifts. John 'Caker' Casey, a local activist, painted "You are now entering Free Derry" in white paint on the gable wall of a house on the corner of Lecky Road and Fahan Street. [A photograph of an RUC investigator passing that original sign was printed in the "Irish Times" on 8 January 1969 (page 11).] That corner, which was a popular venue for meetings, later became known as "Free Derry Corner". [The houses on Lecky road and Fahan Street were subsequently demolished, but the wall was retained. It has been repainted at frequent intervals, often with additional motifs, as, for instance, when the background of the mural was temporarily painted pink in July 2007 for the Gasyard Feile and Foyle Pride Week: [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/6919655.stm "'Free Derry' is pink with pride", BBC News] ] On 7 January, the barricaded area was extended to include the Creggan, another nationalist area on a hill overlooking the Bogside. ["Irish Times", 8 January 1969] A pirate radio station calling itself "Radio Free Derry" began broadcasting to residentsAdvice given for Derry 'Revolution', "Irish Times", 11 January 1969, page 14] , playing rebel songs and encouraging resistance. [McCann, Eamonn, "War and an Irish Town", p. 56] On a small number of occasions attempting law-breakers were dealt with by the patrols. [Calmer weekend in Derry, "Irish Times", 10 January 1969] Despite all this, however, the "Irish Times" reported that "the infrastructure of revolutionary control in the area has not been developed beyond the maintenance of patrols." Following some acts of destruction and of violence late in the week, members of the DCAC including Ivan Cooper addressed residents on Friday 10 January and called on them to dismantle the barricades. The barricades were taken down the following morning. [Derry barricades to come down, "Irish Times", 11 January 1969]

April 1969

Over the next three months there were violent clashes, with local youths throwing stones at police. [McCann, Eamonn, "War and an Irish Town", p. 56] Violence came to a head on Saturday 19 April after a planned march from Burntollet Bridge to the city centre was banned. A protest in the city centre led to clashes with 'Paisleyites' (members of the unionist community in sympathy with the anti-civil rights stance of Ian Paisley). Police attempting to drive the protesters back into the Bogside were themselves driven back to their barracks. A series of pitched battles followed, and barricades were built (under the supervision of Bernadette Devlin, newly-elected MP for Mid Ulster). [Devlin,Bernadette, "The Price of my Soul", pp. 184 – 186] Police pursuing rioters broke into a house in William Street and severely beat the occupant, Samuel Devenny, his family and two friends. Devenny was brought to hospital "bleeding profusely from a number of head wounds." [Ombudsman's Report, section 3: The incident at the Devenny home ( [http://www.serve.com/pfc/policing/devenny/deven1_101001.html Pat Finucane Centre] )] At midnight four hundred RUC men in full riot gear and carrying riot shields occupied the Bogside.RUC obey Bogside ultimatum, "Irish Times", 21 April 1969] Convoys of police vehicles drove through the area with headlights blazing. [Devlin, page 187]

The following day several thousand residents, led by the DCAC, withdrew to the Creggan and issued an ultimatum to the RUC — withdraw within two hours or be driven out. With fifteen minutes of the two hours remaining, the police marched out through the Butcher's Gate, even as the residents were entering from the far side. The barricades were not maintained on this occasion, and routine patrols were not prevented.

Samuel Devenny suffered a heart attack four days after his beating. On 17 July he suffered a further heart attack and died. [Ombudsman's Report, section 5: Mr. Devenny's death] Thousands attended his funeral, and the mood was sufficiently angry that it was clear the annual Apprentice Boys' parade, scheduled for 12 August, could not take place without causing serious disturbance.

August – October 1969

The Apprentice Boys' parade is an annual celebration by unionists of the relief of the Siege of Derry in 1689, which began when thirteen young apprentice boys shut the city's gates against the army of King James. At that time the parade was held on 12 August each year. Participants from across Northern Ireland and Britain marched along the city walls above the Bogside, and were often openly hostile to the residents. [McCann, Eamonn, "War and an Irish Town", p. 21] On 30 July 1969 the Derry Citizens Defence Association (DCDA) was formed to try to preserve peace during the period of the parade, and to defend the Bogside and Creggan in the event of an attack. The chairman was Seán Keenan, an Irish Republican Army (IRA) veteran; the vice-chairman was Paddy Doherty, a popular local man sometimes known as "Paddy Bogside" and the secretary was Johnnie White, another leading republican and leader of the James Connolly Republican Club. Street committees were formed under the overall command of the DCDA and barricades were built on the night of 11 August. [McCann, Eamonn, "War and an Irish Town", pp. 58 – 59] The parade took place as planned on 12 August. As it passed through Waterloo Place, on the edge of the Bogside, hostilities began between supporters and opponents of the parade. Fighting between the two groups continued for two hours, then the police charged up William Street, followed by the 'Paisleyites'. They were met with a hail of stones and petrol bombs. The ensuing battle became known as the Battle of the Bogside. Late in the evening, having been driven back repeatedly, the police fired canisters of CS gas into the crowd. Youths on the roof of a high-rise block of flats on Rossville Street threw petrol bombs down on the police. [http://www.museumoffreederry.org/history-battle01.html Museum of Free Derry: History – Battle of the Bogside] ] Walkie-talkies were used to maintain contact between different areas of fighting and DCDA headquarters in Paddy Doherty's house in Westland Street [McCann, Eamonn, "War and an Irish Town", p. 60] , and first aid stations were operating, staffed by doctors, nurses and volunteers. Women and girls made milk-bottle crates of petrol bombs for supply to the youths in the front line [Bogside like war-devastated area, "Irish Times", 13 August 1969] and "Radio Free Derry" broadcast to the fighters and their families. On the third day of fighting, 14 August, the Northern Ireland Government mobilised the Ulster Special Constabulary (B-Specials), a force greatly feared by nationalists in Derry and elsewhere. Before they engaged, however, British troops were deployed at the scene, carrying automatic rifles and sub-machine guns. The RUC and B-Specials withdrew, and the troops took up positions outside the barricaded area.

A deputation including Eamon McCann met senior army officers and told them that the army would not be allowed in until certain demands were met, including the disarming of the RUC, the disbandment of the B-Specials and the abolition of Stormont (the Parliament and Government of Northern Ireland). The officers agreed that neither troops nor police would enter the Bogside and Creggan districts. [McCann, Eamonn, "War and an Irish Town", p. 64] A 'peace corps' was formed to maintain law and order. When the British Home Secretary, Jim Callaghan, visited Northern Ireland and announced his intention to visit the Bogside on 28 August, he was told that he would not be allowed to bring either police or soldiers with him. Callaghan agreed. [Callaghan to enter Bogside without bodyguard, "Irish Times", 28 August 1969, page 4] Accompanied by members of the Defence Committee, he was "swept along by a surging crowd of thousands" up Rossvile Street and into Lecky Road, where he "took refuge" in a local house, [McCann, Eamonn, "War and an Irish Town", p. 69] and later addressed crowds from an upstairs window. In preparation for Callaghan's visit the "Free Derry" wall was painted white and the "You are now entering Free Derry" sign was professionally re-painted in black lettering. [McCann, Eamonn, "War and an Irish Town", p. 68]

Following Callaghan's visit some barricades were breached, but the majority remained while the people awaited concrete evidence of reform. [Ó Dochartaigh, Niall, "From Civil Rights to Armalites", p. 120] Still the army made no move to enter the area. Law and order was maintained by a 'peace corps'—volunteers organised by the DCDA to patrol the streets and man the barricades. There was very little crime. Punishment, in the words of Eamonn McCann, "as often as not consisted of a stern lecture from Seán Keenan on the need for solidarity within the area." [McCann, Eamonn, "War and an Irish Town", p. 67] In September the barricades were replaced with a white line painted on the road. [Ó Dochartaigh, Niall, "From Civil Rights to Armalites", p. 121]

The Hunt Report on the future of policing in Northern Ireland was presented to the Stormont cabinet in early October. Jim Callaghan held talks with the cabinet in Belfast on 10 October following which the report's recommendations were accepted and made public. They included the recommendation that the RUC should be 'ordinarily' unarmed, and that the B-Specials should be phased out and replaced by a new force. The new RUC Chief Constable, Arthur Young, an Englishman, was announced, and travelled to Belfast with Callaghan. The same day, Seán Keenan announced that the DCDA was to be dissolved. On 11 October Callaghan and Young visited the Free Derry, and on 12 October the first military police entered the Bogside, on foot and unarmed. [McCann, Eamonn, "War and an Irish Town", p. 72]

IRA resurgence

The Irish Republican Army (IRA) had been militarily inactive since the end of the Border Campaign in 1962. It was low in both personnel and equipment—Chief of Staff Cathal Goulding told Seán Keenan and Paddy Doherty in August 1969 that he "couldn't defend the Bogside. I haven't the men nor the guns to do it." [Ó Dochartaigh, Niall, "From Civil Rights to Armalites", p. 103] During the 1960s the leadership of the Republican Movement had moved to the left. Its focus was on class struggle and its aim was to unite the nationalist and unionist working classes in order to overthrow capitalism, both British and Irish. [Mallie, Eamonn and Bishop, Patrick, "The Provisional IRA", pp. 51-54] Republican Clubs were formed in Northern Ireland, where Sinn Féin was proscribed. [Feeney, Brian, "Sinn Féin: A Hundred Turbulent Years", p. 232] These were involved in the formation of NICRA in 1967. [Feeney, Brian, "Sinn Féin: A Hundred Turbulent Years", p. 236] In Derry, the James Connolly Republican Club worked closely with Labour Party radicals, with whom they set up the Derry Housing Action Committee and Derry Unemployed Action Committee. The Derry Citizens' Defence Association was formed initially by republicans, who then invited other nationalists to join. [McCann, Eamonn, "War and an Irish Town", p. 58] Although there were tensions between the younger leaders like Johnnie White and the older, traditional republicans such as Seán Keenan, both sides saw the unrest of 1968-69 as a chance to advance republican aims, and the two shared the platform at the Easter commemoration in April 1969. [Ó Dochartaigh, Niall, "From Civil Rights to Armalites", pp. 40,42]

The events of August 1969 in Derry, and more particularly in Belfast where the IRA was unable to prevent loss of life or protect families burned out of their homes, brought to a head the divisions that had already appeared within the movement between the radicals and the traditionalists and led to a split in January 1970 into the Official IRA and the Provisional IRA. [Bowyer Bell, "The Secret Army", pp. 366-367] Initially, both armies organised for defensive purposes only, although the Provisionals were planning towards an offensive campaign. [Ó Dochartaigh, Niall, "From Civil Rights to Armalites", p. 163] In Derry there was far less hostility between the two organisations than elsewhere. Householders commonly paid subscriptions to both. [McCann, Eamonn, "War and an Irish Town", p. 96] When rioters were arrested after the Official's Easter parade in March 1970, Officials and Provisionals picketed their trial together. [Ó Dochartaigh, Niall, "From Civil Rights to Armalites", p. 172] At the start the Officials attracted most of the younger members. [McCann, Eamonn, "War and an Irish Town", p. 74] Martin McGuinness, who in August 1969 was a young stone-thrower, initially joined the Officials, but a few months later left to join the Provisionals. [Mallie, Eamonn and Bishop, Patrick, "The Provisional IRA", pp. 144, 155]

Relations between the army and the residents had steadily decayed since the first appearance of troops in August 1969. In September, after clashes between nationalist and unionist crowds that led to the death of a Protestant man, William King, the army erected a 'peace ring' to enclose the nationalist population in the area they had previously controlled. Roads into the city centre were closed at night and people were prevented from walking on certain streets. [Ó Dochartaigh, Niall, "From Civil Rights to Armalites", pp. 136-7] Although some moderate nationalists accepted this as necessary, there was anger among young people. Clashes between youths and troops became more frequent. The riot following the Official Republican Easter parade in March 1970 marked the first time that the army used 'snatch squads', who rushed into the Bogside wielding batons to make arrests. [Ó Dochartaigh, Niall, "From Civil Rights to Armalites", p. 151] The snatch squads soon became a common feature of army arrest operations. There was also a belief that they were arresting people at random, sometimes days after the alleged offence, and based on the identification of people that they had seen from a considerable distance. [McCann, Eamonn, "War and an Irish Town", pp. 81-2] The rioters were condemned as hooligans by moderates, who saw the riots as hampering attempts to resolve the situation. The Labour radicals and Official Republicans, still working together, tried to turn the youth away from rioting and create a socialist organization (one such organization was named the 'Young Hooligans Association) but to no avail. [McCann, Eamonn, "War and an Irish Town", p. 84] The Provisionals, while disapproving of riots, viewed them as the inevitable consequence of British 'occupation' of Ireland. [Ó Dochartaigh, Niall, "From Civil Rights to Armalites", p. 155] This philosophy was more attractive to rioters, and some of them joined the Provisional IRA. The deaths of two leading Provisionals in a premature explosion in June 1970 resulted in young militants becoming more prominent in the organization. Nevertheless, up to July 1971 the Provisional IRA remained numerically small. [Ó Dochartaigh, Niall, "From Civil Rights to Armalites", p. 179]

Two men, Séamas Cusack and Desmond Beattie, were shot dead in separate incidents in the early morning and afternoon of 8 July 1971. They were the first people to be killed by the army in Derry. In both cases the army claimed that the men were attacking them with guns or bombs, while eye-witnesses insisted that both were unarmed. The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), the newly-formed party of which John Hume and Ivan Cooper were leading members, withdrew from Stormont in protest, but among the residents there was a perception that 'moderate' policies had failed. The result was a surge of support for the IRA. The Provisionals held a meeting the following Sunday at which they called on people to "join the IRA". Following the meeting people queued up to join [McCann, Eamonn, "War and an Irish Town", pp. 89-90] There was large-scale rioting. The army post at Bligh's Lane came under sustained attack, and troops there and around the city came under fire from the IRA. [Ó Dochartaigh, Niall, "From Civil Rights to Armalites", p. 233]

Internment and the third Free Derry

The deteriorating military situation in Derry and elsewhere led to increasing speculation that internment without trial would be introduced in northern Ireland, and on 9 August 1971 hundreds of republicans and nationalists were lifted in dawn raids. In Derry, residents came out onto the streets to resist the arrests, and fewer people were taken there than elsewhere; nevertheless leading figures including Seán Keenan and Johnnie White were interned. [McCann, Eamonn, "War and an Irish Town", p. 92] In response barricades were erected once again and the third Free Derry came into existence.Ó Dochartaigh, Niall, "From Civil Rights to Armalites", p. 236] Unlike its predecessors, this Free Derry was marked by a strong IRA presence, both Official and Provisional. It was defended by armed paramilitaries—a no-go area, one in which British security forces were unable to operate.

Gun attacks on the army increased. Six soldiers were wounded in the first day after internment, and shortly afterwards a soldier was killed—the first to be killed by either IRA in Derry. The army moved in in force on 18 August to dismantle the barricades. A gun battle ensued in which a young Provisional IRA officer, Eamonn Lafferty, was killed. A crowd staging a sit-down protest was hosed down and the protestors, including John Hume and Ivan Cooper, arrested. With barricades re-appearing as quickly as they were removed, the army eventually abandoned their attempt.

The Derry Provisionals had little contact with the IRA elsewhere. They had few weapons (about twenty) which they used mainly for sniping. [Bishop, Patrick, and Mallie, Eamonn, "The Provisional IRA" pp.196-7] At the same time, they launched their bombing campaign in Derry. Unlike Belfast, however, they were careful to avoid killing or injuring innocent people. Eamonn McCann wrote that "the Derry Provos, under Martin McGuinness, had managed to bomb the city centre until it looked as if it had been hit from the air without causing any civilian casualties." [McCann, Eamonn, "War and an Irish Town" p. 106]

Although both IRAs operated openly, neither was in control of Free Derry. The barricades were manned by unarmed 'auxiliaries'. [Ó Dochartaigh, Niall, "From Civil Rights to Armalites" p. 243] Crime was dealt with by the Free Derry Police, which was headed by Tony O'Doherty, a Derry footballer and Northern Ireland International. [McCann, Eamonn, "War and an Irish Town" p. 100]

Bloody Sunday

An anti-internment protest organised by the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA) at Magilligan Camp in January 1972 was met with violence from the 1st Battalion, The Parachute Regiment (1 Para). [Bishop, Patrick, and Mallie, Eamonn, "The Provisional IRA" p. 207] NICRA had organised a march from the Creggan to Derry city centre, in defiance of a ban, on the following Sunday, 30 January 1972. Both IRA's were asked, and agreed, to suspend operations on that day to ensure the march passed off peacefully. [Ó Dochartaigh, Niall, "From Civil Rights to Armalites" pp. 279-280] The army erected barricades around the Free Derry area to prevent marchers from reaching the city centre. On the day, march organisers turned the march away from the barriers and up to Free Derry Corner, but some youths proceeded to the barrier at William Street and stoned soldiers. Troops from "1 Para" then moved into Free Derry and opened fire, killing thirteen people, all of whom were subsequently found to be unarmed. [Bishop, Patrick, and Mallie, Eamonn, "The Provisional IRA" pp. 107-8] A fourteenth shooting victim died four months later in June 1972. [ [http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/events/bsunday/circum.htm 'Bloody Sunday', Derry 30 January 1972 - Circumstances in Which People were Killed] , CAIN] Like the killing of Cusack and Beattie the previous year, Bloody Sunday had the effect of hugely increasing recruitment to the IRA, even among people who previously would have been 'moderates'. [ Ó Dochartaigh, Niall, "From Civil Rights to Armalites" p. 247]

February - July 1972

Both Provisional and Official IRA stepped up attacks after Bloody Sunday, with the tacit if not the active support of the residents. [Ó Dochartaigh, Niall, "From Civil Rights to Armalites" pp. 247-8] Local feelings changed, however, with the killing of Ranger William Best by the Official IRA. Best was a 19-year-old local man who was home on leave from the British Army at his parents' house in the Creggan. He was abducted, interrogated and shot. The following day 500 women marched to the Republican Club offices in protest. [Bishop, Patrick, and Mallie, Eamonn, "The Provisional IRA" p. 199] Nine days later, on 29 May, the Official IRA declared a ceasefire. The Provisional IRA initially stated that they would not follow suit, but after informal approaches to the British Government they announced a ceasefire from 26 June. Martin McGuinness was the Derry representative in a party of senior Provisionals who travelled to London for talks with William Whitelaw, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. [Bishop, Patrick, and Mallie, Eamonn, "The Provisional IRA" p. 226] The talks were not resumed after the ending of the truce following a violent confrontation in Belfast when troops prevented Catholic families from taking over houses in the Lenadoon estate. [Bell, J. Bowyer, "The Secret Army: The IRA, p. 391]

Political pressure for the action against the "no-go" areas increased after the events of Bloody Friday in Belfast. An army attack was considered inevitable, and the IRA took the decision not to resist it. [McCann, Eamonn, "War and an Irish Town" p. 114] On 31 July 1972, Operation Motorman was launched when thousands of British troops, equipped with tanks, armoured cars and armoured bulldozers, dismantled the barricades and occupied the area.

References

Bibliography

*Devlin,Bernadette, "The Price of my Soul", 1st edition, 1969
*Lord Cameron, "Disturbances in Northern Ireland", HMSO, 1969 ( [http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/hmso/cameron.htm CAIN Web Service] )
*McCann, Eamonn, "War and an Irish Town", 2nd edition, 1980, ISBN 0-86104-302-2
*Ó Dochartaigh, Niall, "From Civil Rights to Armalites: Derry and the Birth of the Irish Troubles", Palgrave MacMillan, 2005, ISBN 1 4039 4431 8
*Report of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland into a complaint made by the Devenny family on 20 April 2001 ( [http://www.serve.com/pfc/policing/devenny/deven1_101001.html The Pat Finucane Centre] )

External links

* Bloody Sunday Trust, [http://www.bloodysundaytrust.org/edubattle.htm The Battle of the Bogside]