BLOODY SUNDAY: A DERRY DIARY (TV)
Summary
This documentary, narrated by director Margo Harkin, focuses on an investigation into the Jan. 30, 1972 incident in Derry, Northern Ireland, when the British Army killed thirteen unarmed civilians who were protesting a military operation. As the film opens, Harkin tells how the wedding of James "Banty" Nash took place on the day before the massacre, in which Banty's brother, nineteen-year-old William, was among those killed and his father, Alexander, was wounded. Using archival footage, Harkin tells how she observed the protest march with a friend. She notes that two versions of the day emerged: reports from the soldiers that they had been fired upon, and Derry citizens claiming total innocence. Harkin tells how Prime Minister Edward Heath opened an investigation, after which the soldiers were quickly exonerated. Derry citizens thought the inquiry to be "a whitewash." In 1998, Prime Minister Tony Blair ordered a new inquiry, to be conducted by Lord Mark Saville. Citizens such as Banty and his brother Paddy are seen taking part in a retracing of the protesters' route from 1972. Tony Doherty, who was nine when his father Patrick was killed on Bloody Sunday, applauds Ireland's "fighting chance" to get the truth revealed. Derry journalist Eamonn McCann, who witnessed the massacre, recalls his days as a civil rights activist in the years leading up to Bloody Sunday. Damien Donaghy tells Harkin how he was the first to be shot on Bloody Sunday, though he was unarmed, and why the incident still affects him. Alana Burke recalls being wounded at the site by soldiers as an eighteen-year-old protester. Bishop Edward Daly then gives his account of paratroopers firing on unarmed citizens, referring to the actions as "deliberate murder." He tells of giving last rites to seventeen-year-old Jackie Duddy. Geraldine McBride tells of becoming hysterical when two men, Hugh Gilmour, seventeen, and Bernard McGuigan, forty-one, were shot in front of her. Derry locals object when the inquiry is moved to London, with many speculating that Saville is biased toward the British soldiers. Paddy and his sisters, Linda Roddy and Kate Nash, travel to London to attend the inquiry. The next day, they break into tears when recounting "the lies" told by General Robert Ford about Irish citizens firing on the soldiers. Later, Colonel Derek Wilford denies using "excessive force" as he testifies about Brits simply retaliating. He says he was acting on orders, though Wilford's superiors dispute the statement. McCann uses a map to contradict Wilford's account. Captain Michael Jackson, Wilford's second-in-command, tells how he drew up a "shot list" for soldiers to fire only on those with guns or bombs, which McCann also disputes. However, a British radio operator, code-named "Soldier 027," delivers an account that matches those of the Irish witnesses. Michael McKinney recalls watching as soldiers laughed and walked away after shooting his brother, twenty-seven-year-old William. Next, McCann discusses the effects of Heath's testimony, which proved damning to the British cause. Following the testimony of "Soldier F," McKinney comments on having listened to "a complete psychopath." After eleven months of testimony, the hearings return to Derry. As Harkin prepares to testify, she retraces her steps from Bloody Sunday. She recalls seeing an Irish man with a gun, as did Daly. Both agree that they were hesitant to tell what they saw, for fear of "muddying the waters" and giving any justification for Bloody Sunday. An I.R.A. gunman, who remains anonymous, admits to Harkin that he fired on a British sniper after seeing the soldier shoot two locals. After Harkin finally testifies about the gunman, Banty and Linda speculate on the inquiry's outcome. At the inquiry's conclusion, locals walk the streets of Derry with candles. Noting that the inquiry has taken more than six years and has yet to result in any conclusion, Harkin questions if the families will ever get peace of mind and the victims will ever receive justice. Graphics reveal Saville's 2006 statement that evidence is still being mulled, and that publication of a report may come even later than 2008.
Cataloging of this program was made possible by The New York Times Company Foundation.
Details
- NETWORK: RTE (Ireland) and ARTE (France)/(Germany)
- DATE: January 29, 2007
- RUNNING TIME: 1:26:16
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 100687
- GENRE: Public affairs/Documentaries
- SUBJECT HEADING: Ireland; Police/community relations
- SERIES RUN: RTE (Ireland) & ARTE (France)/(Germany) - TV, 2007
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Anne Evan … Executive Producer
- Kevin Dawson … Executive Producer
- Margo Hankin … Producer, Director, Writer, Narrator
- Carl-Ludwig Rettinger … Co-Producer
- John O'Neill … Music by
- Tony Blair
- Alana Burke
- Edward Daly
- Patrick Doherty
- Tony Doherty
- Damien Donaghy
- Jackie Duddy
- Robert Ford
- Hugh Gilmour
- Edward Heath
- Michael Jackson
- Geraldine McBride
- Eamonn McCann
- Bernard McGuigan
- Michael McKinney
- William McKinney
- Alexander Nash
- James "Banty" Nash
- Kate Nash
- Paddy Nash
- William Nash
- Linda Nash Roddy
- Mark Saville
- Derek Wilford