Also known as the Bogside Massacre, was one of the most turbulent events of the famed Irish “Troubles,” which have plagued Northern Ireland since the 1960s. The day started off with a rather peaceful protest march in the Bogside area of Derry, Northern Ireland on Sunday January 30, 1972. The event was organized by the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association, with the intent of protesting against the English oppression that has bedeviled the region for centuries. The event quickly turned bloody when soldiers from the occupying British military force (1st Battalion, Parachute Regiment) opened fire on the protesters, immediately killing 13 Irish civilians and wounding scores of others. An additional victim succumbed to their wounds in the hospital a handful of months later. It was reported that the majority of victims slain during the massacre were killed either fleeing the gunfire or helping evacuate the wounded. Understandably, the events shocked the world, due to the vast barbarity displayed by a state sponsored military force against a group of innocent civilians in plain view of the public and the media. The British Crown conducted an investigation following the massacre, but it quickly turned up inconclusive, mainly due to a litany of false testimonies told by British soldiers. The soldiers claimed that they were obligated to use deadly force against protesters after Irish militants attacked them with automatic weapons and homemade explosives. Though there was no credible evidence to support these claims, the Crown blindly acquitted the shooters of their crimes. This tragic event combined with a lack of legal repercussions, lead to an increase in insurgent activity against occupying British troops in the region and helped serve as a great recruitment tool for Irish Nationalist groups such as the famed Irish Republican Army (IRA).

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