Bloody Sunday

On 30 January, 1972, 13 people died and 14 others were injured by bullets on the streets of Londonderry. They were all unarmed citizens who were taking part in a protest march against a British government law that decreed that arrests could be made and suspects could be imprisoned without a trial. This “Bloody Sunday” marked the beginnings of violent civil war in Northern Ireland. The painstakingly detailed reconstruction of the events of that day concentrates on four main protagonists. Civil rights activist Cooper is a protestant who adopts the catholic cause; a follower of Martin Luther King’s ideas, he believes in a peaceful change. Seventeen-year-old Donaghy finds himself caught up in violent clashes with British soldiers. Brigadier MacLellan is commander of the British troops – his mission is to either prevent the march from taking place or to put a stop to it should it commence; the fourth protagonist is a British soldier serving as a radio operator in a parachute division.