Families of those killed on Bloody Sunday have said there must be justice for their loved ones and they will “meet head on” the UK government’s plans to introduce a statute of limitations.
Thousands of people attended a walk of remembrance and a memorial service to mark the 50th anniversary of the atrocity in Derry on Sunday.
Thirteen people died when members of the British army's Parachute Regiment opened fire on an anti-internment march in the city's Bogside on January 30th, 1972. A fourteenth died later.
“They are trying to deny us justice because they are scared to face justice,” said Mickey McKinney, whose brother William was shot dead.
“We send a very clear warning to the British government as they pursue their [legacy] proposals: the Bloody Sunday families will be ready to meet them head on.
“We will not go away and we will not be silenced.”
Mr McKinney was delivering a statement on behalf of the families at a service at the memorial in the Bogside in Derry on Sunday morning.
The names of the dead and injured were read aloud and a minute’s silence held for the victims.
Among those who attended and who laid wreaths were: Taoiseach Micheál Martin; Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney; Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald; SDLP leader Colum Eastwood; and Alliance deputy leader Stephen Farry.
No unionist politicians were present. Answering questions from the media after a private meeting with the Bloody Sunday families, the Taoiseach said it “would have been helpful” had representatives attended.
He said the Irish Government supported the Bloody Sunday families “in their pursuit of justice and accountability” and said the soldiers responsible should face prosecution.
“I don’t believe there should be any amnesties for anybody and I believe that the full process of the courts and of justice should be deployed.”
In a virtual address on Sunday afternoon, President Michael D Higgins paid tribute to the victims of Bloody Sunday and all those who died in the Troubles, as well as the example set by the people of Derry and those who campaigned for truth.
“Derry stands as a beacon of hope and justice, of battling and succeeding against the odds,” said Mr Higgins.
“We honour the men who died. And we continue to honour them into the future by our continued commitment to the rights that were won at such great cost.
“We do so best by protecting these rights won, and sustaining the principled and inclusive peace that we have built together.”
Áras an Uachtaráin later said the President would “welcome an opportunity” to meet the Bloody Sunday families “at a future point in time” after some campaigners expressed disappointment at his failure to attend the commemoration in person.
A spokesman said that Mr Higgins had “no difficulty” in attending the event but “some logistical issues emerged”.
The President was also attending the National Holocaust Memorial Day Commemoration at the Mansion House in Dublin, where he was also speaking.
Maeve McLaughlin, director of the Bloody Sunday Trust – which organised the Beyond the Silence event on Sunday which included the President's address – said the decision over how Mr Higgins would deliver his address had been made when more stringent Covid-19 regulations in force.
She said what was “significant” was that the President had agreed to deliver the address to mark the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, and described it as an “important acknowledgement”, especially in the context of the recent controversy around his attendance at the Armagh church service.
On Sunday afternoon thousands attended another commemorative march which culminated in speeches by Bernadette McAliskey and Eamonn McCann at Free Derry Corner.
Mr McCann recalled how on Bloody Sunday Ms McAliskey – then Bernadette Devlin – was just beginning to speak when the shooting started.
“I am delighted that I’ve been around for long enough to hear her come back and finish her speech 50 years later,” he said.
He said Bloody Sunday was “a world event . . . a microcosm of what was happening then and still happens often today, of what was happening in the wider world”.
‘Jail the lot of them’
He said he did not care if the individual soldiers weren’t prosecuted because he wanted their senior officers and politicians jailed. “Jail the lot of them,” he said.
Ms McAliskey said Bloody Sunday would “never be forgotten. If I don’t see the British government in the Hague, my children, my grandchildren, my great grandchildren will see them in it some day.”
In his homily at Mass in St Eugene’s Cathedral in Derry on Sunday morning, Primate of All-Ireland Archbishop Eamon Martin said it was “hurtful, as some have proposed, to expect them to simply ‘draw a line’ under the past”.
Tánaiste and Fine Gael Leader Leo Varadkar said that the events of the day “cast a long shadow over the city and the country that many are still dealing with today”.
He added: “We pledge to honour the memory of those who died on Bloody Sunday by standing with all victims of the Troubles and continuing to work for permanent peace on our shared island.”
A clearly moved Adrian Dunbar said the emotion was "palpable" in the city and paid tribute to the Bloody Sunday Justice Campaign as "one of the most daring and successful human rights campaigns ever fought. We as a society are deeply indebted to these families."
Singer-songwriter Phil Coulter performed a version of his famous song about Derry, The Town I Loved So Well.
“I have performed this song on many occasions and I cannot think of a more fitting occasion to sing this song than right here, right now. This really is the town I love so well,” he said.
In the United States, a resolution sponsored by Democratic Congressman William Keating was put forward to coincide with the anniversary, opposing any attempt by the UK government to implement a statute of limitation which would end Troubles prosecutions, including on Bloody Sunday.
