Key Events & Deaths on this day in Northern Ireland Troubles
30th January
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Sunday 30 January 1972
‘Bloody Sunday’ ‘Bloody Sunday‘ refers to the shooting dead by the British Army of 13 civilans (and the wounding of another 14 people, one of whom later died) during a Civil Rights march in Derry. The Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA) march against internment was meant to start at 2.00pm from the Creggan. The march left late (2.50pm approximately) from Central Drive in the Creggan Estate and took an indirect route towards the Bogside area of the city. People joined the march along its entire route.
At approximately 3.25pm the march passed the ‘Bogside Inn’ and turned up Westland Street before going down William Street. Estimates of the number of marchers at this point vary. Some observers put the number as high as 20,000 whereas the Widgery Report estimated the number at between 3,000 and 5,000. Around 3.45pm most of the marchers followed the organisers instructions and turned right into Rossville Street to hold a meeting at ‘Free Derry Corner’. However a section of the crowd continued along William Street to the British Army barricade. A riot developed. (Confrontations between the Catholic youth of Derry and the British Army had become a common feature of life in the city and many observers reported that the rioting was not particularly intense.)
At approximately 3.55pm, away from the riot and also out of sight of the meeting, soldiers (believed to be a machine-gun platoon of Paratroopers) in a derelict building in William Street opened fire (shooting 5 rounds) and injured Damien Donaghy (15) and John Johnston (59). Both were treated for injuries and were taken to hospital (Johnston died on 16 June 1972).
[The most recent information (see, for example, Pringle, P. and Jacobson, P.; 2000) suggests that an Official IRA member then fired a single shot in response at the soldiers in the derelict building. This incident happened prior to the main shooting and also out of sight of Rossville Street.]
Also around this time (about 3.55pm) as the riot in William Street was breaking up, Paratroopers requested permission to begin an arrest operation. By about 4.05pm most people had moved to ‘Free Derry Corner’ to attend the meeting. 4.07pm (approximately) An order was given for a ‘sub unit’ (Support Company) of the 1st Battalion Parachute Regiment to move into William Street to begin an arrest operation directed at any remaining rioters. The order authorising the arrest operation specifically stated that the soldiers were “not to conduct running battle down Rossville Street”
(Official Brigade Log). The soldiers of Support Company were under the command of Ted Loden, then a Major in the Parachute Regiment (and were the only soldiers to fire at the crowd from street level).
At approximately 4.10pm soldiers of the Support Company of the 1st Battalion Parachute Regiment began to open fire on people in the area of Rossville Street Flats. By about 4.40pm the shooting ended with 13 people dead and a further 14 injured from gunshots. The shooting took place in four main places: the car park (courtyard) of Rossville Flats; the forecourt of Rossville Flats (between the Flats and Joseph Place); at the rubble and wire barricade on Rossville Street (between Rossville Flats and Glenfada Park); and in the area around Glenfada Park (between Glenfada Park and Abbey Park).
According to British Army evidence 21 soldiers fired their weapons on ‘Bloody Sunday’ and shot 108 rounds in total.
[Most of the basic facts are agreed, however what remains in dispute is whether or not the soldiers came under fire as they entered the area of Rossville Flats. The soldiers claimed to have come under sustained attack by gunfire and nail-bomb. None of the eyewitness accounts saw any gun or bomb being used by those who had been shot dead or wounded. No soldiers were injured in the operation, no guns or bombs were recovered at the scene of the killing.]
[Public Records 1972 – Released 1 January 2003: Telegram from Lord Bridges to Edward Heath, then British Prime Minister, containing an early report of the killings in Derry.]
Tuesday 30 January 1973
Francis Smith (28), a member of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), was found shot dead in the Falls area of Belfast. He had been killed by the IRA.
Wednesday 30 January 1974
[ Sunningdale; Ulster Workers’ Council Strike; Law Order. ]
Wednesday 30 January 1975
The Gardiner Report (Cmnd. 5847), which examined measures to deal with terrorism within the context of human rights and civil liberties, was published. The report recommended that special category status for paramilitary prisoners should be ended. The report also recommended that detention without trial be maintained but under the control of the Secretary of State.
30 January 1983
At the annual conference of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) the delegates reaffirmed the party’s boycott of the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Monday 30 January 1984
The Prison Governors’ Association and the Prison Officers Association both claimed that political interference in the running of the Maze Prison resulted in the mass escape on 25 September 1983. Nick Scott, then Minister for Prisons, rejected the allegations.
[See also: 25 October 1984]
Wednesday 30 January 1985
Douglas Hurd, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, dismissed demands for the disbandment of the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR).
Thursday 30 January 1986
Fianna Fáil (FF) said that it welcomed the comments of Harold McCusker, then deputy leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), who had suggested a conference of British, Irish, and Northern Ireland politicians to discuss the ‘totality of relationships’.
Thursday 30 January 1992
Charles Haughey, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), announced his resignation as both Taoiseach and leader of Fianna Fáil (FF). [Haughey’s resignation followed the re-emergence of allegations about phone-tapping in 1982.]
Saturday 30 January 1993
There was a rally in Derry to commemorate the 21st anniversary of the killings on ‘Bloody Sunday’ (30 January 1972).
Monday 30 January 1995
Bertie Ahern, then leader of Fianna Fáil (FF), held a meeting with the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) at its headquarters in Glengall Street, Belfast. Ahern also met with Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) and Sinn Féin (SF) members later in the day.
Tuesday 30 January 1996
Gino Gallagher (33), believed to be the Chief of Staff of the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA), was shot dead in a Social Security Office in the Falls Road, Belfast.
[This killing was to mark the beginning of another feud within the INLA. This particular feud ended on 3 September 1996.]
Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF), held a meeting with Patrick Mayhew, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, at Stormont. John Hume, then leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), met with John Major, then British Prime Minister, in Downing Street, London.
Thursday 30 January 1997
North Report Peter North, then Chairman of the Independent Review of Parades and Marches, launched his report (The North Report) in Belfast and recommended the setting up of an independent commission to review contentious parades. Most Nationalists welcomed the Review but Unionists were against the main recommendations. Patrick Mayhew, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, announced that “further consultation” would have to be carried out by the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) before any decisions could be taken. Marjorie (Mo) Mowlam, then Labour Party Spokesperson on Northern Ireland, approved of the report.
Saturday 30 January 1999
Loyalist paramilitaries carried out seven ‘punishment’ beatings against people in Newtownabbey, County Antrim. Republican paramilitaries carried out a ‘punishment’ shooting on a man in Cookstown, County Tyrone. [January had the highest level of paramilitary ‘punishment’ attacks during any month in the past 10 years.]
Wednesday 30 January 2002
Relatives of those killed on Bloody Sunday (30 January 1972), together with some of the surviving injured, and about 2,000 other people, gathered in the Bogside in Derry to mark the 30th anniversary of the killings. A minute’s silence was held at the time when the first shots were fired. Dr Edward Daly, the former Bishop of Derry, rededicated the memorial to the dead. In his address he said he prayed “for victims everywhere – here, in Afghanistan, the Middle East and New York”. He added:
“We identify with all people who have suffered, of whatever race or religion or nation”. The Bloody Sunday Inquiry was adjourned until Monday – the Inquiry does not sit on the anniversary of the killings.
[The Inquiry will resume on Monday when the first Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) witnesses are expected to begin giving evidence. It is anticipated that one of the police witnesses will give evidence from behind a screen.]
David Ford, then leader of the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (APNI), travelled to Downing Street, London, for a meeting with Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister. Ford was there to discuss potential reforms of the voting system used in the Northern Ireland Assembly. David Trimble (UUP), then First Minister, and Mark Durkan (SDLP), then Deputy First Minister, travelled to Brussels for a two day visit. During their first day they opened a new Northern Ireland Executive office in the city which was established to lobby on behalf of Northern Ireland within the European Parliament.
The cost of the office, which was higher than envisaged, came in for criticism. The set up cost was £300,000 and the annual running cost is estimated at £500,000. The Irish National Liberation Army denied that it had threatened Protestant community workers in Glenbryn, north Belfast. The denial was issued through the Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP). It described the threats as bogus.
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Remembering all innocent victims of the Troubles
Today is the anniversary of the death of the following people killed as a results of the conflict in Northern Ireland
“To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die
– Thomas Campbell
To the innocent on the list – Your memory will live forever
– To the Paramilitaries –
There are many things worth living for, a few things worth dying for, but nothing worth killing for.
22 People lost their lives on the 30th January between 1972 – 1996
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30 January 1972
Robin Alers-Hankey, (35)
nfNI
Status: British Army (BA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Died four months after being shot by sniper during street disturbances, Abbey Street, Bogside, Derry. He was wounded on 2 September 1971.
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30 January 1972
John Duddy, (17)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: British Army (BA)
Shot during anti-internment march in the vicinity of Rossville Street, Bogside, Derry.
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30 January 1972
Kevin McElhinney, (17)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: British Army (BA)
Shot during anti-internment march in the vicinity of Rossville Street, Bogside, Derry
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30 January 1972
Patrick Doherty, (31)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: British Army (BA)
Shot during anti-internment march in the vicinity of Rossville Street, Bogside, Derry
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30 January 1972
Bernard McGuigan, (41)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: British Army (BA)
Shot during anti-internment march in the vicinity of Rossville Street, Bogside, Derry
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30 January 1972
Hugh Gilmour, (17)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: British Army (BA)
Shot during anti-internment march in the vicinity of Rossville Street, Bogside, Derry
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30 January 1972
William Nash, (19)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: British Army (BA)
Shot during anti-internment march in the vicinity of Rossville Street, Bogside, Derry.
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30 January 1972
Michael McDaid, (20)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: British Army (BA)
Shot during anti-internment march in the vicinity of Rossville Street, Bogside, Derry
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30 January 1972
John Young, (17)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: British Army (BA)
Shot during anti-internment march in the vicinity of Rossville Street, Bogside, Derry
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30 January 1972
Michael Kelly, (17)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: British Army (BA)
Shot during anti-internment march in the vicinity of Rossville Street, Bogside, Derry
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30 January 1972
James Wray, (22)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: British Army (BA)
Shot during anti-internment march in the vicinity of Rossville Street, Bogside, Derry
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30 January 1972
Gerry Donaghy, (17)
Catholic
Status: Irish Republican Army Youth Section (IRAF),
Killed by: British Army (BA)
Shot during anti-internment march in the vicinity of Rossville Street, Bogside, Derry
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30 January 1972
Gerald McKinney, (35)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: British Army (BA)
Shot during anti-internment march in the vicinity of Rossville Street, Bogside, Derry
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30 January 1972
William McKinney, (26)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: British Army (BA)
Shot during anti-internment march in the vicinity of Rossville Street, Bogside, Derry
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30 January 1972
John Johnston, (59)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: British Army (BA)
Shot during anti-internment march in the vicinity of Rossville Street, Bogside, Derry. He died 16 June 1972.
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30 January 1973
Francis Smith, (28)
Protestant
Status: Ulster Defence Association (UDA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Found shot in entry, off Rodney Parade, Falls, Belfast.
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30 January 1974
Thomas Walker, (36)
Protestant
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: non-specific Loyalist group (LOY)
Shot at his home, Gosford Place, off McClure Street, Belfast. Alleged informer.
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30 January 1976
John Smiley, (55)
Protestant
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed in bomb attack on Klondyke Bar, Sandy Row, Belfast.
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30 January 1976
Samuel Hollywood, (34)
Protestant
Status: Ulster Defence Association (UDA),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Stabbed to death, outside North Star Bar, North Queen Street, Tiger’s Bay, Belfast. Ulster Defence Association (UDA) / Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) feud.
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30 January 1984
Mark Marron, (23)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: British Army (BA)
Shot while travelling in stolen car, Springfield Road, Belfast.
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30 January 1992
Paul Moran, (32)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF)
Shot outside newsagent’s shop, while on way to work, Longstone Street, Lisburn, County Antrim.
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30 January 1996
Gino Gallagher, (33)
Catholic
Status: Irish National Liberation Army (INLA),
Killed by: Irish National Liberation Army (INLA)
Shot, while inside Department of Health and Social Services office, Falls Road, Belfast. Internal Irish National Liberation Army dispute.
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Belfast Child 