What song was produced about an incident that happened in Derry, Northern Ireland, on 30th January 1972?

"Sunday Bloody Sunday" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the opening track from their 1983 album War and was released as the album's third single on 11 March 1983 in Germany and the Netherlands. "Sunday Bloody Sunday" is noted for its militaristic drumbeat, harsh guitar, and melodic harmonies. One of U2's most overtly political songs, its lyrics describe the horror felt by an observer of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, mainly focusing on the Bloody Sunday incident in Derry where British troops shot and killed unarmed civil rights protesters and bystanders who were there to rally against Operation Demetrius-related internment (imprisonment without trial), while at the same time rejecting hate and revenge as a response noted in the lyrics, "There's many lost, but tell me who has won".

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43 Comments

Lydia Coutts

Derrick Johnston, “Imagine if all the catholics in Idaho or Florida decided that they should be a separate country and to achieve that they started killing all the other religions and law enforcement people in those states.” What a ludicrous comparison. The IRA do not want a separate country, they want Northern Ireland to be reunified with the Republic of Ireland into one country — one Ireland — which it was until 1921. And saying “imagine if all the catholics...started killing all the other religions and law enforcement” is INCREDIBLY insulting to the vast majority of Northern Irish Catholics who are NOT members of the IRA and who haven’t killed ANYONE.

Cottec

For decades the USA funded the IRA. Changed their minds after a few of their cities were bombed.

glthorpe

I am of Irish descent, but this description was a shade one sided. The event was much more complicated than that!

John New

Learn your history Peter, it all started when catholics , inspired by the PEACEFUL civil rights marches in America by the blacks, decided to PEACEFULLY march in Northern Ireland, only to be beaten up and stoned by Protestant thugs of the B Specials and stoned by Protestant mobs led by Ian Paisley!, leading to a besieged catholic population which had to be SAVED from police thuggery by British troops!!! The catholic’s were only asking for equal rights in jobs, housing and voting, which was totally denied to them by the Protestant majority. So the Protestants forced their backs to the wall, massacred them on Bloody Sunday and the genie was out the bottle, and a further 25 years of slaughter on both sides ensued. Peter Robertson,

Luciele M Wilding

As a serving soldier during "The Troubles" two things come to my mind, The First being whatever their religion when they were being flooded out they accepted help from the terrorist Army of England, you know, the ones who wore a proper uniform so that they could easily be recognised. And one incident in which I was involved. Our troop officer got us lost in Belfast and we ended up in a cul-de-sac. Within four or five minutes we were confronted by a group of housewives banging on their dustbin lids, supported by their children throwing stones or whatever came to hand. Worried, no I was bloody terrified as we had heard of this happening and within ten minutes or so the women opened up to reveal a gunman with a machine gun taking aim at the soldiers. He fired off a full magazine, approx. 30 rounds, and then the women closed ranks and allowed him to get away. We wore a uniform, the IRA wore civilian clothes so that they would not be recognised. So you tell me who were the terrorists.

Spencer

Dumb question. Hard to read and understand. I hope they weed out the bad writers here soon. Some people think they are experts on subject in which they have read one or two online lines and they think its enough to "write" or should I say cut/paste?

Iancompat

Corey Taylor, "Terrorist Groups" are people who blow up and kill innocent civilians, which is exactly what the IRA did! The British Army never invaded anywhere! They arrived after the British immigrants had settled in another country and developed it into a civilised entity. Where do you think Americans come from? The ones you are on about aren't Native Indians are they!

arath

Lydia Coutts, Indeed the Republicans wished to leave the UK, by force, ignoring the wishes of the majority, the Loyalists! Why cannot people abide by the wishes of the majority - it is what is known as democracy. The Republicans have far more chance of success by exercising persuasion and using the ballot box, rather than guns and allowing the brutes and savages in society to gain the upper hand.

Alan Hodge

This account as obviously written by an iRA supporter, these “unarmed civil rights protesters” were anything but, , but hey don’t let facts and truth get in the way of a song

Andrew Mullineaux

A foolish choice of Question-certain to offend many.

Lydia Coutts

Val Wilkinson, I think you’ll find that many people in Northern Ireland also wished to leave the UK in 1921. Hence why there has been decades of conflict between the Loyalists and the Republicans.