Bloody Sunday 50th Anniversary Symposium

255 Beacon Street,Newton MA 02467

18 February, 2022

Description

The Irish Studies program at Boston College is hosting a symposium to mark the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday The Irish Studies program at Boston College is hosting on February 18 -19, 2022, a symposium to mark the fiftieth anniversary of Bloody Sunday in Derry and the enduring relevance of its legacy. The program features an academic conference and screening of two drama films. Guest speakers include award-winning author and Bloody Sunday relative Julieann Campbell, political scientist and historian Niall Ó Dochartaigh, and public historian Margo Shea. On 30 January 1972, a British paratrooper unit opened fire on a protest march for civil rights in the Bogside area of Derry, Northern Ireland, shooting 26 unarmed Catholic civilians. The events of that fatal day became a foundational moment for the Northern Irish conflict (known as the “The Troubles”) and their repercussions continued to reverberate over the following decades. The local community has commemorated the day annually and, unsatisfied by a flawed tribunal under Lord Widgery, the bereaved families launched a campaign demanding truth and justice. As part of the peace process that led to the Good Friday Agreement, in 1998 a Bloody Sunday Inquiry (chaired by Lord Saville) was established and, following a lengthy and comprehensive investigation, in 2010 the British prime minister David Cameron issued a public apology. Friday's event will include a screening of the film Sunday (2002), directed by Charles McDougall, written by Jimmy McGovern, Channel 4, as well as remarks by Interim Director of Irish Studies Rob Savage, Consul General of Ireland in Boston Laoise Moore, Consul General of the United Kingdom in Boston Peter Abbott, Guy Beiner Sullivan Chair of Irish Studies at Boston College. There will also be a response and Q&A with Julieann Campbell immediately following the film screening.