The Saville report into Bloody Sunday

[gaelic cowboy]

Bloody Sunday probably made little difference to the overall picture.

It may seem that way in retrospect now but make no mistake the island was on a knife edge, the Republic was at a crossroads and could have been toppled so easily.

In the same year that we had these events in Derry rioters burned the British embassy to the ground in Dublin two days later.

William Craig launched the Ulster Vanguard Movement "We are prepared to come out and shoot and kill. I am prepared to come out and shoot and kill, let's put the bluff aside. I am prepared to kill, and those behind me will have my full support."

Bloody Friday 22 IRA bombs planted nine people killed and a further 130 civilians injured.

During all this we voted on accession to the EEC while various Anti EEC movements in the Extreme-Left marched in Dublin.

Incidentally the very papers to formalise our accession to the EEC were signed by Éamon de Valera himself as President of the Republic.


Pure luck is why we are nothing but pure luck.