February 1972: Give Ireland Back to the Irish
Burning Embassy, Civil Rights March & Retaliation.
As we meander through the timeline of the troubles, we now find ourselves in February 1972. A month where we continued to see violence on the streets of Northern Ireland and a whole host of political developments to document. I was looking around at what was happening worldwide in February 1972, and to my amazement, I found out that Paul McCartney and his band Wings released a new single that month, and you’ll never guess the title of the track! None other than…
"Give Ireland Back to the Irish".
Talk about a divisive title!
It was written by McCartney and his wife Linda in response to the events of Bloody Sunday. Keen to voice their outrage at the killings, Wings recorded the track two days later at EMI Studios in London. It was the band's first song to include Northern Irish guitarist Henry McCullough.
The song was banned from broadcast in the UK by the BBC and other organisations, as well as being overlooked by the majority of radio programmers in the United States. The single peaked at number 16 on the UK Singles Chart and number 21 on the US Billboard Hot 100 but topped the Irish Singles Chart for one week in March 1972. Having never released an overtly political song before, McCartney was condemned by the British media for his seemingly pro-IRA stance on Northern Ireland.
Political developments in Northern Ireland were dominated by the very reason this song was written; the response to Bloody Sunday.
Edward Heath, then British Prime Minister, announced the appointment of Lord Widgery, then Lord Chief Justice, to undertake an inquiry into the 13 deaths on Bloody Sunday. The response of the people of Derry to this choice of candidate was for the most part one of scepticism and a lack of confidence in his ability to be objective. Several groups in Derry initially called for non-participation in the tribunal but many were persuaded later to give evidence to the inquiry.
There was also an Opposition adjournment debate in the House of Commons on the subject of Bloody Sunday. During the debate, the then Minister of State for Defence gave an official version of events and went on to say;
"We must also recognise that the IRA is waging a war, not only of bullets and bombs but of words.... If the IRA is allowed to win this war I shudder to think what will be the future of the people living in Northern Ireland."
The Ministry of Defence also issued a detailed account of the British Army's version of events during Bloody Sunday which stated that;
"Throughout the fighting that ensued, the Army fired only at identified targets - at attacking gunmen and bombers. At all times the soldiers obeyed their standing instructions to fire only in self-defence or in defence of others threatened."
Harold Wilson, then leader of the Labour Party, said that a United Ireland was the only solution to the conflict in Northern Ireland. William Craig, then Home Affairs Minister, suggested that the west bank area of Derry should be ceded to the Republic of Ireland.
On Wednesday the 2nd of February 1972, the funerals of 11 of the dead of Bloody Sunday took place in the Creggan area of Derry. Tens of thousands attended the funeral including clergy, politicians from North and South, and thousands of friends and neighbours. Throughout the rest of Ireland, prayer services were held to coincide with the time of the funerals and it was reported that in Dublin, over 90 per cent of workers stopped work in respect of those who had died.
Approximately 30,000 - 100,000 people turned out to march to the British Embassy. They carried 13 coffins and black flags. Later a crowd attacked the Embassy with stones and bottles, then petrol bombs, and the building was burnt to the ground. A British-owned insurance office in Dún Laoghaire and Austin Reed outfitters on Grafton Street were also petrol bombed. There were also attacks on the Thomas Cook travel agency, the offices of British Airlines and the RAF club on Earlsfort Terrace.
There was a meeting at 10 Downing Street on the 4th of February between Edward Heath, then British Prime Minister, and Brian Faulkner, then Northern Ireland Prime Minister. During the meeting, they discussed their concerns around the civil rights march planned for the 6th of February, the aftermath of the Derry/Londonderry disorders and the attitude of the UK government. There are detailed accounts of this conversation available via the PRONI records, and you can read everything here.
On the 6th of February, the planned civil rights march in Newry went ahead. The march attracted well over 100,000 participants from all over Ireland and the world. The image above shows the front line of the march, where, on the left Ann Hope, NICRA Treasurer, still bearing the wounds on her head she received the previous week on the Derry March. Beside her is Jimmy Doris (past Chairman of NICRA), M. Davison (Asst. Organiser of NICRA), Hugh Logue (then NICRA member), Margo Collins, and Paddy OHanlon (Stormont MP). There are some great colour photographs by William L. Rukeyser of the march here.
William Craig, who had been Northern Ireland's Minister for Home Affairs, launched 'Ulster Vanguard' on the 9th of February. It was an umbrella movement for the right ring of Unionism, with the aim to stop power-sharing with Irish nationalist parties. The new group held a series of demonstrations and marches over the next few months. These demonstrations intensified when Stormont was replaced and 'direct rule' introduced.
On the same day, a report was published by a committee headed by Lord Parker on the methods used by the security forces to interrogate those who had been interned. The methods that were used were like something from a movie. There was in-depth interrogation, hooding, food deprivation, use of white noise to cause disorientation and sleep deprivation, and being forced to stand for long periods leaning against a wall with their fingertips. Two members of the committee, including Lord Parker, held that the techniques were justified. Lord Gardiner disagreed. Internment was also discussed later in the month, looking at possibilities for phasing internment out and the potential ramifications.
The Widgery Tribunal was to be held in Coleraine, County Derry. On the 14th of February, Lord Widgery arrived in Coleraine and held a preliminary hearing. During this initial hearing, Widgery announced that the tribunal would be "essentially a fact-finding exercise" and then went on to narrow the terms of reference for the tribunal.
The first session of the Widgery Tribunal was held a week later. A total of 17 sessions were held between the 21st of February 1972 and the 14th of March 1972, where 114 witnesses gave evidence. A further three sessions were held at the Royal Courts of Justice in London on the 16th, 17th and 20th of March.
Amidst all of the political developments, the conflict continued in Northern Ireland, with shootings and bombings a common practice throughout February.
There were 8 fatalities from shootings, with the IRA responsible for 7 and the UVF responsible for 1. There was also one failed assassination attempt by the IRA.
01/02/72 - British soldier, Ian Bramley (25) was shot dead by an IRA sniper while leaving Hastings Street Royal Ulster Constabulary/British Army base, on the Lower Falls, Belfast.
08/02/72 - The UVF and the "Red Hand Commando" claimed responsibility for killing a Catholic civilian, Bernard Rice (49), in a drive-by shooting on the Crumlin Road, Belfast.
10/02/72 - IRA volunteer Joseph Cunningham (26) was killed in a gun battle with the RUC at O'Neill's Road, Newtownabbey, County Antrim.
13/02/72 - Off-duty British soldier Thomas McCann (19) from Dublin, was shot dead by the IRA near Newtownbutler, County Fermanagh.
16/02/72 - Thomas Callaghan (45), a Catholic member of the Ulster Defence Regiment, was found shot dead shortly after being abducted while driving a bus along Foyle Road, Derry. It’s reported that the IRA were responsible.
16/02/72 - Michael Prime (18), British Army, was shot dead while on mobile patrol by an IRA sniper at the Moira roundabout, MI Motorway, County Down.
17/02/72 - Elizabeth English (65), a Catholic civilian, died seven days after being shot by the IRA during an attempted ambush of a British Army foot patrol, Barrack Street, Lower Falls, Belfast.
25/02/72 - There was an attempted assassination of John Taylor, then Minister of State for Home Affairs, who was shot a number of times. The Official Irish Republican Army later claimed responsibility.
29/02/72 - Off-duty UDR soldier Henry Dickson (46) was shot dead by the IRA at his home, Lawrence Street, Lurgan, County Armagh.
In terms of bombings, we continued to see this become more popular as a weapon in February 1972. Although it was also clear that those involved in the bombings were still refining their craft, given the number of deaths and injuries to the bombers themselves over the last few months that we’ve looked at.
02/02/72 - A bomb exploded at the Catholic-owned Imperial Bar in Stewartstown, County Tyrone. The pub was officially closed in mourning for those who died on Bloody Sunday, but some customers had gone in through the back door for a drink. One Catholic civilian, Louis O'Neill (49), was killed. There was initial newspaper speculation that the IRA had bombed the bar because it had not closed fully. However, some believe loyalists were responsible for the attack.
05/02/72 - Two IRA volunteers, Phelim Grant and Charles McCann, were killed when a bomb they were transporting exploded accidentally on a barge near Crumlin, Lough Neagh, County Antrim.
05/02/72 - Paul McFadden (31), a Catholic civilian, died six days after being injured in a van bomb explosion at Castle Arcade, off Castle Lane, Belfast.
10/02/72 - Two British soldiers, Ian Harris (26) and David Champ (23) were killed in an IRA landmine attack on their Armoured Personnel Carrier in Cullyhanna, County Armagh.
21/02/72 - Four IRA volunteers, Gerard Bell, Robert Dorrian, Joseph Magee, and Gerard Steele, died in Belfast when a bomb they were transporting exploded prematurely along Knockbreda Road, near the Castlereagh Road roundabout, Belfast.
22/02/72 - The Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA) exploded a bomb at Aldershot military barracks, the headquarters of the Parachute Regiment, killing seven people who were mainly ancillary staff. A Catholic padre was among the dead. This bomb was thought to be an attempted retaliation against the regiment that had carried out the Bloody Sunday killings. A hired Ford Cortina car containing a 280-pound (130 kg) time bomb was left in the car park, deliberately positioned outside the officer's mess. The bomb exploded at 12:40 pm, destroying the officer's mess and wrecking several nearby Army office buildings.
The soldiers who were the intended targets were not present, as the regiment itself was stationed abroad and most staff officers were in their offices rather than the mess. However, seven civilian staff were killed; Jill Mansfield (34), Thelma Bosley (44), Margaret Grant (32), Sheri Munton (20) and Joan Lunn (39 were leaving the premises, a gardener John Haslar (58), and Father Gerard Weston (38), a Roman Catholic priest from the Royal Army Chaplains' Department. Nineteen people were also wounded by the explosion.
On the 23rd of February, the Official IRA issued a statement claiming that it had carried out the attack in revenge for Bloody Sunday. It added;
"Any civilian casualties would be very much regretted as our target was the officers responsible for the Derry outrages".
The Official IRA also said that the bombing would be the first of many such attacks on the headquarters of British Army regiments serving in Northern Ireland.
24/02/72 - The IRA bombed the town hall of Strabane, Tyrone and in Belfast bombed a car showroom along the Falls Road which was the third time it was bombed in a year.
25/02/72 - An IRA bomb set on fire and destroyed the Hart & Churchill music store in Belfast. The building was never rebuilt.
Another month in the melting pot of The Troubles where it feels like no side of the conflict is willing to concede anything just yet. Stay tuned for the next instalment on Tuesday, and as always, thanks very much for reading.
Well I guess Macca was trying. I think Lennon's song was harder hitting (as they usually were) though:
If you had the luck of the Irish,
You'd be sorry and wish you were dead
You should have the luck of the Irish
And you'd wish you was English instead
Agree regarding Lennon being more hard hitting, however, as the better songwriter of the two (some die bards may disagree), I expected his song to be a little less condescending. I think the use of leprechauns made it a bit more trivial.