amid escalating violence, in 1972, thousands had gathered for a rally to protest against interment, the power to imprison people without trial. when disturbances broke out, soldiers from the parachute regiment moved in to make arrests and opened fire. 13 unarmed civilians were shot dead. and this became the defining image of the tragedy as people tried to rescue 17 year old jackie duddy whose sister walked in his footsteps today. i ll never move on from 50 years on, just heartbroken, yes. and it still hurts same as all that time ago. the british soldiers on these streets always maintained they believed they were under attack. the families of the victims fought a long campaign to clear their loved ones names. not only that they murdered people and maimed people,
this weekend events will be held in londonderry and around the world to mark the 50th anniversary of lovely sunday, when the british army shot dead 13 people during a civil rights demonstration. it was one of the darkest days of the northern ireland conflict. now a new play, based on the victims stories, is due to premier in the city. our island correspondent chris page been finding out more. this image is a defining symbol of humanity omits the horror of plenty sunday. the priest, father edward daly, waving a handkerchief is a white flag to try to protect jackie duddy, whose wounds turned out to be fatal. the stage show, which gets its name from the picture, is moving, evocative and compelling. taste moving, evocative and compelling. 7 take back the streets, we take back law and order! you take back the streets, we take back law and order! take back the streets, we take back law and order! you murder innocent men, and law and order! you murder innocent men. and boys! law and order
for bereaved relatives like jackie duddy s sister, kay. he was a great amateur boxer, he loved bringing home his trophies and that. me dad, he was so proud. you often wonder, would he have boxed in the olympics? would he have turned professional? would he have married? it just left so many unanswered questions. it sjust it sjust too sad for words. the consequences of bloody sunday are felt most profoundly, of course, by the families of those who were shot dead on the streets half a century ago. but the killings also deepened divisions, and many would say lengthened the conflict here in northern ireland. in that sense, the impact is still strongly felt today. # you stand here with gun drawn. the anniversary has generated renewed pledges to build peace, not least from the writer of this, his final work. coming from derry myself, i you know it s in the common consciousness of derry, l but it s also quite literally written on the walls around you.
thousands had gathered for a rally to protest against interment, the power to imprison people without trial. when disturbances broke out soldiers from the parachute regiment moved in to make arrests and opened fire. 13 unarmed civilians were shot dead. and this became the defining image of the tragedy, as people tried to rescue 17 year old jackie duddy whose sister walked in his footsteps today. i ll never move on from 50 years on, just heartbroken, yes. and it still hurts same as all that time ago. the british soldiers on the streets always maintained they believed they were under attack. the families of the victims fought a long campaign to clear their loved ones names. not only that they murdered people and maimed people, they told lies about them. the events of buddy sunday continue
we don t want this to be simply a story of tragedy and sorrow. and loss, but of course it is. we want to bring more to it, and we want to step out - from the chronological nature i of the events that happened that day, and offer a more universal reflection upon the nature - of conflict, upon the nature l of injustice and on the nature of innocence. # why have you come here to this land? the arts can help to heal the hurts of history. the director of the white handkerchief is reminded of a quote. grief is love that has nowhere to go. and the kind of stories that existed there, if a writer puts that story to paper, and it takes from page to stage, then perhaps that love has somewhere to go. the sense of trauma remains sharp for bereaved relatives like jackie duddy s sister, kay. he was a great amateur boxer, he loved bringing home his