JUDE COLLINS: John Hume was half-right with his Bloody Sunday quote

JUDE COLLINS: John Hume Was Half-Right About Bloody Sunday

Many people today are indifferent to what happened on Bloody Sunday in 1972. This is understandable—many were not yet born, do not live in Derry or the Bogside, and over fifty years later, other concerns have taken precedence. However, the families and friends of the victims have not forgotten.

Last week, Soldier F was acquitted of all charges related to the killings. It took fifty-three years to bring a British soldier to trial for that day, only for the court to find him not guilty.

In the immediate aftermath of Bloody Sunday, John Hume told an Irish Times journalist, “Many people down there feel now it’s a united Ireland or nothing. Alienation is pretty total.”

John Hume was mistaken about reunification—more than five decades later, Ireland is still divided. Yet, he was correct about the deep alienation felt by the community. The reaction of relatives after the verdict was raw and bitter, marked only by disgust.

The iconic Free Derry mural was altered to read “There is no British justice.” It feels almost surreal that, after the British army had already killed eight innocent people in Ballymurphy, the Parachute Regiment entered the Bogside and shot dead thirteen more, with a fourteenth victim dying later.

The Home Secretary at the time, Reginald Maudling, announced the British army "came under fire..."

The unresolved trauma and perceived injustice continue to fuel alienation and pain in the community.

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Belfast Media Group — 2025-11-02

JUDE COLLINS: John Hume Was Half-Right About Bloody Sunday

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