History, Memory and Bloody Sunday 1920

The events of Sunday 21 November 1920 are well named. Within fifteen hours on that fateful day, 32 people died: in the morning, eleven British intelligence officers killed by Michael Collins’s ‘squad’ (plus two Auxiliaries and two civilians); in the afternoon, fourteen civilians killed by British forces at Croke Park (including player Michael Hogan of Tipperary); and that evening, in murky circumstances in Dublin Castle, two high-ranking IRA officers, Dick McKee and Peadar Clancy, and civilian Conor Clune.  Did these events mark a decisive turning point in the ongoing War of Independence?  How were they presented at the time?  How are they remembered today?  Listen to History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, discuss these and related matters in a lively and unfettered discussion with Joe Connell Jnr, Dr Siobhán Doyle, Dr Brian Hanley and Professor Fearghal McGarry.

 

This Hedge School, in association with the GAA Museum, is supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 initiative.

Image: Glasses belonging to spectator Annie Burke (who survived) damaged on the day by a ricocheting piece of grit and never worn again. (GAA Museum)