Those Are Real Bullets: Bloody Sunday, Derry, 1972 [Paperback]

Peter Pringle (Author), Philip Jacobson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 12, 2002

On January 30, 1972, British paratroopers opened fire on unarmed Irish Catholic demonstrators in Derry, killing thirteen and wounding another fourteen. Five were shot in the back. A major turning point in the recent history of Northern Ireland, the massacre galvanized Catholics in their struggle against the British presence in Ulster. In Those Are Real Bullets, Peter Pringle and Philip Jacobson provide the definitive, full-length narrative account of Bloody Sunday. Using extensive interviews and recently declassified documents unavailable for previous books about the shootings, they vividly re-create the chaos and terror of the day and capture the full human impact of the tragedy. Those Are Real Bullets provides an intimate portrait of a city in revolt and the climax of a failed military response that plunged Northern Ireland into three decades of armed conflict. "A shocking, stomach-turning, enraging narrative history that should be required reading." -- Irish Independent "Written by two veteran, first-rate reporters, this book will remain the standard account of that miserable day." -- Geoffrey Wheatcroft, Daily Mail

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In the Irish Republic, January 30, 1972, is known as "Bloody Sunday," the day when 13 unarmed Catholic marchers were killed and another 14 wounded as, Pringle and Jacobson say, "part of a deliberate plan, conceived at the highest level of military command and sanctioned by the British government." An official investigation conducted immediately after the incident excused the army for its actions. A generation later, Tony Blair reopened the investigation, making all previously classified archives available to the investigators. Pringle and Jacobson, veteran journalists of the British Sunday Times who have covered the story from the beginning, offer the most complete retelling of the events that led up to that awful day and the horror that ensued. In the late 1960s under the SDLP party led by John HumeAwho would win a Nobel Peace Prize in 1998 for his work on the Northern Ireland peace processACatholics adopted the tactics of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and picketed for civil rights. These marches were met with force by the British, and internment was introduced under the Special Powers Act, which, in turn, swelled recruitment in the outlawed IRA. By 1972, the situation was at the breaking point. Maj.-Gen. Robert Ford, commander of land forces for Northern Ireland, was under tremendous pressure from the Protestant majority and London to restore law and order. Although he was advised that the January 30 march was to be peaceful, he prepared for confrontation with both the IRA and its rock-throwing youngsters. The result was slaughter. Disturbing, raw and compassionate, Pringle and Jacobson's account is mesmerizing. 8 pages of b&w photos not seen by PW. (Jan.) Forecast: This book has a ready audience among Irish-Americans. It could also sell to other readers interested in human rights around the world, peaceful protest and the often violent response it evokes from those in power.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

On January 30, 1972, British paratroopers stationed in Northern Ireland fired on a crowd of Londonderry demonstrators who were demanding improvements in civil rights for Catholics. Thirteen people were killed and 14 were wounded. A British government inquiry essentially exonerated the soldiers, but many viewed this as a politicized whitewash. At the instigation of Prime Minister Blair, a massive new inquiry is being conducted. Pringle and Jacobson are veteran journalists who have covered the story since its inception. In examining the evidence, some of it recently declassified, they have presented a shocking, if clearly biased account of a misguided political and military policy leading to disastrous consequences. The authors obviously have an agenda, and they are far too willing to accept at face value "evidence" of government culpability. Still, much of their verified information is deeply disturbing, including the apparently deliberate shooting of unarmed women and a man waving a white truce flag. While they have not produced the definitive story on this tragedy, they certainly will create controversy and stimulate anticipation for the new government inquiry. Jay Freeman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Grove Press (March 12, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802138799
• ISBN-13: 978-0802138798
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #86,774 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Bloody Sunday, Bullet by Bullet, November 28, 2002

By 

John J. Ross (Chestnut Hill, MA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Those Are Real Bullets: Bloody Sunday, Derry, 1972 (Paperback)

In terms of sheer body counts, Bloody Sunday was not the worst day of the Troubles, as a number of IRA and Loyalist atrocities were to kill more people. However, the negative impact of Bloody Sunday on the course of the Troubles was incalculable. The assault on a civil rights march of Derry Catholics by the Parachute Regiment was intended to round up "Derry young hooligans," with the expectation of a few exemplary Catholic casualties, while reasserting the rule of English law in the "no-go" Catholic ghetto of the Bogside. Instead, 13 unarmed youths and middle-aged men were killed, and the British Army found itself in an operational, logistical, and public relations disaster. Political means toward achieving reform in Northern Ireland were discredited for the next 25 years, and 1972 was to become the bloodiest year of the Troubles. When the British Army arrived in the North in the 60's, they were often welcomed by Catholics as protectors from Protestant pogroms; after Bloody Sunday, every British soldier in Northern Ireland was to lead the miserable and paranoid existence of an unloved army of occupation, a constant target of unseen bombers and snipers.

The strength of Pringle and Jacobson's book is in its detail, stomach-churning at times. Although their style is journalistic and their prose plain, I supposed it must be effective, as I frequently found my eyes welling up with tears of rage. Most accounts of Bloody Sunday focus on the out-of-control nature of the Paras, but Pringle and Jacobson appropriately detail the command failures that led to the tragedy: the ill-conceived use of an elite, lethally-armed regiment to perform a police function; the decision to place civilians at risk; the lack of any overall political strategy to deal with the North; the failure of radio communications that placed the Paras beyond control of headquarters.

Aside from the political significance of Bloody Sunday, the drama of that day illuminates human nature at its best and worst: the teenaged first aid worker Eibhlin Lafferty, preventing a rabid soldier from finishing off a wounded man, asking him, "Are you mad?"; Barney McGuigan, waving a handkerchief to come to the aid of the dying Paddy Doherty, saying "They'll not shoot me" moments before his head was blown apart; Alex Nash, grievously injured running toward his dying son, Willie; the priests who braved gunfire to administer the last rites; the hapless Catholic businessman McKinney, stuck in the march on his way back from meeting an associate, shot by the army with his hands up.

I would have given the book 5 stars, but the account of the political aftermath of Bloody Sunday is perfunctory, and more follow-up on some of the participants would have been interesting. What happened to Alana Burke, who apparently had a spinal injury after been struck by a Saracen? What happened to the young soccer player whose leg was shattered by a bullet? How did the tragedy affect the lives of those involved in years to come?

There is a decent map of the Bogside included, which could have been more detailed, and might have been labelled with the location of exactly where the fatalities occurred.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Detailed and Definitive Work on this Awful Incident, November 19, 2002

By 

Paul J. Ditz (Shelby, NC United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Those Are Real Bullets: Bloody Sunday, Derry, 1972 (Paperback)

Pringle and Jacobsen, the reporters who broke through the governmental code of silence to get to the truth behind Bloody Sunday, present a highly detailed and thoroughly engrossing report of the events of January 30, 1972, where 13 unarmed Catholic protesters were shot dead by British paratroopers. The authors provide an unflinching look at the chaos and horrifying events of that awful day. They also detail the events leading up to the incident, and pull no punches in looking at the causes and fallout from the indident. This is a must read for anyone interested in the events currently shaping Northern Ireland.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bloody Sunday,1972, February 13, 2005

By 

Edward L. Bradford (des moines) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Those Are Real Bullets: Bloody Sunday, Derry, 1972 (Paperback)

This book is a good source for the topic of Bloody Sunday. It is from a journalist view of the tragic days of Blooy Sunday. Such events are still talked about in the British Parliment and the Saville Inquiry is reviewing the then handling of the Bloody Sunday event. If you've never read anything about the "Troubles", you will become passionately amazed regarding the events following up to Bloody Sunday.