Wednesday
24th March 2004 saw the BBC broadcast a new documentary from Perfect Cousin
Productions, in association with the Nerve Centre. Battle of the Bogside
explores the events on August 1969 in Derry City, events which led to the
introduction of troops to the streets of Northern Ireland for the first
time in the modern era.On 12 August 1969, the disaffected Catholic and Nationalist population in the Bogside area of Derry, Northern Ireland took to the streets to confront the Royal Ulster Constabulary, in the wake of a protestant Apprentice Boys parade in the City.
The riots, which came to be known as the ‘Battle of the BogsideÌ, continued for almost 3 days and saw over 1,000 people injured. They were not a sudden unforeseen event as the pot had been simmering for some time before August.
The ‘Battle' ended when, in an unprecedented step, British troops were deployed into Derry. This decision, by the British Government at Westminster, was to shape the future of Northern Ireland for over thirty years.
Through the use of previously unseen archive footage, Battle of the BogsideÌ takes us behind the barricades, into Stormont and Westminster, to reveal the inside stories surrounding the Battle and the political response to it. Interviews with key figures from within the Bogside, the RUC and the Northern Irish and British Governments recreate the drama as events unfold. Many of the contributors are speaking for the first time about those 3 days in August 1969.
The film also features exclusive broadcast clips of ‘RADIO FREE DERRY,' a pirate radio station established by the Bogsiders in 1969.
Contributors include: Lord James Callaghan, Martin McGuinness, Sir Kenneth Bloomfield, Bernadette McAliskey, Nell McCafferty, Eamonn McCann and many others.
Produced and directed by Vinny Cunningham, written and researched by John Peto, Battle of the Bogside is one of the most important documentaries to come out Derry in recent years, casting new light on a crucial, but previously under-reported chapter in Northern IrelandÌs history. It is anticipated that the film will be repeated on BBC2 in the coming months.