The Bogside artists’ “Bloody Sunday” is based on a photomontage compiled from film footage of Bloody Sunday and was created in 1997 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Bloody Sunday. The artists wanted to pay homage to the victims of Bloody Sunday while also acknowledging the day being a turning point of the Troubles. After Bloody Sunday, the IRA grew in size and power, paramilitaries became more trusted than police officers, and mass street demonstrations ended. The mural depicts not only the death of Jackie Duddy, but also the death of the campaign for civil rights.
The man in the middle is Jackie Duddy, who was killed by a single shot that passed through his upper chest. Four witnesses state that he was unarmed and running away. Three of those witnesses claim to have seen a soldier take deliberate aim at Duddy despite the Widgery Report concluding he was hit by a bullet intended for someone else. Duddy was probably the first kill of the day. The man at the far right is ex-Bishop Fr. Edward Daly.
The downward vectors of the mural point to the bloodstained banner, meant, according to the artists, to symbolize the price people everywhere pay for democratic rights. The blood on the banner is the only color in the mural. Daly is holding a white handkerchief, clearly to communicate surrender. Duddy, held between the other men, is a Jesus like figure. This mural is an important intersection between portrayal of violence and memorial. The mural both recreates a war scene while also portraying the dead man as a martyr. Duddy’s head is also centered between the men holding him, although the armed soldier on the far left, standing closer to the audience than the other men, disrupts this balance. The soldier stands on the bloodstained banner and seems to look past the four men.
Political Murals of Bogside and Palestine