Lord Widgery, 1972, BBC
Ireland's Bloody Sunday:
Failures of Debate and Diplomacy
The Saville Inquiry
Failed Diplomacy
The day after Bloody Sunday, Lord Widgery was called by Reginald Maudling, the Home Secretary of England to hold an inquiry, or an official investigation. This occured between February and March 1972, with the final report filed April 18th. The objective was to utilize diplomacy to examine the circumstances that led to the death of fourteen protesters. The examination also allowed various sides to debate their position in order to determine who had fired the first shot at the massacre. Widgery concluded that the soldiers had fired first. Protestant Unionists wanted to lead the Saville Inquiry and apply their own lens to possibly prove Lord Widgery wrong.
The Debate
Lord Widgery's claim was believed to be inaccurate due to the following inconsistencies:
- The report did not say that the soldiers caused the injuries or deaths.
- Important witnesses, such as the injured, were not called to give testimony.
- Widgery claimed the dead were shot by soldiers due to residue found; however, some of the residue could have come from soldiers’ cars.
- The possibility of protesters getting hit by gunfire when directed to the Bogside was not taken into consideration.
Lord Widgery, 1971, eHive
Diplomacy in Action
Protestants along with relatives of the victims of Bloody Sunday campaigned unsuccessfully for a new inquiry until 1997. At that time, the Irish government sent a 178 page dossier to the British government detailing the events of the Bloody Sunday massacre which included inconsistencies not considered by Lord Widgery.
The British government took over six months to analyze the evidence and agree to another inquiry. January, 1998, Prime Minister Blair announced an independent judicial inquiry led by Lord Saville and two other judges. However, the government stalled the new inquiry until 2010.
Lord Saville, 1972, Belfast Telegraph
Tony Blair, 2016, iTV News
The Saville Inquiry, 2010, Museam of Free Derry
"The Prime Minister is absolutely right to say that there cannot be costly inquiries of this kind in the future, but does he also agree that there can be no more whitewashes such as Widgery, when inquiries into these incidents take place? Finally, does he agree that it is essential for all of us, as politicians and leaders, in responding to the inquiry, to pursue truth and reconciliation rather than blame and recrimination?"
~ Kevin Brennan
Kevin Brennan, 2021, Politics.co.uk
Interview with Irish Expert, Professor McMahon, 2022, UNLV
Bloody Sunday Findings Released, 2010, iTV News
Lord Widgery implemented diplomacy, which led to a debate, due to the inconsistencies. Diplomacy then took place, between the British and Irish governments, resulting in debate again with the new inquiry on who fired first. All told, negotiations led to success for the Irish Catholics, since the government listened to and agreed with them.