The role of the historical adviser and the Bloody Sunday Tribunal

On 30 January 1972 thirteen apparently unarmed citizens of the United Kingdom were shot dead by the British army in Derry. The army's conduct on that day has been the subject of bitter controversy in nationalist Ireland ever since. There have also been many allegations of a high level political conspiracy. In 1998 the prime minister, Tony Blair, decided to establish a new tribunal of inquiry. The rich array of documents released by the Bloody Sunday Tribunal does not support the idea of either a British government or Ulster Unionist conspiracy to bring about loss of life. But the same documents do raise questions about the mentality of the British army. As for the role of the I.R.A. - both Provisional and Official - the inquiry heard much conflicting evidence and we will have to await Lord Saville's final verdict in 2005.