The former took place in St. Petersburg, Russia, when close to a thousand unarmed, peaceful demonstrators attempting to deliver petitions to Tsar Nicholas II at his winter palace were killed by police and army forces.

The latter took place in Dublin during the Irish War of Independence: British forces fired into a crowd gathered for a Gaelic football match at Croke Park between clubs from Dublin and Tipperary. Fourteen innocent spectators were killed in apparent retaliation for Irish Republican Army assassinations of known double-agents and spies (enemy combatants) earlier in the day.

Eerily, fourteen individuals from a 30,000 person-strong march organized by the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association were shot to death by members of the 1st Battalion of the British Parachute Regiment some 52 years later.

Thanks in part to the continued popularity of the U2 song “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” released in 1983, the tragedy in Derry has at least been kept in the public eye—even if that means just for the toe-tapping and finger-clicking legions of the band’s fans.

There is, of course, far more to the stories. Among the realities and similarities, these: paramilitary troops firing indiscriminately on non-threatening civilians; public dissent banished by elements of totalitarian governments; official inquiries filled with inaccuracies and deceit.

That a single phrase such as “Bloody Sunday” could span an entire century to define three atrocities is remarkable. On January 30, 2007, there will be a 35th anniversary commemoration event at The Plough & Stars in Cambridge to honor the memory of those who lost their lives in Derry.

As well, special mention will be made of 1905 in St. Petersburg and 1920 in Dublin. A correlation, clearly, can be made to the present day—whether it is in Iraq, Afghanistan or within the continental United States (NYPD 51 shots....).

The struggle continues, the pain endures; and it is our responsibility—as humane, human beings—to deny a fourth Bloody Sunday.

The Plough & Stars is located at 912 Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge.

www.ploughandstars.com

George Cuddy, a true Fenian meddler, blogs at

www.26milesfortheifc.blogspot.comm

Visit for more information on the Bloody Sunday Commemoration Event.