Plain handkerchief

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Object No. 97 Bloody Sunday handkerchief, 1972

Museum of Free Derry, Bloody Sunday Centre.

The last Sunday of January 

We set out from the bogside, 

On a normal Sunday morning, 

As we were all caught up in ‘The Troubles’, 

We all wanted our voices to be heard, 

That we all are normal people, 

And our rights were being taken away from us, 

We had enough we wanted our lives back. 

We had planned to march to Guildhall, 

But that was taken away from us, 

Just because of a few teens looking for a thrill,  

Then our plan was to go to the Free Derry Corner, 

The teens had such a big skirmish with the police,  

Paratroopers were sent in to make arrests on us, 

But instead they opened fire on innocent people, 

Involved in a peaceful civil rights march,

We ran and ran to safety,  

but some who weren’t even involved,  

but caught up going along with their Sunday business,  

Like poor Johnny Johnston who didn’t even die that day 

but was made suffer for 4 and a half more months, 

Then the worst killing of them all that of my best mate Jackie  

who was shot right in the chest just flying past his heart,

He died within minutes just outside the Flats, 

Where he was running away off home unarmed, 

but that didn’t stop Private R, 

Father Daly waved his plain white handkerchief, 

That was probably his final sight a plain white handkerchief.