‘The Plot’ - A photographic re-imagining of Bloody Sunday morning

Irish photographer’s project re-visits the sites of the Bloody Sunday morning killings

By Martin Cregg

‘I feel the marriage of photography and witness statement can reactivate certain aspects of this important moment in our history’

My interest in the War of Independence, as a potential area to explore started last year. I had been researching and photographing IRA ambush locations, from the period, in various parts of the country. I also began what is a continued interest in locating places in Dublin that were known and unknown headquarters for republican meetings and activities in Dublin, as well as so-called ‘dumps’ – places where weapons were stored and hidden during the War of Independence.

As part of my research, the reports and narratives of IRA intelligence operations and counter intelligence operations started to become a defining area of interest. The role of intelligence networks, on both sides - each desperately and brutally trying to eradicate one another - forms the basis of work. In part, this fascination was peaked by the knowledge that many Volunteers were working in photographic studios and labs to create and collect photographic copies of known British agents and as a way to build a dossier for IRA intelligence. Photographs, addresses, descriptions and details of British agents, auxiliaries, officers and administrators, connected with Dublin Castle, were collated and used as a way to identify key targets.

This method of gathering information helped republican intel to establish profiles of key persons of interest and their networks – many of whom would fall victim to assassination and ambush attempts. These levels of surveillance and subterfuge were a key part of the War of Independence and consequently it is this intelligence war which formed a pretext for the tragic events of 21 November 1920 – the day we know as Bloody Sunday.

This backstory to events at Croke Park on this fateful day would become, for me, a defining focus for investigation and representation. I began to source and photograph locations which were identified through written accounts online or in print. Interviews and witness statements conducted by the Bureau of Military History in the 1950s of Volunteers and members of the inner circle of IRA activities has proven to be an awakening of sorts for this project. Through carefully reading these witness testimonies, it is possible to establish not only known locations connected to the War of Independence, but also to identify surrounding narratives to many of the main events of the time – surveillance operations that were put into play, methods used to gather intelligence, key players involved, specific locations that were battlegrounds for the intelligence war between the IRA and British agents. All these players were navigating and working the same streets up to and around these events, trying to both gather information on one another and further to eliminate one another.

Herbert Road, Dublin. (Image: Martin Cregg)

The witness statements from Volunteers help to construct a very broad and detailed sense of this historical moment and how it unfolded. They offer a more authentic and personal portrayal of the events from various vantage points, perspectives and, as discovered, sensibilities of these young men. To trace the specifics of Bloody Sunday, through the narratives of first-hand accounts and memories, is like a process of revisiting and revising my own understanding of the various complexities which surround this key moment in our history.

A plot to take down the British intelligence network in Ireland was put into play on the morning of Bloody Sunday. At 9am, a series of synchronized assassinations were planned in and around Dublin city by several IRA brigades of young men, who were assigned to specific locations to eliminate a number of British agents who were understood to be a major threat to republican ambitions. Several raids on guesthouses and hotels were planned and carried out, with several British agents killed or wounded.

Part of the approach to the subject has been to photograph up to and around 9am – the appointed time in which assassinations took place. Usually the work is created on Sunday mornings, starting at dawn. Being in specific locations around daybreak brings some sense of physical and psychological alignment with the specifics of events from that morning. In order to unravel the story, I have tried internalise the experiences that are relayed in the witness statements – to follow footsteps of men and reassemble the movements of brigades as they approached their target locations.

Witness documents have offered a detailed insight into the hidden histories and micro-histories of the very streets that lead to these locations of violence. More so, they have offered an insight into the mentality and psychology of young men who felt compelled or coerced - rightly or wrongly - into the act of murder. I feel the marriage of photography and witness statement can reactivate certain aspects of this important moment in our history, offer a perspective and a certain level of understanding of the multi-layered nature of this event – an event which it is fair to say, in some form or another, has shaped the identity of our city and country.

 

Witness testimony from Vinny Byrne who participated in the assassination of British Agents at 38 Upper Mount Street. Click image to enlarge (Image: Martin Cregg)

28 Pembroke Street. Witness statement from Charles Dalton. Click image to enlarge (Image: Martin Cregg)

Gresham Hotel. The Witness testimony is from hotel manager James Doyle. Click image to enlarge (Image: Martin Cregg)

Earlsfort Terrace. Click image to enlarge (Image: Martin Cregg)

Click image to enlarge (Image: Martin Cregg)

To view more images from Martin Cregg’s Bloody Sunday project, visit:
http://martincreggphotography.blogspot.com

Martin Cregg is an Irish photographer and educator living in Dublin. He has exhibited in Ireland and Internationally - recently at 'Heillandi' Switzerland (2016), 'Gazebook' Sicily (2016), 'Illuminations' NUIM (2014), PhotoIreland (2013) Les Rencontres d'Arles (July 2012), the Natural History Museum in Leeuwarden (July 2012) and in Shanghai as part of the 'Postcards from The Celtic Tiger' Group show.