Transcript of an interview with Ivan Cooper, former SDLP MP for Mid Londonderry, by Gerard McCreesh for the Sunday Independent in June 1972. From 1969 conflict had erupted in Northern Ireland over the civil rights issue while paramilitary organisations such as the Provisional IRA and UVF began militant campaigns. Meanwhile, fourteen people were killed in Derry/Londonderry as a result of clashes between the British Army and civil rights protesters on 30 January 1972, an event that became known as Bloody Sunday. Cooper discusses the escalation in violence with particular reference to the Protestant community in Northern Ireland. The Sunday Independent is Ireland’s principal Sunday newspaper.
Date of Release/Broadcast: 5 June 1972
Name of First Interviewee: Ivan Cooper
Role at time of Interview: Former SDLP MP for Mid Londonderry
Interviewer: Gerard McCreesh
Purpose: News
Media: Transcript
Copyright: © Independent.ie
Link: Read the transcript
Programme/Book/Article: The Sunday Indpendent
Time Period covered: 1972
Key Individuals: Ivan Cooper, William Craig, Austin Ardill
Key Words: SDLP, religion, British Army, UDA, Provisional IRA, RUC, policing