In August 1969, Derry erupted. Tensions had been steadily increasing since the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) attacked civil rights marchers the previous October, and already that year there had been significant rioting on the edges of the Bogside, the nationalist area nestled under the city’s walls.
In January the RUC had invaded the area, smashing windows and doors and shouting sectarian slogans In April they beat a local man, Sammy Devenney, in his own home; he died that July.
The Apprentice Boys’ march on August 12th was the flashpoint.
Stone-throwing rapidly spiralled out of control. The RUC staged a charge into the Bogside but were beaten back by local rioters throwing petrol bombs. For two days, they defended the area in what became known as the Battle of the Bogside.
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It was documented by the French photojournalist Gilles Caron. He had covered conflicts the world over, including in Vietnam, Biafra and student protests in Paris the previous year. Today, his pictures of the Battle of the Bogside are the defining images of what, with hindsight, was the start of the Northern Troubles.
The unrest spread. Seven people died in Belfast, and the British army was sent to Derry to restore order. They would remain for almost 40 years.
Gilles Caron went missing the following year, while on assignment in Cambodia, aged 30. He was never found.
His Derry images, published in Life magazine, are being exhibited in the Park Hotel, Kenmare, Kerry, until December.
