The Bloody Sunday Trust organises, in collaboration with the Pat Finucane Centre for Human Rights, a range of annual events to commemorate the anniversary of Bloody Sunday (30 January) and the anniversary of the publication of the Report of the Bloody Sunday Inquiry (15 June).
These annual events have included participants not just from Derry, but from a wide range of contributors both Unionist and Nationalist, from throughout Ireland and internationally. Previous guests have included Geraldine Finucane, Michael Mansfield QC, Gareth Pierce, Seamus Deane, Tony Benn, Ilan Pappe, Mark Durkan MP, Martin McGuinness and Gerry Adams.
In 2015, the Annual Bloody Sunday Lecture was delivered by award-winning author and investigative reporter for The Guardian, Ian Cobain.
In 2016, the Trust hosted a unique Human Rights event at an Cultúrlann in Derry. In conversation with Paul O’Connor, Director of the Pat Finucane Centre, were Michael Gallagher of the Omagh Bomb families, and three of the most prominent leaders of the Hillsborough families, Margaret Aspinall, Sue Roberts and Jenni Hicks, who campaigned tirelessly to uncover the truth of the 1989 stadium disaster that claimed 96 lives.
Also present was Mike McColgan, one of the leaders of the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign based in Sheffield and fighting for justice after members of the South Yorkshire police attacked picketing miners at Orgreave. The Trust also welcomed Moira Casement, a member of the Loughinisland Families, whose recent Police Ombudsman report confirmed that members of the RUC had colluded with Loyalist paramilitaries in the deaths of six people and the wounding of five as they watched the Ireland versus Italy football match in 1994.
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Justice campaigners given a civic reception by Derry & Strabane Deputy Mayor Jim McKeever in June 2016. Pictured are Margaret Aspinall, Jenni Hicks and Sue Roberts of the Hillsborough Families, Moira Casement of the Loughinisland Justice Campaign, Michael Gallagher from the Omagh families, Mick McColgan, Orgreave Truth & Justice Campaign, Paul O'Connor, Pat Finucane Centre with Robin Percival and Jean Hegarty of the Bloody Sunday Trust. (Deirdre Heaney)
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Foyle MP Mark Durkan delivered the Annual Bloody Sunday Lecture at An Culturlann in January 2016. (Robin Percival)
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Host Paul McFadden pictured in conversation with Foyle MP Mark Durkan following the 2016 Annual Bloody Sunday Lecture in Derry. (Robin Percival)
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Ian Cobain, The Guardian's award-winning investigative reporter, and author of 'Cruel Britannia - A Secret History of Torture', delivers the 2015 Annual Bloody Sunday Lecture in Derry. (Robin Percival)
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In June 2013, Pat Finucane Centre and Bloody Sunday Trust organised the Poisonous Legacies international conference in Derry's Guildhall, featuring speakers from Ireland, Britain, Spain, Colombia, Argentina, Israel, Italy, Russia and elsewhere. The conference focused on post-conflict/colonial legacies and unresolved issues such as prosecution and amnesty, truth recovery, ‘official’ and ‘unofficial’ histories, memorials and commemoration, and proper acknowledgement of the roles of different actors in the conflict. Pictured here are speakers Robin Percival (right), Pat Finucane Centre, and Kieran McEvoy, Queens University Belfast. (Robin Percival)
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Robin Percival (on right) and Kieran McEvoy, Queens University Belfast, pictured at the 2013 Poisonous Legacies international conference in Derry's Guildhall, organised by the Pat Finucane Centre and Bloody Sunday Trust. (Robin Percival)