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The president has said the reconciling vision and courage of Northern Ireland\u2019s civil rights leaders should be embraced on the 50th anniversary of protest bloodshed.<\/p>\nThe president has said the reconciling vision and courage of Northern Ireland\u2019s civil rights leaders should be embraced on the 50th anniversary of protest bloodshed.<\/p>\n
For some, the Royal Ulster Constabulary\u2019s use of violence at Duke Street in Derry marked the start of decades of conflict.<\/p>\n
Peaceful protesters seeking rights like one man, one vote, and the fair allocation of public housing were assaulted with batons.<\/p>\n
President Michael D Higgins gave an award to one of the founders of the movement, Ivan Cooper, and applauded after St Columcille\u2019s Ladies Choir sang the protest songs of the time.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cThe 5th of October march galvanized the movement for civil rights in Ireland.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cI add my own thanks to Ivan, as President of Ireland, for the courage, the leadership and the dedication to the cause of justice \u2013 justice in all its forms \u2013 that he has demonstrated throughout his political career.\u201d<\/p>\n
Derry in 1968 was a Catholic and nationalist city, administered for decades by a Protestant and Unionist majority, the President noted.<\/p>\n
Dozens of people, including the MP Gerry Fitt, were injured when the protest march backed by the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association entered an area declared prohibited by then unionist minister of Home Affairs William Craig.<\/p>\n
Nobel peace prize winner John Hume rescued the wounded and went on to become a statesman who helped end the IRA\u2019s violent campaign decades later.<\/p>\n
Mr Higgins said: \u201cAs we assemble today let us, above all, recall the vision of John Hume, so rooted in the experience of the Civil Rights movement.<\/p>\n
\u201cA vision of a shared Ireland, one that recognizes the unionist and nationalist traditions, one that is capable of reconciling communities, one that, North and South, preserves human dignity and vindicates and expands fundamental human rights \u2013 in the economic, cultural and social spheres.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we remain true to that vision, we can not only sustain peace on our island, but can, together, confront the shared challenges of the future with confidence and courage.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the Civil Rights movement was the crucible from which Mr Hume emerged as a national and international politician.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe dedicated his political life to realizing its program, and later, its wider emancipatory potential.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association\u2019s leadership came from a diverse and broad cross-section of backgrounds, including Catholics, Protestants, unionists and republicans, socialists and trade unionists.<\/p>\n
The president said they were united in their determination to combat the deep inequalities which scarred Northern Ireland \u2013 inequalities in housing, voting, and policing.<\/p>\n
The association demanded the principle of \u201cone person, one vote\u201d, an end to gerrymandering, elimination of discrimination in the allocation of government jobs and housing, the repeal of the Special Powers Act, and the disbandment of the Ulster Special Constabulary.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a parade organised by Sinn Fein recreated the original march carrying banners and singing songs. They carried placards protesting against Brexit and calling for LGBT rights.<\/p>\n