Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
On 30 June 1972, just months after the Bloody Sunday Massacre, ITN filmed Martin McGuinness, Deputy Commander of the Provisional IRA in Derry, overseeing the clearing of rat-infested barricades in the Bogside. ITN's Anthony Carthew interviewed PIRA man Harry McCourt about the decision to remove the barricades, which were first erected by Bogside residents in 1969 in response to incursions by the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), and reinforced that summer following the intercommunal clashes known as the Battle of the Bogside. McCourt insisted their removal was purely to deal with a rat problem, and that the other barricades would remain standing.
Just 21 years old at the time of filming, McGuinness was rapidly rising through the republican ranks. One week after this footage was recorded, on 7 July 1972, the British government flew McGuinness and fellow republican leader Gerry Adams – who has always denied IRA membership despite widespread allegations that he was a senior commander – to London for secret peace talks at a Chelsea townhouse. Though those initial negotiations collapsed, McGuinness remained a pivotal figure in the movement's long transition from armed conflict to politics. Decades later, following the historic Good Friday Agreement, he transitioned into mainstream politics, eventually serving as the Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland at the Stormont parliament from 2007 until his resignation in 2017.
#MartinMcGuinness #TheTroubles #BloodySunday #Derry #ProvisionalIRA #IRA #NorthernIreland
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On 30 June 1972, just months after the Bloody Sunday Massacre, ITN filmed Martin McGuinness, Deputy Commander of the Provisional IRA in Derry, overseeing the clearing of rat-infested barricades in the Bogside. ITN's Anthony Carthew interviewed PIRA man Harry McCourt about the decision to remove the barricades, which were first erected by Bogside residents in 1969 in response to incursions by the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), and reinforced that summer following the intercommunal clashes known as the Battle of the Bogside. McCourt insisted their removal was purely to deal with a rat problem, and that the other barricades would remain standing.
Just 21 years old at the time of filming, McGuinness was rapidly rising through the republican ranks. One week after this footage was recorded, on 7 July 1972, the British government flew McGuinness and fellow republican leader Gerry Adams – who has always denied IRA membership despite widespread allegations that he was a senior commander – to London for secret peace talks at a Chelsea townhouse. Though those initial negotiations collapsed, McGuinness remained a pivotal figure in the movement's long transition from armed conflict to politics. Decades later, following the historic Good Friday Agreement, he transitioned into mainstream politics, eventually serving as the Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland at the Stormont parliament from 2007 until his resignation in 2017.
#MartinMcGuinness #TheTroubles #BloodySunday #Derry #ProvisionalIRA #IRA #NorthernIreland
To license the footage featured in this clip, follow the link below:
gettyimages.co.uk/detail/video/interview-barricades-in-belfast-b-northern-ireland-news-footage/1410798457?adppopup=true
To search the ITN Archive collection on Getty Images, follow the link below:
gettyimages.co.uk/footage/itn
🎥 Subscribe to our YouTube channel (tap the bell icon and stay up to date with all the latest Frontline by ITN videos!) - youtube.com/@FrontlinebyITN
🎥 Follow us on Twitter - twitter.com/ITNArchive
🎥 Like us on Facebook - facebook.com/ITNArchiveITNP
🎥 Check out our TikTok - tiktok.com/@itnarchive1955
