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Bloody Sunday anniversary to be marked ahead of Rules clash

George Mealy holds the Bloody Sunday match ball before a 2009 auction. Picture by Niall Carson
George Mealy holds the Bloody Sunday match ball before a 2009 auction. Picture by Niall Carson George Mealy holds the Bloody Sunday match ball before a 2009 auction. Picture by Niall Carson

THE 95th anniversary of the events of Bloody Sunday will be marked by the GAA at a special ceremony at Croke Park before the start of the International Rules test between Ireland and Australia on Saturday.

Fourteen people, among them Tipperary player Michael Hogan, were killed on November 21, 1920 when British forces fire into the crowd attending a Dublin-Tipperary football challenge match in the stadium.

On Saturday the lights of Croke Park will be dimmed, 14 flames will be lit on Hill 16 to represent each of the lives lost on that fateful day and their names will be read out.

There will be no spectator access to Hill 16 for the game and the flames will remain lit for the rest of the evening.

Flag bearers will lead GAA president Aogán Ó Fearghail and director-general Páraic Duffy out onto the pitch and to the spot opposite Gate 41 where Michael Hogan was shot and killed where they will lay a laurel wreath.

There will then be a moment of silence.

"The events of Bloody Sunday on November 21, 1920 are as much a part of the history of Croke Park as any of the epic sporting contests which have taken place there since Gaelic games were first played on Jones's Road," Mr Duffy said.

"The tragic loss of 14 lives on that fateful day, when almost 15,000 turned up to enjoy a football game between Dublin and Tipperary, was a harrowing moment for the association, and while we have thankfully left those dark days behind us, it is only fitting that we honour the memory of those who were killed.

Michael Hogan’s Tipperary jersey, complete with bullet holes, is currently on loan for display in the GAA museum, alongside the match ball.