Today in History—November 21: Dublin’s Bloody Sunday Killings

On this day in 1920, thousands of people went to a Gaelic football match in Dublin—with no idea that it would end in a massacre.

It was a Sunday afternoon. Croke Park, the local sports stadium, was hosting a charity game between Dublin’s home team and Tipperary. A crowd of about 10,000 men, women, and children was in the stands. The game was to benefit the families of imprisoned members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA).

Ireland’s war with Britain over Irish independence had been raging since 1919. (Really, hundreds of years.) Central to the latest fight was the IRA. Led by Michael Collins, the paramilitary group employed a guerrilla campaign of ambushes, raids, and sabotage against the British.

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That Sunday was no exception. The day began with violence, with the IRA launching a surprise attack across Dublin that targeted British intelligence agents and spies, resulting in 14 deaths.

Though there was tension in the air at the game later, many at Croke Park would say afterward that they had no knowledge of the morning’s events. Of those who knew, no one expected retaliation at a football game.

The match started a little after 3 pm. Minutes into the game, something odd happened. A plane appeared, circled low over the stadium, and shot a red flare.

A signal, but for what?

British forces stormed into the stadium. Among them were the feared Black and Tans, nicknamed for their dark green and khaki uniforms.

They opened fire on spectators, who rushed the exits to escape the onslaught of bullets. Finding the exits blocked, the panicked crowd began climbing the walls of the stadium.

The shooting lasted 90 seconds. Fourteen people were killed, including several who were shot while trying to flee. At least 60 more were injured. Later that day three more people were killed—in Dublin Castle, while in the custody of British police.

This would be known as Bloody Sunday, the darkest day in the Irish War of Independence.