'68

Friends Marion and Hugh were involved in the early days of the civil rights movement – they recall the atmosphere in the city before the march and what happened next.

Most historians agree that if the Troubles started in one time and place, it was the civil rights march on Duke Street in Londonderry on the 5th October 1968. The demonstration had been banned by the government and when it went ahead police turned water cannon on the protestors and beat them with batons. Footage was beamed around the world – and life in Northern Ireland had changed in the space of a few hours.

On the 50th anniversary of the event, BBC Radio Foyle captures a range of witness testimony and reflection from those who were on the march, those who opposed it, and others who remember the build-up to and aftermath of this turning point in our history.

Derry, October 1968. A spark is lit when a civil rights march ends in violence.

Most historians agree that if the Northern Ireland Troubles started in one place and at time, the spark was the violence that marred a civil rights march on Derry / Londonderry’s Duke Street, on October 5th 1968. Those who were there recall what happened, what led up to it, and what changed in the aftermath.