Image #1: Don McCullin (English) Youths taunting British Soldiers, The Bogside, Derry, 1971
This photo taken by British photographer Don McCullin depicts young boys throwing rocks at British soldiers in the Bogside. Benn Keaveney, one of the boys, recalls helping some older folks to escape tear gas that had been deployed by the British in an attempt to break up a riot.
This type of photo is one commonly exhibited by the British media. While history has shown that British soldiers played significant roles in the violence experienced in Northern Ireland, British newspapers were often nervous to take photos of British officers doing just about anything. The United Kingdom pressed in on preserving an appearance of liberal democracy and freedom of press. The backwards image broadcast on to Northern Ireland was one that the United Kingdom looked to avoid for themselves; something that images of British violence towards the Northern Irish would not help to cultivate.
McCullin took this photo while on assignment from The Sunday Times Magazine in 1971. By this time he was already a world renowned war photographer, having shot the conflicts in Biafra, Cyprus, Lebanon, Vietnam, and Congo. For McCullin, spending a period of time in a place of conflict was a common occurrence. As an individual traveling this as a career, he has put his life at risk countless times to quickly capture the photo. On this particular day, he was gassed and then hit in the back by a rubber bullet.
Image #2: Paul Faith (Northern Irish) Woman shouting down the barrel of a soldier’s gun, Ballymurphy, Belfast, 1989
In recalling the outbreak of the Troubles Paul Faith notes “Photographers don’t take sides, [they] take pictures.” While this takes note of the tasks that come with being a photojournalist, this also clues into the danger that was experienced in this line of work. Paramilitaries were not against burning evidence to keep themselves from fault. Another Northern Irish photographer, Martin Nangle, famously hid away a half used roll of film, replacing it with a new roll before they could tear the film out of his camera, to protect images of the events of the Milltown Cemetery attacks, in which two men drove through the crowd of mourners.
Paul Faith took this photo on the 20th anniversary of the outbreak of the Troubles. At the time there was much talk in Belfast that the violence was going to explode any day soon. On the day that Faith went out to take this picture he saw people beginning to square up with British Soldiers. The soldiers were on edge and were easily positioned to shoot if need be. This soldier had his SA80 gun pointed down the street into central Ballymurphy. A woman walked up to the soldier and screamed down the barrel of the gun.
This image is a visual depiction of the violence and hatred that was shared between republicans and the British soldiers. Despite the fact that the soldier’s face is barely visible there is a tension felt between these two individuals that is ready to erupt. Despite the fact that there is no contact between these two people, this feels as if it is a violent altercation. The emotion felt in the image is evident to anyone but plays at Faith’s words of staying neutral as the anger of this photo comes from both sides.
