// CROKE PARK WAS LOCATION OF SUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY ///

Interesting fact regarding SUnday Bloody Sunday.

"Read any Irish textbook and you will no doubt read about the events that set the stage to one of U2's most political songs. In 1921, the counter intelligence of the original Irish Republic Army discovered the identities of British agents who had methodically killed members of Sinn Fein. The IRA broke into the houses of the spies and assassinated them in their beds. In retaliation, The British sent its ruthless police force known as the Black and Tans to Croke Park where they opened fire on the crowd attending a football match there. Twelve men and women were shot dead and 60 others were wounded. It became known as Bloody Sunday. This event was echoed in 1972 when the Paratroop Regiment of the British Army opened fire during a civil rights demonstration in Derry and killed 14 unarmed people, wounding another 14. The anger and disbelief in Ireland was ripe. The violence in Northern Ireland escalated and throughout the decade and into the next, the Dubliners became desensitized to the violence. Bono felt that the Irish couldn't afford to forget nor should they want to.

SBS has become a staple of live shows, and in early performances Bono declares, "This is not a rebel song", meaning that the lyrics could not be taken as support for the Republican cause. It is an emotional response to appalling political reality."