Turning Point

Following O'Neill's Crossroads speech, there was general support for a moratorium on protest. However, elements of the PD decided to press ahead with the contentious idea of "long march" from Belfast to Derry/Londonderry. Having set off on 1 January, the march met increasing resistance along the way, finally culminating in a brutal attack on Burntollet bridge on 4 January. 

The PD march and the shocking attach on it by Unionist counter-protestors at Burntollet bridge exposed the simmering sectarian tensions that lay just beneath the surface and marked a significant turning point in Northern Ireland's 1986. On both sides, the was a step too far.