Ivan Averill Cooper (5 January 1944 – 26 June 2019)[1] was anIrish nationalist politician fromNorthern Ireland. He was a member of theParliament of Northern Ireland and a founding member of theSocial Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP). He is best known for leading the civil rights march on 30 January 1972 that developed into theBloody Sunday massacre.
Cooper was born inClaudy,County Londonderry, into a working-classProtestant family who were members of theChurch of Ireland. He was brought up in nearbyKillaloo, before he and his family moved in 1956 to the "Bogside" area ofDerry city. He was briefly a member of the ClaudyYoung Unionist Association until April 1965 when he joined theNorthern Ireland Labour Party. As the Labour candidate in theStormont generalelection that year, he attracted a moderate amount of cross-community support, but was not elected.[2] Committed tonon-violence, he became a major figure in theNorthern Ireland Civil Rights Association, which campaigned for equality during the late 1960s. In 1968, Cooper resigned from the Labour Party and founded the Derry Citizens' Action Committee (DCAC),[3] serving as its president until the following year.[4] In the summer of 1968, at a protest meeting in theGuildhall foyer, he suggested that Catholics and Protestants alike should fight for theirrights "as theblacks in America werefighting".[5]
Attempting to rise abovesectarian politics, he remained hopeful that bothCatholics and Protestants could work together, particularly the working classes of both groups, who he believed shared the same greater interests. Hisnationalist stance, however, led many fellow Protestants to view him as a traitor.[6] Cooper nonetheless remained a practicing Anglican.[7]
Cooper continued his civil rights campaigning, ignoring a month-long ban imposed on marches in Derry in November 1968 by organising a march two days later with the DCAC in which up to 15,000 people took part.[citation needed] Following violence resulting from numerous illegal marches in the city, Cooper called for a halt to spontaneous marches.[8] After escalation of street disturbances at the start of the year, following a march by thePeople's Democracy movement, which resulted in residents of theBogside cordoning off areas with impromptu barricades, Cooper managed to persuade locals to remove the barricades. The damage seemed irreparable, however, after a march inNewry got out of control. Most Protestants and many Catholics who had remained supportive of the civil rights actions now withdrew their support.[9]
In the1969 general election, Cooper was elected as anindependent member of theParliament of Northern Ireland forMid Londonderry,[4] defeating the sittingNationalist Party MP,Paddy Gormley.
On 12 August – the start of the few intense days of violence which have become known as theBattle of the Bogside – Cooper tried to restrain Catholics protesting anApprentice Boys of Derry parade by linking arms withJohn Hume andEddie McAteer. However, they were swept aside and Cooper was knocked unconscious by a brick.[10]
Cooper was suspended fromStormont for a week on 20 March after a protest in theChamber over aPublic Order Bill.[11]
On 21 August 1970, Cooper co-founded the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) with Hume,Paddy Devlin,Austin Currie,Paddy O’Hanlon andGerry Fitt.[6][12][13]
Cooper organised a civil rights and anti-internment march for 30 January 1972, which was to develop intoBloody Sunday, in which fourteen unarmed civilians were murdered by soldiers from theParachute Regiment on duty in Derry, who opened fire on the crowd.[4]
After the abolition of the Stormont Parliament, Cooper was elected as one of the representatives ofMid Ulster to theNorthern Ireland Assembly, 1973 and theNorthern Ireland Constitutional Convention in 1975. He was also the SDLP's candidate in the constituency in both theFebruary 1974 andOctober 1974 Westminster elections. By standing in the first of these, he split the nationalist vote and in effect ensured the defeat of independent MPBernadette McAliskey.[citation needed]
In 1983, Cooper stood aside after the boundary changes for the newFoyle constituency to let his colleague and friend John Hume contest the seat. The increase in levels of violence intertwined with the politics made Cooper slowly move away from politics. He was later an insolvency consultant.[6]
At the height of his political career, Ivan Cooper commanded the largest support of any nationalist Stormont MP. A film was released in 2002, calledBloody Sunday, in which Cooper is portrayed by actorJames Nesbitt.[6]
He was the husband of Frances Cooper, and had two daughters; Sinead and Bronagh Cooper.[14]
| Parliament of Northern Ireland | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forMid Londonderry 1969–1973 | Parliament abolished |
| Northern Ireland Assembly (1973) | ||
| New assembly | Assembly Member forMid-Ulster 1973–1974 | Assembly abolished |
| Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention | ||
| New convention | Member forMid-Ulster 1975–1976 | Convention dissolved |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
