BLOODY SUNDAY INQUIRY Week 117

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9 - 13 FEBRUARY 2004

Evidence heard

This week the Inquiry heard from the following witnesses:

Samuel Donnelly (Royal Ulster Constabulary Special Branch); Samuel Davidson (RUC SB); William Kilfedder (RUC SB); Helen Kivelehan; John McCourt (recalled); Jane McCourt; RM 1; RM 2; John Nash (recalled); PIRA 25 (Provisional IRA Volunteer, 1972); Brian Powers; PIRA 26 (Provisional IRA Volunteer 1972); Patrick McGinley; William McCartney; Stephen Mellon (Provisional IRA Volunteer, 1972) and PIRA 24 (Officer Commanding Provisional IRA Derry 1972).

Summary of Evidence

Monday                 9   February 2004        Samuel Donnelly, Samuel Davidson, William Kilfedder, Helen Kivelehan,                                                                            John McCourt, Jane McCourt

Tuesday               10 February 2004          RM 1, RM 2, John Nash, PIRA 25

Wednesday        11 February 2004          Brian Powers, PIRA 26, Patrick McGinley, William McCartney

Thursday              12 February 2004          PIRA 21, PIRA 24

Friday                    13 February 2004          PIRA 24

A full transcript of the proceedings is available at http://www.bloody-sunday-inquiry.org.uk.

Numbers in square brackets refer to the code given to a particular document by the Inquiry. 

INTRODUCTION

This week saw the final oral evidence to be heard by the Inquiry.  These were the last of the 919 witnesses called since the Inquiry began oral hearings in 1999.  They included several former RUC Special Branch officers, including Samuel Donnelly former head of Special Branch in Derry; Helen Kivelehan, who says she saw a boy shot in Abbey Park close to where Gerard Donaghy was shot; RM 1 who was present at the confrontation in Colombcille Court with OIRA ; and RM 2 who witnessed a Para firing south of the Rossville Flats before Bernard McGuigan was shot.

Also called this week were: PIRA 25, a Provisional IRA volunteer who saw Patrick Doherty shot; Patrick McGinley, who may have seen William Nash and James Wray shot; William McCartney, who saw a civilian gunman with a rifle opposite the Bogside Inn and PIRA 24, the officer commanding the Provisional IRA in Derry on Bloody Sunday.

Daniel and Vera McGilloway were subpoenaed to attend the Inquiry on 9 February 2004 but failed to appear.  PIRA 9 was also subpoenaed to appear but he refused to do so or provide a statement.  It was also announced that OIRA 3 and OIRA 9 would be unable to give oral evidence for medical reasons.  Their statements appear at AOIRA0003.0001 and AOIRA0009.0001.  OIRA 3 was the officer commanding the Official IRA on Bloody Sunday.  At the close of the evidence Lord Saville gave his ruling on contempt proceedings.

The Inquiry has now adjourned until 7 June 2004 when it will question the lawyers for the Interested Parties on their closing submissions.  Christopher Clarke QC, counsel to the Inquiry, is expected to sum up the proceedings in October 2004.

Samuel Donnelly

Detective Chief Inspector, head of RUC Special Branch, Derry 1972

Made Statements to the RUC on 7 February 1972 [JD0007.0001] and to the Inquiry on 3 July 2000 [JD0007.0004]

In 1972 Mr. Donnelly was head of the Royal Ulster Constabulary Special Branch (RUC SB) in Derry.  He was based at Victoria Barracks in the Strand Road.  His role was to collect intelligence on “the activities of subversive organisations”.  He liased with INQ 1803, a captain in military intelligence at 8 Brigade HQ.  When he gave evidence to the Inquiry he was screened from view of the public and the families.

Mr. Donnelly said he could not remember briefing RUC photographers prior to the march.  PC Penny refers to a briefing given by DCI Donnelly at Ebrington barracks [JP0007.0004].

30 January 1972

Mr. Donnelly did not make a formal statement about his experiences on 30 January 1972 but a week later he was asked to provide a report to Chief Superintendent Lagan.  That records that he was on duty with Detective Sergeant Davidson at the army barrier in Sackville Street from 15:20.  The march arrived in William Street at about 15:35 and two youths came up Little James Street to rest a Civil Rights banner on the road.  About 50 youths then began stoning the barriers in Sackville Street and Little James Street.   The army replied with CS gas and rubber bullets.

At about 16:10 Mr. Donnelly records hearing a single high velocity shot.  This is the only shot he claims to have heard.  The Paras then drove down Little James Street in front of him.  The report makes no mention of the one hundred plus bullets fired by the Paras whilst in the Bogside.  Mr. Donnelly said he could not remember anything of what occurred on the day.

Hugh Leo Young

Mr. Donnelly said that after the Paras had gone in he was called at about 16:30 to return to Strand Road to interview some people arrested at roadblocks.  He had no recollection of going to Ballykelly on Bloody Sunday but he may have done so.  He said Leo Young’s description of an officer to whom he spoke there did not fit him because he was not bald.  Leo Young was arrested whilst trying to take Gerard Donaghy to hospital.  His brother John Young was shot dead at the rubble barricade but he was not told this until being released from custody the next day when an officer who he believed was called Donnelly said “how many brothers did you say you had?  You’ve only got one now” [AY0001.0006].

Mr. Donnelly agreed there was an army presence at the RUC station on the Strand Road but denied any knowledge of RUC officers clapping the Paras’ commanders when they met them after the shootings in the Bogside.  Company Sergeant Major Lewis refers to the incident in his statement to the Inquiry [B2111.0020].

No Missing Bodies

Mr. Donnelly confirmed that it was his job to monitor members of the IRA and so far as he was aware no suspected para-militaries disappeared on Bloody Sunday.

Poor Intelligence

Mr. Donnelly said Special Branch did not have much intelligence prior to the march and that which they did have was of questionable reliability.  He said they did not know the IRA’s plans for Bloody Sunday.  Mr. Donnelly said he could not remember what, if any, intelligence they had regarding the IRA’s plans for 30 January 1972.  He said he had no involvement in drafting the Special Branch Assessment dated 3 February 1972 [JD0007.0005] which was circulated to the Joint Security Committee (JSC) in Belfast.  That document claimed there was “reliable intelligence” prior to the march indicating that “the IRA intended to exploit the presence of the crowds as cover for their gunmen”.  Mr. Donnelly said he had no recollection of such intelligence.

The ‘David’ Signal [G0081A.0511.0002]

The Inquiry has established that the reference in the 3 February 1972 Assessment came from a telex sent by the Director of Intelligence Northern Ireland known to the Inquiry only by his first name David.  The signal was sent to the Commander of the 8^th Infantry Brigade, Brigadier McClellan, on 27 January 1972.  It was also copied to the head of RUC Special Branch, Assistant Chief Constable David Johnston under cover of a letter also dated 27 January 1972 [G0081A.0511.0001].  That letter indicates that in addition to ACC Johnston the signal was read by the Chief Constable and DCI Donnelly.  Mr. Donnelly said he could not recall seeing it.  The signal attributes the information to “the source known to you”, presumably referring to an agent known to Brigadier McClellan.

The General Ford Memorandum [G0048.0299]

On 10 January 1972 General Ford, Commander of Land Forces, wrote a memo regarding the situation in Derry.  Therein General Ford says:  "I am coming to the conclusion that the minimum force necessary to achieve a restoration of law and order is to shoot selected ring-leaders amongst the DYH (Derry Young Hooligans), after clear warnings have been issued."  Mr. Donnelly said he never saw the memo and claimed never to have learnt of General Ford’s proposal.  In the same document General Ford refers to Special Branch warnings which may be unfounded.  Mr. Donnelly said he had no idea what this was referring to.  He also said he had no knowledge of General Ford’s assertion that rioters backed up by gunmen were bound to take over the march at an early stage.

Colonel Tugwell

At 01:00 on 31 January 1972 Colonel Tugwell gave an interview to BBC Radio in which he claimed 4 of those killed on Bloody Sunday were on a “wanted list”.  In a statement made on 3 March 1972 [B1316] Colonel Tugwell said he had been given a list of 4 names on which there were “security traces” indicating there was some record of the individual.  He accepted they were not wanted and his earlier reference was misleading.  Mr. Donnelly said he knew nothing about any such list.

Mr. Donnelly claimed he had no knowledge of any threats or abuse of prisoners by any of his officers being reported to him.  He denied that prisoners interviewed by Special Branch were threatened with internment (imprisonment without trial) if they did not supply information.

Samuel Davidson

Former Detective Sergeant, RUC Special Branch, Derry 1972

Made Statements to the RUC on 7 February 1972 [JD0001.0001] and to the Inquiry on 3 April 2000 [JD0001.0004]

Mr. Davidson was with Mr. Donnelly on 30 January 1972.  He also made no statement in 1972 but made a report to Chief Superintendent Lagan on 7 February 1972.  It is essentially the same as DCI Donnelly’s report.  He also claims to have failed to have heard any of the Paras one hundred plus shots fired in the Bogside.

Mr. Davidson said he had no recollection of any discussions regarding intelligence on IRA plans for the march.

Witness X

Mr. Davidson was one of the RUC officers who in 1972 interviewed the man known to the Inquiry as Witness X.  In the interview [AX0001.0002] Witness X is recorded as a Provisional IRA suspect.  It purports to record Witness X admitting to having fired two magazines of ammunition from an M1 carbine in Glenfada Park North during a joint operation involving both the Official and Provisional IRA on Bloody Sunday.  Witness X has since made a statement to the Inquiry denying the contents of the interview [AX0001.0003].  Mr. Davidson said he could not remember Witness X or the interview but denied ever manufacturing information during an interview.  He claimed interviewees were never threatened with internment or violence and said names or suggestions were never put to an interviewee.  The Witness X interview was apparently found amidst the papers of the Sunday Times Insight Team.  Mr. Davidson said he was not aware of any information that corroborated the alleged Witness X account.

William Kilfedder

Former Detective Constable, RUC Special Branch, Derry 1972

Made Statements to the RUC on 7 February 1972 [JK0006.0001] and to the Inquiry on 31 May 2000 [JK0006.0003]

Mr. Kilfedder was also on duty on 30 January 1972.  He also made a report to Chief Superintendent Lagan on 7 February 1972.  He claims not to have heard a single shot even though he was moving between the army barriers in Little James Street, Sackville Street and William Street.  He denied there was a conspiracy of silence within the RUC.

Witness X

Mr. Kilfedder was the other officer present at the Witness X interview.  He too said he had no memory of it.  He said he was aware that allegations of brutality had been made on occasions and accepted some interviewees may have been threatened with internment.  However he claimed people volunteered the information they obtained even in the knowledge it might lead to them being interned.

Helen Kivelehan

Made Statement to the inquiry on 6 February 2004 [AK0048.0001]

Helen Kivelehan is married to Michael Kivelehan.  He gave evidence to the Inquiry on 16 December 2003 [Week 112, Day 406].  He was asked about an interview he gave to John Goddard in 1991 in which, according to Mr. Goddard, Mr. Kivelehan said he saw nail bombs and a man with a hand gun in the area of Glenfada Park North/Abbey Park.  When he gave evidence Mr. Kivelehan said he had no recollection of telling John Goddard about the gun or nail bombs and does not remember seeing them.  John Goddard claims Michael Kivelehan said he helped dismantle the hand gun in his grandmother’s flat in Glenfada Park North and saw two nail bombs in the street [John Goddard’s notes AK0045.0001].

30 January 1972

Helen Kivelehan was with her husband and others at a family funeral on the morning of 30 January 1972.  They were all intending to go to Mr. Kivelehan’s grandmother’s house at 21 Glenfada Park North but joined the march as it passed the cemetery.  She was with her sister-in-law Jane McCourt on the march.  They had lost their husbands, Michael Kivelehan and John McCourt.  The march stopped in William Street and they decided to leave when people said CS gas had been fired.  They cut across the ‘laundry’ waste ground into Colombcille Court.  She said there was a sense of urgency and even panic in the crowd.  She had not heard any shooting.

21 Glenfada Park North

There were a number of family members already at the house and they felt safe once they got there.  Michael, his brother John Kivelehan and John McCourt arrived at some point.  Then there was banging on the kitchen door which leads into the Glenfada Park North courtyard.  People were saying the army were shooting.  Helen was in the sitting room at the time, this is at the back of the flat and looks out onto Abbey Park.  The curtains were drawn because the family were in mourning.  It was at about this time that she first heard shooting.

Boy Shot

She looked out into Abbey Park to see what was going on.  She said she remembers seeing a group of youths running towards the flat from Frederick Street.  There were about 6 youths aged 16-17 years old running along an alleyway north of Abbey Park.  She saw two small groups of soldiers behind them in Frederick Street.  The nearest of the soldiers went down on one knee and aimed his rifle towards the youths who were running away.  She said the last of the youths was shot in the back as he reached the steps between Glenfada Park and Abbey Park.  He seemed to fly forward as he was hit.  He fell onto his front.

She described the man she saw shot as wearing dark blue or brown trousers, a jacket which was open and flapping, a shirt and tie and possibly a jumper.  He had dark collar length hair.  She thinks she shouted that she had seen a boy shot but she was dragged away from the window and onto the floor out of danger.  She lay on the floor until the shooting died down.

Some people then left the flat, to find out what had happened, but she did not do so until later.  Others came into the flat with reports that people had been killed.  She says she never knew the identity of the boy she saw shot.  She never made a statement in 1972.  She said she had not discussed the shooting with her husband although he had told her of the shooting he witnessed in Glenfada Park North.

John Goddard Interview

Mrs. Kivelehan said she was not present when John Goddard interviewed her husband and she knew nothing about it.  She said no one, including her husband, had ever mentioned there being a man with a gun in the house.  She certainly never saw a gun.  The same applied to nail bombs.

John Michael McCourt

Made Statements to NICRA on 31 January 1972 [AM0144.0006, Keville Tape 5, transcript at AM0144.0009] and to the Inquiry on 26 April 1999 [AM0144.0001] and 2 February 2004 [AM0144.0010].  He gave evidence to the inquiry on 3 October 2001 [DAY 152, BIRW Week 40]

Mr. McCourt was recalled to deal with the issue of the alleged gunman in 21 Glenfada Park North.  He is married to Jane McCourt.  Michael Kivelehan is his wife’s brother.  Mr. McCourt said he had no recollection of seeing anyone with a gun or any nail bombs.  Mr. McCourt did let a young man aged about 14 or 15 into the flat on Bloody Sunday but if he had a gun he did not see it.  The boy was not injured.

He said Michael did tell him some time ago he had seen a boy with a gun on Bloody Sunday but he did not say when or where this was.  They did not discuss it further.  Mr. McCourt said Michael could be fanciful at times and he gave no credence to the suggestion.  He said he thought Michael had made it up.  He did not describe the gun or refer to it being broken up in the house.  He said he had never heard anyone speak of nail bombs.

John Goddard Interview with Michael Kivelehan

Mr. McCourt said he did see a blond haired man who he was told was a journalist at a family gathering in about 1991.  The man went upstairs and he did not see who he spoke to.  He did not speak to him. 

Keville Tape

The tape recorded interview Mr. McCourt gave to Ms. Keville for NICRA in 1972 was not available when he gave evidence in 2001.  Having listened to the tape Mr. McCourt said he could not be sure it was his voice however the person gave his address and his name as Joe McCourt.  Mr. McCourt said a number of the things mentioned in the interview are untrue.  He did not see 5 but only 3 soldiers in Glenfada Park.  He saw one soldier fire one shot.  He said he may have said things at the time that he had not seen but which he believed to have been true.

Jane McCourt

Made Statements to the Inquiry on 18 March 1999 [AM0142.0001] and 2 February 2004 [AM0142.0004]

Ms. McCourt had been to her aunt’s funeral on the morning on 30 January 1972.  She joined the march with her sister-in-law Helen Kivelehan.  They returned to her grandmother’s flat in Glenfada Park where there was a family gathering.  There were a lot of people in the house but she said none of her seven sisters were there.  She said she had never spoken to a journalist and was never aware of anyone else having spoken to one.  She was never aware of a gunman in the flat on Bloody Sunday and had never been told of it.

RM 1

Provisional Republican, Derry 1972

Made Statement to the Inquiry on 5 February 1972 [ARM0001.0001]

RM 1 was granted anonymity and given the cipher PIRA 2 however he says he was never in the IRA and his cipher has therefore been changed to RM 1.  RM 1 said he was a member of Sinn Fein and on 30 January 1972 was responsible for administering the Dependants’ Fund.  He was on the Provisional wing of the Republican Movement.  He said it was possible that some people assumed he was in the IRA.

RM 1 went on the march and was at barrier 14 in William Street when the water cannon was used on the crowd.  At this stage he retreated to Rossville Street and made his way towards Kells Walk.

Colombcille Court Shot

At some point RM 1 heard a high velocity shot which he believed to have been fired from the washing area in Colombcille Court surrounded by wooden slats.  He could not tell where it had been aimed.  He only heard the one shot.  This was after the majority of the crowd had moved away down Rossville Street towards Free Derry Corner.  His recollection was that he was standing in Rossville Street close to the north end of Kells Walk when he heard the shot.  However on looking at the photographs he said he did not remember having to move far from where he was to get to the area from where the shot was fired.  He does not recall making his way from Rossville Street to Colombcille Court.  He is therefore now uncertain as to precisely where he was when he heard the shot.  He recalled seeing youths stoning the army barrier in Little James Street and thought it was whilst he was watching this that he heard the shot.  However he could not have seen the barrier in Little James Street from close to Kells Walk or Colombcille Court.  Alan Roxborough, counsel to the Inquiry, asked if he might have been watching stoning on the waste ground further west in William Street, opposite Colombcille Court but RM 1 said he had no memory of seeing stoning there.

Confrontation with OIRA 1

In any event as soon as he heard the shot RM 1 said he became angry because there were still a lot of civilians in the area.  He ran up a stairway and confronted two men in the drying area.  He recognised the men but said he did not know to which branch of the IRA they belonged.  He did not know their names.  One had a rifle.  RM 1 says he grabbed the rifle and threw it down the stairs.  He shouted something like “Are you mad?” but did not listen to the reply.  He then pushed the man down the stairs. 

Sean Keenan and another man then arrived in the stairwell.  He said he did not know if the fourth man was or was not PIRA 1.  They all left after some shouting.  It was all over very briefly.

Sunday Times Interview with OIRA 1 [AOIRA0001.0001]

The Inquiry has notes of an interview the Sunday Times Insight team say they conducted with OIRA 1 in 1972.  OIRA 1 denies being interviewed.  The notes record that RM 1 and Sean Keenan, together with PIRA 1, confronted OIRA 1 and OIRA 2 in Colombcille Court.  The notes also say the eldest of the three Provos took the lead.  RM 1 agreed he was the eldest but said he was alone at first.  He denied that the gun was pointed at him or anyone else.  He insisted he disarmed OIRA 1 before throwing the gun down the stairs.  The whole incident only lasted a few seconds.

RM 1 said he would remember if OIRA 1 had told him he had fired because the army had just shot two civilians.

RM 2

Volunteer, Provisional IRA, Brandywell, 1972

Made Statements to the Inquiry on 17 March 1999 [AK0042.0001] and 9 February 2004 [AK0042.0018]

RM 2 joined the Fianna in 1969 when he was 14 years old.  He was approached and asked if he would like to know more about the Gaelic language and Irish identity.  It was basically a scouting organisation.  He left sometime in 1970.  He was arrested for collecting money for the Fianna.  He left before the split between the Provos and the Officials.  He left because he got a job and developed a social life.  There was very little Republican activity at the time.  No soldiers had been killed in Derry. 

After Bloody Sunday hundreds approached to join the Provisional IRA and he was sworn in May or June 1972.  However he was not involved in any Republican organisation on 30 January 1972.  He had never met Gerard Donaghy.  He was not in the Fianna in 1970.  He did know Denis McFeely because they were neighbours but he was not aware he had anything to do with the Republican Movement in 1970.  Intelligence document INT0001.0028 is wrong in recording the three of them as together in the Fianna.

RM 2 knew Paddy Ward.  They played football together and went to the same school.  He was not aware he had any Republican sympathies until he hit the headlines about 10 years ago.  RM 2 described Paddy Ward as something of a loose cannon.

RM 2 said he never asked members of the Provisional IRA what they had done on Bloody Sunday.  It was common knowledge they had not been active that day.  People knew they were in the Creggan.

30 January 1972

RM 2 said he had been involved in riots before Bloody Sunday.  He was on the march and was in Chamberlain Street near the junction with William Street for about 15 minutes.  He threw a few stones at barrier 14.  He was very disappointed the march could not get to the Guildhall.

He did not know Martin McGuinness at the time and probably would not have recognised him if he had seen him.  He did not see anyone trying to break into Duffy’s bookmakers.

Whilst in Chamberlain Street he heard someone had been shot back up William Street and he decided to see what had happened.  He went down Chamberlain Street, through Eden Place onto the waste ground and back up Rossville Street to Aggro Corner.  He then carried a Civil Rights banner towards the army barrier in Little James Street.  He is pictured with his back to the camera in photograph P0676.  He did not know it at the time but has subsequently learnt that the man holding the other end of the banner was James Wray.

Paras Coming In

He then made his way down Rossville Street towards Free Derry Corner.  He was at the Threepenny Bits just south of the Rossville Flats when the Paras came in.  He saw hundreds of people running south down Rossville Street.  He could not see any soldiers because there were too many people but they were saying the army was coming.  He then heard several high velocity shots.  He heard the crack of 3 or 4 rounds which were muffled by the noise of the crowd.  He was certain they were high velocity.  There was panic.

Hugh Gilmore

He saw people running over the rubble barricade and heard the noise of the army engines revving.  He took shelter at the south gable end of Block 1 of the Rossville Flats.  He still could not see the soldiers.  The gunfire was continuous then there was a lull and then more firing.  It was all high velocity.  He did not hear any rubber bullets.  At some point he noticed Hugh Gilmore lying wounded behind Block 1.  He recognised him from Saturday riots.  RM 2 said he could be the person pictured second from the left in photograph P0664 but he could not be sure.  This shows people standing around Hugh Gilmore at the south gable end of Block 1.  RM 2 said Mr. Gilmore was already lying there when he noticed him.  They were all trapped at the end of Block 1 for 15-20 minutes as the gunfire continued.  The only people he can recall who he knew there were Barney McFadden and Sheila Duffy.

Bodies at Rubble Barricade

At various moments a man looked around the corner to see what was happening in Rossville Street to the north.  He reported what he could see.  RM 2 said he had the impression that the gunfire was directed more towards the Glenfada Park side of Rossville Street than Block 1 because the man was able to look occasionally and there appeared to be no one on the west side of Rossville Street.  At one point the man said “there’s another one shot” referring to a man who had come out to get to the rubble barricade.

Alexander Nash

RM 2 looked for himself briefly and saw a number of bodies.  To the west towards Glenfada Park he saw the body of a man who he believes was Alexander Nash.  He said this because the man appeared to be older than the others.  He was lying face down on his stomach with his head towards the rubble barricade.  He was wearing what looked like a brownish suit.  He could not tell if he was dead or alive.

John Young, Michael McDaid, William Nash

He saw another man in the middle of the rubble barricade.  He appeared to be wearing a white shirt which had blood on it.  He looked young, about 20 years old.  He could only see the side of his face.  There was a third body to the right of the second.  Again he looked young.  He thinks he also saw a fourth body closer to Block 1 but was not sure if he had just learnt later that there were four (including Alexander Nash who survived).  RM 2 said he did not know Mr. Nash at the time but years later his sister married another of Mr. Nash’s sons (William Nash died at the rubble barricade).

Ferret Car

At one point when the gunfire subsided he walked back to the Threepenny Bits.  Then he heard heavier gunfire which he took to be automatic fire from the army Ferret car.  He saw a zig zag pattern of strike marks on the road as 6 to 8 shots struck the entrance to Glenfada Park North.  They seemed to come from the direction of the Ferret car to the north of the rubble barricade.  He believed they were fired from a machine gun but said they could have been several SLRs fired simultaneously.  However the sound was heavier and duller than the SLRs.  He returned to the lea of Block 1 for cover.

Para Firing from Glenfada Park

RM 2 said the firing continued and he decided to try to get away by edging along Block 2.  Another man came with him.  They stood with their backs to Block 2 and made their way south east along the Block.  At one point he turned to see a Para emerge from the north where he was obscured by the flats.  His impression was that the Para had come south down Rossville Street but he could have come from Glenfada Park North.  He walked south in the entrance to Glenfada Park North.  The soldier looked at him and then lowered his rifle to his hip casually firing two shots towards Joseph Place.  The rifle barrel appeared to be elevated so that the shots would have gone over the head of anyone in his line of fire.  It was as if he was announcing his presence.  He then walked away.  RM 2 said he thought the soldier was wearing a beret.

Joseph Place

RM 2 said he could hear screams from the people still at the gable end of Block 1 as the soldier fired.  Others on the eastern side of Joseph Place shouted at him to remain where he was.  RM 2 said he was very frightened because the soldier could have shot him had he chosen to.  He and the man he was with banged on the shops at Block 2 but could not get in.  They then ran to Joseph Place and sheltered in the alleyway within the northern block of Joseph Place.  They were a lot of others already sheltering there.  They were convinced there was gunfire from the city walls and RM 2 also had this impression because the gunfire still seemed to be very close.  It had taken him less than 2 minutes to get there from Block 1 but it seemed like an eternity.  At no stage did he see Bernard McGuigan’s body lying near the telephone box at Block 1.  He would have seen it if Mr. McGuigan had been killed by the time he left the side of Block 2.

Westland Street

After another 10 to 15 minutes there was a lull in the shooting and he walked to Westland Street.  There he met a woman he knew called Margaret McCreedy.  He told her Michael Kelly had been shot.  He only knew this because others had told him on his way up Westland Street.  He knew Ms. McCreedy knew Michael Kelly, that is why he told her.  In her statement Ms. McCreedy says RM 2 told her he had been praying behind Block 1 [AM0150.0004].  RM 2 said he could not recall this but it did not surprise him.

John Nash

Made Statements to the Inquiry on 15 June 1999 [AN0006.0001] and 5 February 2004 [AN0006.0053] and gave evidence to the Inquiry on 23 March 2001 [Day 97 (BIRW Week 25)]

John Nash gave evidence to the Inquiry in March 2001.  He was recalled to deal with an issue arising from his 2001 interview with Jimmy McGovern during the making of the Sunday film broadcast in 2002.

Mr. Nash’s brother William was shot dead and his father Alexander Nash wounded at the rubble barricade.  Alexander Nash died in 1999.

During his interview with Mr. McGovern John Nash spoke of the circumstances in which his father had been shot [transcript at AN0006.0021].  Mr. Nash recounted how his father had told him the soldier who shot him looked him in the eyes after he had shot him.  He had believed the soldier was going to finish him off but he did not and lowered his rifle.  Mr. Nash also referred to the statement his father had made to the Widgery Tribunal [AN0001.0016] and the television interview he had given [Video 4, transcript X1.0004.0007].  All of which he relied upon as confirmation that his father knew he had been shot by a soldier.

However Mr. Nash also told Mr. McGovern of the suggestion that his father had been shot by a civilian gunman with a pistol from the doorway of Block 1 of the Rossville Flats.  Soldier U claims to have seen an arm holding a pistol emerge from the doorway and fire two bullets; the first ricocheting and hitting Mr. Nash Senior, the second killing William Nash [B0768].  That story was included in the Sunday Times article of 23 April 1972.

John Nash told Mr. McGovern he had gone to Dublin to try and see a man who claimed to be the man who shot his father.  Mr. Nash said he did not believe his father had lied to him for 27 years but, it was said, nowhere did his father actually say it was a soldier who shot him.  He went on to say he had spoken to most of the people who were in or around the doorway in question on Bloody Sunday and none of them saw the alleged pistol man.

In the interview Mr. Nash said that when he got to Dublin the man failed to turn up so he never met him.  In his supplemental statement to the Inquiry, dealing with this issue, Mr. Nash gave a different account.  Then he said that a man had approached him in a bar in Derry in about 1997 and said he had read an article in the Republican newspaper An Phoblacht recounting the story of the pistol man.  Mr. Nash said when he was on a visit to Dublin as part of the campaign to get a new inquiry into Bloody Sunday he went into the Sinn Fein offices and asked if they could trace the article.  However this was not done.  This is the version he gave in evidence when recalled.  Mr. Nash agreed he would want to confront the alleged gunman if he could identify him and find him.  However he has never learnt his name.  He said he did not know the name of the man he had spoken to in the bar and has never seen him again.  He said he had given the wrong impression if it appeared from the McGovern interview that he knew the identity of the alleged pistol man.

Mr. Nash has a nickname ‘Banty’.  That name appears in Paul Mahon’s notebooks.  Mr. Nash confirmed he was never interviewed by Paul Mahon.

PIRA 25

Volunteer, Provisional IRA, Derry 1972

Made Statements to the Inquiry on 18 September 1999 [AG0017.0001], 15 October 1999 [AG0017.0005] and 9 February 2004 [AG0017.0017]

PIRA 25 has made three statements to the Inquiry.  The two in 1999 are almost identical but PIRA 25 omitted from the second certain references to rioting.  In the original version he referred to wanting to join in the rioting in William Street and to people being ready in Colombcille Court to throw stones at the army if they entered the Bogside.    PIRA 25’s third statement deals with his involvement in the Republican movement.

Provisional IRA Volunteer

PIRA 25 was sworn into the Provisional IRA sometime around the introduction of Internment (17 August 1971) but left sometime late in 1972.  He received no orders for 30 January 1972.  He was not well known as an IRA volunteer because he was quite junior.  He was in the Brandywell section.  He was not armed on Bloody Sunday.

30 January 1972

PIRA 25 was 23 years old on Bloody Sunday.  He was on the march and was asked to give a hand with stewarding when it stopped in William Street.  He did not know the identity of the steward who asked him to help.  They formed a line in front of barrier 14 to hold the crowd back until someone could speak to the army about getting through to the Guildhall.  He identified himself in photograph holding hands with others trying to keep the crowd back [AG0017.0023].  Once he realised the crowd were not going to move and the stone throwing began he decided to move back down William Street towards Rossville Street.

Paras Coming In

When he got back to Rossville Street there was rioting going on the waste ground at Little James Street.  He heard people say the army were going to come in so walked down Rossville Street and cut into Colombcille Court.  He then came out again onto Rossville Street via the alleyway between Kells Walk and Glenfada Park North.  As soon as he saw army vehicles he ran into Glenfada Park North via the north east entrance.

He also omitted from the second version of his first statement a reference to people picking up stones in Glenfada Park North before the Paras entered the courtyard.  In evidence he said he saw James Wray collecting stones but agreed with Richard Harvey, counsel for the Wray family, he could have been mistaken.  He had never said in his statement that he had seen Mr. Wray collecting stones.

Rubble Barricade

PIRA 25 said he stood at the rubble barricade for a while looking north.  He saw a lot of soldiers.  He saw William McKinney at the south gable wall in Glenfada Park North.  He said he also saw William Nash, John Young, Michael McDaid and Michael Kelly in the area.  He crossed Rossville Street and went to the entrance to Block 1 of the Rossville Flats.  There were about 50 around the rubble barricade at this time.  He did not see any other Provisional IRA volunteers near the rubble barricade.

Gunfire

PIRA 25 then heard gunfire coming from the Rossville Flats car park and Colombcille Court.  There were single shots followed by bursts of three or four.  He took shelter behind the south gable end of Block 1.  He saw a crowd of people near Joseph Place and intended to head for there.  There was a lull in the shooting but then it started up again. 

Block 2

PIRA 25 hit the deck and started crawling along Block 2 under the canopy, past the shops.  There were four to six people behind him.  When he got about half way along Block 2 one of the men behind him said he was going to head across to Joseph Place.  He tried to persuade him not to go but to continue along Block 2 towards Block 3.  However the man, who he now believes to have been Patrick Doherty, was insistent.  He started crawling on his belly towards Joseph Place.

Patrick Doherty

The next thing PIRA 25 remembers is hearing two or three sharp cracks and seeing bullets strike the wall ahead of him.  He forced himself tight against Block 2.  At the same time he heard the man behind call out he was hit and that he could not move.  Behind he could see three soldiers kneeling in the open in the entrance to Glenfada Park North.  He did not actually see them fire but was sure at least one of them did.  As soon as he saw the soldiers they lowered their rifles from their shoulders, got up and moved away.

PIRA 25 tried to get Mr. Doherty to keep moving but he could not move.  Two other men went out to try and help him.  Meanwhile PIRA 25 kept crawling until he could get into the gap between Blocks 2 and 3.  He thinks the other two men were shot at and one may have been hit.

Para at Block 2

After a while the shooting died down and a group of about six people came through the gap from the Rossville Flats car park.  They had their hands on their heads and PIRA 25 heard someone in an English accent ordering them to move away.  He was standing next to the shops at the end of Block 2 at this time and the people came past him on their way to Joseph Place.  At the same time he saw the muzzle of a rifle around the corner in the car park.  He only saw the muzzle and did not see a soldier but he assumed the rifle belonged to a soldier who had told the people to move through the gap.

PIRA 25 then went home via Free Derry Corner and the Lecky Road.  He was shocked and terrified.  He did not see any Provisional IRA volunteers or Stickies (Official IRA) on his way back to the Brandywell.  He said he never heard anything about any IRA shooting that day until the shots fired by Father Daly’s Gunman were reported many years later.

Brian Powers

Made Statement to the Inquiry on 8 February 2004 [AP0018.0001]

Mr. Powers was 17 years old on 30 January 1972.  He was always on the ‘Saturday matinee’ riots.  He described himself as having been on the edge of the Republican Movement.  He said he and his friends often talked about joining the IRA in order to get access to weapons.  It was a frequent topic of conversation but he never joined. He knew some of the well known IRA members but did not know what position they held.

Sometimes during a riot an IRA man would turn up and everyone would be told to get offside before the gunman fired on the army.  Those rioting would not know this was going to happen in advance.  Sometimes they just scattered to make the army think there was a gunman about to open fire.

30 January 1972

Mr. Powers said the word on the street before the march was that it was to be a peaceful march but his instinct was that there would be a riot.  When the march reached William Street Mr. Powers went to barrier 14 and got involved in the riot.  However he did not stay long because his girlfriend (now wife) Maura got soaked by the water cannon and wanted to go home.  They went to Mary Smith’s (now Mary Breslin) flat at 2 Kells Walk.  Mr. Powers said he could not remember why they went there but there was a rush of people running south in Rossville Street.

Kells Walk

They went up the north staircase of Kells Walk and walked along the balcony to the southern most flat which was a maisonette covering the first and second floors.  Mr. Powers said he could not be sure but he thinks the shooting started after they got into the flat.  He heard rubber bullets and SLRs being fired.  Ms. Smith’s mother and sisters were in the flat as was Kathleen Kelly, Michael Kelly’s mother.  There was also an English photographer.  There was panic in the flat.

At some point Mr. Powers saw John Dillon run from cover at the back on the Chamberlain Street houses across the waste ground towards Rossville Street.  He was grabbed by a soldier, kicked and hit with a rifle butt.

Mr. Powers specifically remembers standing just inside the front door of the flat and being aware of a soldier on the balcony outside.  He heard the soldier fire and they felt trapped in the flat.  The soldier was kneeling just south of the doorway.  He fired at least two bursts of 3 to 4 rounds followed by a break and then another 2.  There was quite a period between the bursts.

Rubber Bullet Through Window

Mr. Powers did not know if it was before or after hearing gunfire on the balcony but a rubber bullet was fired through the living room window by a soldier in Rossville Street.  He was going backwards and forwards between the rooms, watching what was happening on Rossville Street and checking to see if the door was clear.  From the window Mr. Powers saw two soldiers talking.  One had two stripes on his arm.  They were just below the flat in Rossville Street near the low wall.  Mary and her mother were also at the window.  The photographer was also taking pictures.  One of the soldiers pointed at the window and the other then turned and fired a rubber bullet through the window.  The glass shattered and Mary’s face was cut by flying glass.  At the time they thought she may have been shot.  Mr. Powers said he could not recall the window being open or Mrs. Kelly shouting at the soldiers firing towards the rubble barricade.

Maura went out to get an ambulance for Mary.  She spoke to the soldier on the balcony and he directed towards a sergeant below in Columbcille Court.  There she spoke to Father Bradley who had been arrested.  However the sergeant sent her back to the flat.

Collecting Shells

After the soldiers had left Mr. Powers found spent shell cases and live rounds on the balcony just outside the door.  He left the spent cartridges but picked up 7-13 live rounds which he subsequently gave to Sean Keenan.

PIRA 26

Volunteer, Provisional IRA, Derry 1972

Made Statement to the Inquiry on 10 February 2004 [APIRA0026.0001]

PIRA 26 joined the Fianna when he was 13 or 14 but he left shortly afterwards in 1969.  It was basically a boy scouts organisation at the time.  There were some political lectures but they had no contact with weapons, they were not even mentioned.  He did not know Gerard Donaghy and only knew Paddy Ward because they were at the same school.

PIRA 26 joined the Provisional IRA in April or May 1971.  He was 16 at the time.  His brother, PIRA 14, was 8 years older and had joined before him.  He knew Martin McGuinness.  PIRA 26 said he was able to join even though he was only 16 because his brother was a senior officer.  He said he thought there were about 20-25 volunteers in May 1971, 7 or 8 of whom were in his section in the Bogside and Brandywell.  Colm Keenan was in his section.  He knew his section leader and adjutant but did not know others because he was very junior.  He was given orders by word of mouth on a need to know basis.

At the time there were more volunteers than weapons.  He said he recalled they had .303 rifles, Thompson sub-machine guns and a few handguns.  The weapons were in poor condition. 

PIRA 26 said he had no knowledge of any assurances that may or may not have been given to NICRA regarding IRA activity on Bloody Sunday.

30 January 1972

PIRA 26 said that on the morning of the march he was instructed to see where the army had built barriers.  He and Colm Keenan were driven down William Street in a flat bed truck.  He said he did not know the purpose for scouting the barriers, he was not aware of any planned operation.  He assumed it was just to gather information.  They were not armed.  There were a lot of soldiers about.  When they got back to the Creggan Colm Keenan reported back what they had seen.  PIRA 26 said he could not recall who had given the instruction or to whom Colm Keenan reported back.

William Street

Later around 15:00 he and Colm Keenan joined the rear of the march at the top of Southway.  Martin McGuinness says he was with Colm Keenan but PIRA 26 said he did not see him.  He lost contact with Colm Keenan before he got to William Street.  He had no orders for the day.  He did go to see what was happening at barrier 14 but did not get involved in the rioting.  He met up with Colm Keenan again somewhere in William Street. Whilst at the junction of William Street and Chamberlain Street PIRA 26 said he saw his brother (PIRA 14) speaking to Martin McGuinness at the junction of High Street.  They joined them.  He did not see PIRA 17, PIRA 25, Pat Harkin or Sean Keenan.

PIRA 26 said the situation in William Street deteriorated with rubber bullets being fired and he decided to get away.  He did not see the water cannon used.  PIRA 26, Colm Keenan and PIRA 14 made their way together down Chamberlain Street.  There was no panic or shooting at the time.  They went between Blocks 1 and 2 of the Rossville Flats and down to Free Derry Corner.  He did not see any soldiers or army vehicles.

Gunfire

Whilst at Free Derry Corner PIRA 26 heard gunfire for the first time.  He heard high velocity SLR fire coming from the north.  People started to run south towards Free Derry Corner but the three of them headed north to see what was happening.  They did not realise at the time that they were heading towards danger.

Rubble Barricade

He and Colm Keenan stopped just south of the rubble barricade, next to Block 1.  His brother went just north of the barricade.  There were about 30 people at the barricade.  He did not see any weapons or anything that might be mistaken for a weapon.  He was not armed and said he was fairly certain Colm Keenan was not armed either.  He does not believe his brother was armed.

He saw a soldier standing at the south end of Kells Walk with his rifle at his shoulder in a firing position.  He was aiming south towards the Glenfada Park side of Rossville Street.  There were 4 or 5 other soldiers crouching behind him and perhaps another small group behind them.  He saw the standing soldier fire and yelled “he’s firing blanks” because there was no reason to fire live bullets.  He does not know how many shots he fired.

Hugh Gilmour

A man then came running up from behind him and threw a stone towards soldiers at the north end of Block 1.  He shouted something like “you bastards!”  He was north of the rubble barricade, just ahead of PIRA 14, when he threw the stone.  He then saw the soldier who had been firing swing his rifle and start shooting in his direction.  The man who had thrown the stone then said “I’m hit, I’m hit”.  PIRA 26 said he was almost positive it was the soldier standing at Kells Walk who shot the man who he now believes was Hugh Gilmour.  That was the only soldier that he saw fire and he thinks he fired 2 to 3 shots towards them. He did not think the fire came from the north end of Block 1.

Block 1

PIRA 26 said he turned and ran south.  He lost contact with his brother and Colm Keenan.  He identified himself, Colm Keenan and Hugh Gilmour on photograph EP0023.009A.  Hugh Gilmour made it to the south end of Block 1 before he collapsed.  There were around 20 to 30 people at the south gable end of Block 1.  There was a lot of shooting at this time.  He stayed at the gable for around 5 minutes.  Bernard McGuigan must have been shot around this time but he did not see it.  He felt very unsafe where he was so decided to run to Joseph Place.  He ran past Bernard McGuigan’s body and shouted towards the soldiers “you mad bastards”.

Joseph Place

He ran into the house at the north end of Joseph Place.  There was a lot of SLR fire but he could not tell where it was coming from.  There was no other fire.  The house was crowded with people.  There were one or two who had been wounded.  He did not know who they were.  He stayed until an ambulance arrived and the wounded were carried out.  As he left he passed another body and met Pat Harkin at the north gable end of Joseph Place.  He was very upset and kept repeating, “they shot Paddy”.  He spent a shot time trying to calm Mr. Harkin.  They are pictured together in P0837, PIRA 26 is on the right.  Mr. Harkin was not injured.  They were in the same IRA section.

PIRA 26 said he was in shock and a world of his own.  He headed back up to the Creggan.  He met other volunteers at the house where he was staying but there was no decision to take action.  He did not recall seeing anyone from the command staff.

PIRA 26 said he volunteered to give evidence to the Inquiry after his brother asked him to do so.  His brother was subpoenaed. 

Patrick McGinley

Made Statements to NICRA on 30 January 1972 [AM0241.0010, Keville Tape transcript AM0241.0018] and the Inquiry on 15 July 1999 [AM0241.0001]

Mr. McGinley was 16 years old on Bloody Sunday.  He joined his friends on the march.  In William Street he saw boys throwing stones at soldiers lying on a roof.  The 6 or 7 soldiers just pulled back a bit.

When the march reached Rossville Street stewards tried to stop people carrying on down William Street to the army barrier but there were only 5 or 6 of them and he went past them.  He joined in throwing stones at the soldiers behind the barrier.  They replied with rubber bullets, CS gas and the water cannon.  Mr. McGinley said it was not a serious riot.

He then saw his friend Myles O’Hagan back west along William Street and went to join him.  They continued to watch the riot from the top of Chamberlain Street.

Paras Coming In

Suddenly people started running towards them from the barrier in William Street.  Mr. McGinley realised the army was coming in so turned and ran.  As he turned he saw army vehicles driving down Little James Street towards Rossville Street.  Chamberlain Street was packed with people as he ran south.  When he reached the junction of Chamberlain Street/Harvey Street he heard live rounds.  He knew they were not rubber bullets.  He saw masonry chipping off the wall to his right at the end of the alleyway leading to Eden Place.  He also saw soldiers coming up the street behind him.

Waste Ground

When he got to the south end of Chamberlain Street there was a crowd sheltering at the gable ends of the houses.  There was another crowd of around 60 trying to get through the gap between Blocks 1 and 2 of the Rossville Flats.  He also saw a group of 15-20 young men on the waste ground.  He decided to run north west to join them and then ran west to and across Rossville Street.  About six of them set off across Rossville Street as the army pigs continued down Rossville Street.  There were soldiers running on either side of the vehicles.

Glenfada Park North

As he reached the north east corner of Glenfada Park North he saw two pigs park next to each other in Rossville Street.  Soldiers flew out of the back of them and started shooting.  He ran down the inside of the east block of Glenfada Park North and joined a group of people sheltering at its southern gable end.  He saw grown men crying because of the killing.  He could see people in panic on the rubble barricade trying to get to Block 1 of the Rossville Flats.  There was intense, heavy gunfire at this time.  He thought the shooting was coming from the north.  There was no one standing at the rubble barricade at this time but he watched 2 or 3 people crouching behind it get to the safety of the entrance to Block 1.

William Nash

Mr. McGinley knew William Nash because they used to box together.  He saw William Nash trying to get across the rubble barricade towards Block 1.  His father Alexander Nash was at the entrance to Block 1 calling to him.  William Nash was crouching behind the barricade with his hands in the air.  There were 2 or 3 others trying to move in the same direction.  He was glancing north as he went.  The gunfire was constant.  As he reached the middle of Rossville Street William Nash fell on his face.  Mr. McGinley said he definitely saw him on the ground but cannot be sure if he saw him fall.  His body continued to move when he was on the ground as if he was trying to get up.  At the same time he saw bullets striking the rubble barricade.

He then saw Alexander Nash shouting and running out from Block 1.  He had his right hand in the air as if he was trying to stop the shooting.  He ran towards his son.  There was panic in his face as he dropped down to his son’s body.  Mr. McGinley knew Michael McDaid but did not see him at the rubble barricade.  He was not aware of Michael Kelly’s body being carried into and across Glenfada Park North but he did see Father Bradley pulling a body away from the barricade.

Paras Entering Glenfada Park North

People then started saying the soldiers were coming into Glenfada Park.  A group of them, all very young, decided to make a run for it to an alleyway.  Mr. McGinley said he thought they ran towards the alleyway directly south leading to Glenfada Park South but he agreed it could have been the one to the west leading to Abbey Park.  As the four of them went to run he was grabbed from behind by Barry Liddy.  He said not to run and held him.  The other three ran and one of them crumpled to the ground only about 20 feet away near a wooden gate.  He is not sure what happened to the other two boys.  Two days later he went back to Glenfada Park North and found blood stains on the ground and the fence.

Arrested

Just after he saw the boy fall about 12 soldiers appeared at the gable wall and arrested everyone.  They were ordered to face the wall and put their hands up.  The soldiers pointed their guns at them and called them IRA scum and Irish bastards.  One of the soldiers was a big square chinned Scotsman, he seemed to be in charge.  He was taller than the others.  Another was a small, broad, cockney.  One soldier said “line them up and shoot the bastards”.  Father Bradley, who was one of those arrested, asked to help the dead but was ignored.  Some of them were punched and kicked.  They were ordered to walk in single file with their hands on their heads.  Mr. McGinley identified himself in a photograph [EP0002.0001] amongst the group being marched through Columbcille Court. 

Fort George

When they arrived at Fort George they were made to run a gauntlet between two lines of soldiers.  They were beaten with rubber tubes as they ran between the lines.  There were also ferocious guard dogs.  Inside they were made to stand on tiptoe for what seemed like hours.  If they rested on their heels they were punched.  Later a soldier with some authority arrived and shouted “chairs for everyone and tea”.  The atmosphere changed completely.  They were given cups of tea and chairs to sit on.

After a while the Paras returned.  They burst in and shouted “off the chairs”.  One said “18 dead and 7 wounded is not enough – we’ll get more before this is over”.  Mr. McGinley said there were scuffles as the Paras forced the soldiers guarding them to leave.  Some said “you bastards are going out tonight and are leaving us to walk the streets tomorrow”.  A Para then shouted “pick your snatch” and Mr. McGinley was amongst 4 picked out.

They were made to stand facing gas heaters which were standing on poles near the walls.  They were hit if they moved their faces away from the flames.  One man fainted and was kicked on the floor.  A soldier asked him if he wanted a drink and then spat in his mouth.

Mr. McGinley was then taken into another room with police officers.  A big man with red hair was ahead of him and they were shouting at him that he was IRA.  He was from Strabane and they wanted to know why he was in Derry.  He was very calm but they dragged him off behind a screen and he then started squealing.

Soldier 229 claimed to have arrested Mr. McGinley and also claimed to have seen him throwing stones at the security forces in Rossville Street.  Mr. McGinley said he had been throwing stones in William Street but not in Rossville Street.  There was too much shooting in Rossville Street to have been throwing stones there.

After being released from Fort George Mr. McGinley was taken by another boy’s parents to a place where he made a statement.  At the time he thought he was talking to a reporter but he made a statement on tape to Kathleen Keville.  There he referred to seeing three people shot at the rubble barricade.  Mr. McGinley said his statement in 1972 was probably more accurate than his memory today.

William McCartney

Made Statement to the Inquiry on 9 February 2004 [AM0510.0001]

Mr. McCartney was 39 on Bloody Sunday.  He went on the march but cannot recall much about it until the shooting started.  He was at Free Derry Corner waiting for the speeches to begin when he heard gunfire coming from the direction of Rossville Street.  The crowd panicked and scattered in all directions.  He described a fusillade of gunfire lasting a few minutes.

Westland Street

A few minutes later he recalls sheltering behind a building in Westland Street opposite Meenan Square.  He has since identified the building as 68 Westland Street which at the time was a new block of flats.  He was standing next to a stairwell and could see the Bogside Inn across the road in front of him.  There were others sheltering with him but he does not know who they were.  He said the shooting seemed to last an eternity but was probably only a few minutes.  Once it died down in intensity there were still sporadic shots fired occasionally.

Gunman

After the shooting died down a man appeared with a rifle under his raincoat.  Mr. McCartney said he did not know who he was or where he had come from.  Mr. McCartney said he did not know Reg Tester.  The man produced a rifle which looked like an old .303.  Mr. McCartney said a .303 was the only rifle he knew because he had used one when serving in the Irish Army years before.  The man pointed the rifle in the air as if he were about to fire over the Bogside Inn.  There was an army helicopter overhead and Mr. McCartney thought the man might have been intending to fire at it.  He shouted at the gunman that if he fired he would stick the rifle up his backside.  He turned round and lowered the rifle.  He put it back under his coat and left.  He did not go into the building.  He was alone.

Bernard McGuigan

Shortly after the gunman had left and the shooting stopped Mr. McCartney went back up Rossville Street towards the Rossville Flats.  He remembers standing near Block 2 and seeing a body in a pool of blood.  Someone said it was Bernard McGuigan but he could not recognise him because of the large wound to his face.  The body was not covered when he saw it.  He did not see an ambulance.

The next thing he can remember is being at the 19:00 Mass in Pennyburn Chapel and Father Mulvey saying there were ten confirmed dead.

Paul Mahon

Mr. McCartney said he had no memory of telling Paul Mahon about the incident with the gunman but accepts he may have done so.  He said he was surprised he spoke to Paul Mahon about the gunman because he believes he has not even discussed it with his wife and family.  He always tried to put the events of that day and year behind him.

Although he would not dispute he might have told Mr. Mahon about the gunman he said he was certain he did not tell him he was an Official IRA man.  He said he was sure of this because he did not know the man was from the Official IRA.  He had never learnt to which organisation the man belonged.  He had read about there having been an Official IRA gunman in the area but believed this was in the Lecky Road. 

Row with Paul Mahon

Mr. McCartney confirmed he had been at the house in Fahan which Paul Mahon rented when there was a discussion about Brendan Kearney Kelly & Company Solicitors.  He was with Francis O’Loughlin, Mr. Mahon’s landlord.  Mr. Mahon invited him in and had obviously had a few drinks.  Paul Mahon’s row with Brendan Kearney was mentioned and Mr. McCartney may have said Mr. Mahon was stitched up.  Mr. McCartney said it was all light hearted banter.

After Mr. Mahon had given evidence and made certain allegations about Mr. O’Loughlin Mr. McCartney was telephoned by his son Greg McCartney.  Greg McCartney is a solicitor and represents the family of James Wray at the Inquiry.  Mr. McCartney said his son told him what Mr. Mahon had said and he then telephoned Mr. O’Loughlin.  Mr. O’Loughlin said he wanted to make a statement and Mr. McCartney arranged, through his son, for him to see Paddy McDermott at the City Hotel later that night.

Stephen Mellon (PIRA 21)

Volunteer, Provisional IRA, Derry 1972

Refused to make Statement to the Inquiry

Mr. Mellon refused to provide a statement to the Inquiry and was subpoenaed to attend.  He failed to attend when originally subpoenaed but did appear after a further request.  He was provisionally given the cipher PIRA 21 but when he gave evidence he confirmed he did not seek anonymity.

Mr. Mellon was a Provisional IRA volunteer in 1972 but was not in Derry on 30 January 1972.  He was recovering in Donegal from injuries he received whilst on active service in September 1971.  He was seriously wounded.  He was treated in Letterkenny and Dublin.  He was not in Derry at any time between receiving his injuries and Bloody Sunday.  He knew some Provisional IRA volunteers but was not aware of any plans for Bloody Sunday.  He said he never learnt what they had or had not done that day.

Special Branch Interview [INT0001.0147]

Mr. Mellon was shown a typed note of what purports to be a record of an interview between him and RUC Special Branch on 17 May 1973.  Mr. Mellon confirmed that he was arrested in May 1973 and taken to Ballykelly before being interned without trial.  He denied that he had said what was recorded in the document or that he told the police anything at all.  He said it was a fabrication.  He said he was tortured, beaten and disorientated when interrogated.  He described the RUC Special Branch as SS and animals.  He said the interview had been fabricated to justify his internment because they had no evidence on which to charge him.

PIRA 24

Officer Commanding, Provisional IRA, Derry 1972

Made Statement to the Inquiry on 12 February 1972 [APIRA0024.0001]

On 30 January 1972 PIRA 24 was 28 years old and the officer commanding (OC) the Provisional IRA in Derry.  He was reluctant to attend the Inquiry and came in answer to a subpoena.  He said he had taken an oath of secrecy when he joined the IRA and came from an era when they did not recognise British courts.  He was aware of appeals by Lord Saville that IRA volunteers come forward and he had also spoken to Martin McGuinness.  Mr. McGuinness twice asked him to give evidence to the Inquiry and he was not sure what to do.  He admitted he would probably not have come forward had he not been subpoenaed but he thought deeply about it.  No one had tried to prevent him from giving evidence.  However he admitted telling the man who delivered his subpoena that he had been discouraged from giving evidence.  He told him this to gain his confidence which he did.  As a result he claims the man showed him a list of 18 people the Inquiry had subpoenaed.  In fact Martin McGuinness had twice asked him to give evidence as had John Kelly.

Provisional IRA Beginnings

PIRA 24 said the Provisional IRA started primarily because the Official IRA no longer wanted to conduct military operations.  He was never in the Official IRA and joined the Provos around May 1971.  They had to steal weapons from the Officials to begin with.  They stole at least half the Officials weapons before Internment.  The shooting of Cusack and Beattie in July and the introduction of Internment in August 1971 created more support.  He also recalled a 9 year old boy called Harkin was killed by an army vehicle.  The rioting that followed signalled the start of the Provos campaign.

Becoming OC

PIRA 24 said many of the Officials from the 1956 era who joined had no street credibility and walked around in suits.  Consequently they got rid of a lot of the older guys.  PIRA 24 became quartermaster and when other officers were interned he was left as officer commanding.  The ‘no go’ area was established after the riots which followed internment.

There were only about 8 or 9 Provos in Derry after internment including 3 women.  None was well known.  They recruited rioters who wanted to do more than just riot.  They did some training over the border in Donegal.  By January 1972 there were 40 to 50 volunteers.  They were divided into 5 companies in the Creggan, Bogside, Brandywell, Shantallow and the Waterside.  The Creggan was the biggest with about 25 members.  Volunteers in different areas did not know each other.

Policing the ‘No Go’ Area

PIRA 24 said he set up structures to organise the ‘no go’ area.  There was a lot of social work to do.  In the beginning volunteers were very young and although he did occasionally check birth certificates some were sworn in without him knowing they were under 18.  He said they dealt with everything from domestic rows to fighting the on going war with the security forces. He said he had hoped to stop the war or at least shorten it.  He said they did not have to threaten violence to enforce their authority because it was accepted.

PIRA 24 said traditionally Derry was Nationalist but not Republican consequently they had to be careful not to do anything to alienate people.  People were encouraged to leave their doors open and theft was prevented by their policing and social work.  This built up their reputation.  PIRA 24 refused to comment on punishment beatings but agreed he was opposed to some activities and others may have regarded him a soft for that reason. The people effectively ran the ‘no go’ area themselves and only came to the command staff if there was a problem.  In the end it was the people who kept the security forces out to protect the Provos.  If an army patrol was spotted people would bang on doors to make sure volunteers were away to safe houses.  PIRA 24 said his house was raided more than once but he was not there.

The local council would consult them to get clearance to do road works so as to avoid their vehicles being stolen.  To avoid alienating people they would be careful when stealing cars not to take one that was vital to the owners work.  They never used marches as cover for operations because of the risk to civilians.  However at the end of a riot a well known volunteer was sometimes sent down so that everyone would get offside and they could then open fire or throw nail bombs.

PIRA 24 said that in January 1972 when he became aware that the Official IRA had captured a British soldier he took some volunteers up to the place where he was being held to have a look.  He said he lead people to believe they were going to capture and kill the soldier when he was released by the Officials but claims he never had any intention of doing so.  He just used it as an opportunity to portray the Officials as soft.  He said a third of the Official IRA volunteers came over to the Provos that week.

Fianna

PIRA 24 said he had never heard of Paddy Ward before publication of the book Martin McGuinness – From Guns to Government.  He said there was no Provisional Fianna at the time but there were youngsters from the Official Fianna who had come over to them.  He said he appointed a volunteer to act as a liaison officer and to keep an eye on them.  They were never formalised into a Fianna.  They were not trained in weapons and not used in operations.  They may have brought in information occasionally but were not used for scouting military operations.

Command Staff

In January 1972 the command staff consisted of: the OC, PIRA 24; Adjutant, Martin McGuinness; quartermaster, PIRA 17; Explosives Officer, Sean Keenan; plus an intelligence officer; training officer and finance officer.  PIRA 24 confirmed the finance officer was still alive and living in Derry.  He appointed Martin McGuinness adjutant after Eamon Lafferty was killed on 18 August 1971.  Each company also had a commander, second in command and a quartermaster.

PIRA 24 said there was not great animosity between the Provos and the Officials.  They stole each other’s weapons and never operated together but he was anxious to avoid the situation which developed in Belfast where they ended up shooting each other.  He knew the Officials’ OC, he lived across the street.  He said he did not believe the evidence attributed to Witness X [AX0001.0001] concerning a joint operation on Bloody Sunday in which he fired two magazines of ammunition from an M1.  PIRA 24 said there was never any joint operation and an M1 would jam before firing a single magazine even if you could get the ammunition.  He said he had spoken to Witness X last week and he had said the evidence was fabricated.  They met by chance in a shop.  Witness X has failed to answer a subpoena to give evidence to the inquiry.

Explosives

PIRA 24 said explosives were only kept in the Creggan, Bogside or Brandywell.  They were managed by 2 explosives officers:  Mickey Clarke and Sean Keenan.  There was perhaps a total of 50 pounds of explosives available at any given time.  The command staff quartermaster held the detonators.  PIRA 24 said the photographs of the 4 nail bombs allegedly found on Gerard Donaghy did not look like IRA nail bombs.  They were too well wrapped with tape.  The IRA would only make up a nail bomb just before it was to be used and would only used enough tape to hold the nails to the gelignite.  Furthermore they had stopped using Quarrex, the explosive used in 3 of the 4 bombs, because it was a powder and burnt the nails when it exploded.  He did not know Gerard Donaghy; he was not an IRA volunteer.

PIRA 24 said tins had been used to hold nail bombs but they were abandoned because they were more difficult to make up.  You had to get the lid off the can, and the explosives would sink to the bottom of the can if they were made up in advance.  Nail bombs were not used to bomb buildings.  If you threw a nail bomb at a shop window it would bounce back.

Weapons

PIRA 24 said PIRA 17’s list of Provisional IRA guns was accurate save 4 of the rifles he referred to as Lee Enfields were Garrands.  The others guns were 2 M1 carbines, 2 Thompson sub-machine guns, 7 Lee Enfield .303s and 6 pistols.  He said the M1 was very unreliable and kept jamming.  In addition to the arms available to the command quartermaster PIRA 24 said he also had another private supply which he used to replenish weapons.  He kept these separate because Dublin would not supply weapons if the Army Council thought you had enough.  The better weapons were with the quartermaster.  The quartermaster did not know of the extra supply which was in Donegal.  Those weapons were 5 M1s, a Lee Enfield, 2 Garrands, 2 Henry Martinis, 2 .22 rifles, 4 shotguns and 2 pistols.  There was also a Bren gun but it only fired on single shot and was only used for parades.  PIRA 24 said he knew nothing of a suggestion that one of those being treated in Altnagelvin hospital after Bloody Sunday had a Luger pistol under his pillow.  He said they did not have a Luger.

Dumping Weapons

PIRA 24 said he ordered the weapons in the Bogside to be taken to the Creggan for the duration of the march.  However he learnt on the Saturday evening (29 January) that they were in fact taken to a dump on the border of the Brandywell and Bogside.  They were taken to the Creggan but the officer commanding the Creggan did not want to open his dump so they were brought down to another dump further from the Bogside than the one from which they had come near Rossville Street.  PIRA 24 refused to identify the locations of the arms dumps but said he was satisfied the weapons were away from the area of the march.  Martin McGuinness has said only he and the quartermaster knew the location of the dump used on Bloody Sunday but in fact PIRA 24 says he did know where it was.

NICRA

PIRA 24 said there were no assurances given to the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association regarding Provisional IRA activity on Bloody Sunday.  They had very little to do with NICRA, they did not believe in marching.  PIRA 24 said he was very relaxed about the march on Sunday.  It was nothing to do with the Provos and he took little interest.  There was no meeting with Ivan Cooper as he suggests.  Had there been an approach he would have expected it to have come from Hugh Logue or Bridget Bond but the was none.

PIRA 24 was not at Magilligan but had good intelligence about the army’s preparations for Bloody Sunday.  The Paras were at Magilligan and he received reports of troop movements in the area of Dungiven on the Saturday.  He also observed troops massing in the city.  He was confident the troops were not intending to invade the Creggan and Brandywell.  Had he thought the troops were likely to come into the Creggan the patrols there would have been unarmed.  They could not stop the army if they really wanted to come in and they would just loose the weapons.

PIRA 24 said the command staff met on Thursday 27 and again on Friday 28 January 1972.  It was decided they would take no action on Bloody Sunday.  Everyone was in agreement.  Those present were Martin McGuinness, PIRA 17, PIRA 8 and the training officer who has since died.  It was on the Friday that PIRA 24 took the decision to order the weapons out of the Bogside and to station an armed patrol in each of the Brandywell and the Creggan.  The orders were passed down.  Martin McGuinness spoke to volunteers in the Brandywell and PIRA 17 to those in the Creggan.  Since they were to do nothing it was possible some volunteers were not told anything.  No one had private weapons.  PIRA 24 did not speak to the OC of the Officials regarding plans for Bloody Sunday.

PIRA 24 said he did not know Derry Kelleher, a leading Sinn Fein activist of the 1960s and 70s.  His daughter Deirdre McNamara claims [AM0511.0003] he told her that the Provos used the NICRA march to set up the security forces hoping they would open fire and turn people away from non-violence.

30 January 1972

At the time PIRA 24’s wife was in hospital and they had two young children aged 2 and 3.  His mother in law, who was also unwell, was also staying with them to help look after the children.  Consequently PIRA 24 was at home on Bloody Sunday.  He spent the day watching television and sleeping.  He spent most nights sleeping in cars so as not to be at home if the army raided.  He could sleep there during the day because there were lots of people around who would alert him if the army came in.

PIRA 24 said he did not send anyone out to do a recce of the army barriers.  Nor did he did telephone Ivan Cooper at the McLenaghans’ house or anywhere else.  They did not speak on Bloody Sunday.

Gunfire

At about 16:00 he was at home and heard shooting.  He realised they were high velocity shots and was alarmed because he had not expected any shooting.  He went out the back door on to Drumcliffe Avenue.  He saw PIRA 17 in Central Drive running towards him.  He had come from the Bogside and said people had been murdered.  They headed up Cable Street and it was then that PIRA 24 said he felt there was gunfire from the city walls.  He could see soldiers on the walls pointing their rifles towards Free Derry Corner.  He said he saw smoke coming from their weapons.

Official IRA

He then saw two cars come down Westland Street.  He recognised them as Stickies (Official IRA).  The second car was a red Cortina but he could not remember the first.  One car stopped about 15 yards away and the other continued towards the Bogside Inn.  PIRA 24 remonstrated with the men who got out of the car that stopped as they were unloading rifles.  He pointed to the walls and asked them if they were blind.  They got back in the car and carried on to the Bogside Inn.  Neither car stopped there for long because they then turned around and came straight back up the road.  There was still shooting going on although it was dying out.

PIRA 24 said he was calm and thinking clearly in comparison to those he spoke to who appeared to be in shock.  He went to Blucher Street were he met people sheltering.  Others ran past saying “Give us guns”.   He told those who would listen that the weapons were dumped and they should not panic.

Stanley’s Walk

A few volunteers came along asking what they should do.  PIRA 24 decided to go to their head quarters in Stanley’s Walk.  He met Martin McGuinness before he got there.  He ordered all volunteers to stand by and sent runners up to the Creggan to find out what was happening there.  He sent PIRA 17 to the Bogside to report back.  The reports were confused.  Some said 5 had been killed, others said more, some said less.  There was also talk of arrests.  At some point the Brandywell patrol came to Stanley’s Walk.  So far as he was aware the Creggan patrol never left the Creggan.  PIRA 24 then ordered all volunteers to stand down and all weapons off the streets.  It would have been crazy to have attempted to take on the army.  He ordered no action to be taken until after the funerals.  The weapons in the patrol cars were then dumped.

Symbolic Shots

PIRA 24 said the whole town was in panic.  There were many people desperately looking for family.  He was convinced that people would not want any more shooting.  However there was a lot of anger and people wanted to retaliate so he decided to order a couple of shots be fired at the city walls.  He thought the sound of gunfire would quieten down those who wanted to know the IRA were still operational.  It might also encourage the army to leave the area.  PIRA 24 said he did not know who actually fired the shots but the weapon came from one of the patrol cars.  He does not know what it was but suspects it was an M1.

Press Release

Later PIRA 24 and Martin McGuinness went to pay their respects to the families of some of those killed.  They also issued a press statement [ED0012.0001] saying the Paras had opened fire on civil rights marchers and that there were no Provisional IRA weapons on the streets.  PIRA 24 said he stood by the statement 32 years later.  Derry was like a ghost town afterwards.  Many shops obeyed a call not to open for a few days.

Brits Still Paying for Mistake

PIRA 24 said he was very angry about what happened but he saw it as a big mistake by the Brits.  He knew they would pay for it and said he felt they were still paying for it.  A few weeks later Stormont closed down.  He decided to do nothing and everyone obeyed his decision.

PIRA 24 said no Provisional IRA volunteers were killed or injured on Bloody Sunday.  The IRA did not hide their dead.

Comments on Press Material

PIRA 24 said he knew Ivan Cooper and George McEvoy well.  He was close to McEvoy.  He was not in the IRA.  He saw him the day after Bloody Sunday and he had not been shot in the heel.

PIRA 24 spoke to Kathryn Johnston in September 2001.  He told her he had never heard it suggested that Martin McGuinness had a gun in Chamberlain Street.  He also confirmed he had not quarrelled with Mr. McGuinness.  Neither he nor George McEvoy had ever mentioned the alleged incident in the bookies.  PIRA 24 said he did not believe Martin McGuinness had a Thompson sub-machine gun on Bloody Sunday.  He said Thompson’s were notoriously unreliable and in any event he did not think they had any ammunition for them at the time.

PIRA 24 said he did hear about the argument in Columbcille Court between some of his volunteers and members of the Official IRA.  He was told about it the next day.  He only heard about Father Daly’s Gunman a lot later.  He also heard about Red Mickey Doherty being shot.

PIRA 14 was in Derry on Bloody Sunday but was only there for the march.  He was a senior member of the IRA from the south but was not there in any formal capacity.

PIRA 11 was a senior Provisional IRA man in Belfast.  PIRA 24 denied he was in Derry before Bloody Sunday or that he had been sent to Derry in 1971 because the IRA there was in disarray.

After Bloody Sunday PIRA 24 felt he could not continue as OC because of his wife’s illness.  He could not devote himself fulltime to the IRA and asked the Chief of Staff for a break.  He proposed Martin McGuinness as the new OC and took on a lesser role.  He became Brigade quartermaster.

Thompson sub-machine gun

PIRA 24 said they did not have ammunition for their Thompsons in the weeks before Bloody Sunday.  He denied that the two RUC men killed on 27 January 1972 were shot with a Thompson.  He said they may have been shot with a .45 semi-automatic pistol which used the same ammunition as a Thompson.  However that only had a magazine of 7 rounds and the RUC men were shot with 17 bullets.  There were three gunmen [Lost Lives APIRA0024.0023].

Lord Saville’s Ruling on Contempt

At the close of the evidence Lord Saville gave his ruling on those who had refused in one way or another to cooperate with the Inquiry.  He said some journalists had refused to disclose their sources relying on Section 10 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981.  Here the question for the Tribunal was the overriding interests of justice in protecting the individual or identifying them for evidential purposes.

Some para-militaries had refused to answer questions out of loyalty to others or because to do so would break their oath to their organisation.  They had no legal justification for doing so.

Others refused without giving any justification but Lord Saville said it was possible that in at least some cases this may have been for fear of reprisals.  If so this could give rise to a justification amounting to a need to protect life pursuant to Article 2 of the Human Rights Act 2000. 

At the time the refusals were noted and many witnesses were told they may be recalled for further direction.  The issues were fully argued in relation to journalists.  Lord Saville said that in a number of cases the information refused had now been obtained by other means.  It remained for the Tribunal to decide whether or not to certify to the High Court in Belfast that certain witnesses remained in contempt.  However the question for the Tribunal was whether or not such action would result in further useful information which might help its deliberations.  After hearing over 900 witnesses and receiving written evidence from many more the Tribunal had to decide when to draw a line.  The Inquiry could proceed indefinitely to try and obtain more information but the Tribunal decided it was time to conclude the search.  No further action will therefore be taken in respect of witnesses who failed to answer questions.

There remained the question of those witnesses who have failed to attend the Inquiry after being served with subpoenas requiring them to so.  Daniel and Vera McGilloway failed to attend and have not submitted medical evidence justifying their failure.  Witness X also failed to attend but also claims this was due to ill health.  Lord Saville said the Tribunal will make a ruling in relation to all three once further information concerning their medical conditions has been obtained.  PIRA 9 however has failed to attend claiming he was not present on Bloody Sunday.  Lord Saville said the Tribunal would certify to the High Court in Belfast that he was in contempt.

Finally Christopher Clarke QC thanked the Inquiry staff.  The Inquiry will resume in June to consider the Interested Parties final submissions.

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For Peace Justice & Human Rights

|04 March, 2004 |