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12 - 16 NOVEMBER 2001
The BSI resumed this week after an adjournment of three weeks because of the judicial review proceedings that took place in London.
The Tribunal continued to hear evidence about sector 4, the shootings in Glenfada Park North and Abbey Park.
James Logue described seeing Gerard McKinney shot on the steps of Abbey Park. Maureen Doherty saw both Gerard McKinney and Gerard Donaghy shot on the steps. John O’Kane was with his brother in law, Gerard McKinney, when Mr McKinney was shot in Abbey Park.
Liam Mailey described seeing Kevin McElhinney as he fell towards the entrance of Block 1 of the Rossville flats.
Pat Moyne was arrested whilst he was taking a walk after attending 11:00am mass.
The Tribunal also heard an application for anonymity and screening by lawyers acting on behalf of Witness X. The Tribunal said that they would not make a ruling until the decision of the Divisional Court on the judicial review proceedings. The Divisional Court will tell the BSI what the threshold test for the obligation of a public authority is and what the obligation is once the threshold has arisen.
A full transcript of proceedings is available at http://www.bloody-sunday-inquiry.org.uk
1 DANIEL DONAL DUNNE’S EVIDENCE
1.1
QUESTIONS ON BEHALF OF THE TRIBUNAL
1.1.1
Glenfada Park North/Abbey Park
Mr Dunne was walking south towards Glenfada Park North. When he got into the car park, he realised that something must have happened in the car park because he noticed a small group of people.
He went through the alleyway into the southwest corner and heard a burst of gunfire. Mr Dunne sheltered behind a wall that faced into the alley leading towards Glenfada Park North. He looked through the alleyway and could see a group that included Barry Liddy, being arrested by soldiers.
There was a lull in the shooting and a man came through the alleyway with blood on his face and chest and was holding his right cheek with his left hand.
1.1.2
1972 statement
In his 1972 statement, Mr Dunne said that he heard a burst of automatic fire, which was followed by a few single shots.
The sequence of events he described was when he was standing in Glenfada Park at the entrance to Abbey Park he heard a burst of automatic gunfire. He then saw a man whose right cheek had been torn by a bullet and then saw a dark haired youth on lying partly on the pavement and then saw people being arrested by soldiers.
1.1.3
Jim Wray
Mr Dunne cannot remember whether there was shooting going on when he saw the body of Jim Wray. He has no recollection now of trying to go towards Mr Wray’s body and shots being fired at him. He recalls calling to Mr Wray and other people calling to him. He said that, at this stage, Mr Wray was still alive.
He noticed two soldiers standing very close to Jim Wray’s body. The soldiers looked at Mr Dunne face on. They were wearing berets and were no more than 18 years old. They pointed their rifles at Mr Dunne but did not shoot. They stayed by Mr Wray’s body. He remembers the taller soldier saying something to the smaller soldier. Mr Dunne said that one soldier was close enough to be able to put his foot on Mr Wray’s body and push it over if he had wanted to. He did not see either soldier do anything to the body of Jim Wray.
1.1.4
Abbey Park
Mr Dunne ran into the Carr’s house. The soldiers did not shout or move towards him. He has no recollection of gunfire as he ran to the house.
1.1.5
Derek McFeely’s evidence
Mr Dunne was asked about Derek McFeely’s evidence. Mr McFeely said that as he and Mr Dunne walked in Glenfada Park North, he had seen the body of a man in his 40s, wearing a tweed coat. Mr McFeely said that, as he tended to the man, he heard a shout that the Army was coming in. Mr Dunne does not recall this.
1.2
QUESTIONS ON BEHALF OF THE FAMILIES AND WOUNDED
1.2.1
Automatic gunfire
Mr Dunne was a civilian worker for the Ministry of Defence. He had no technical experience of guns and was not aware that an SLR could be converted to an automatic setting.
1.3
QUESTIONS ON BEHALF OF THE SOLDIERS
1.3.1
Glenfada Park North/Abbey Park
Mr Dunne had never heard the name Michael Quinn before in relation to the man who came through the archway with a bad face wound.
Mr Dunne thinks that he saw people marched away at the same time that he saw the body of Jim Wray. He saw two soldiers by the body of Jim Wray.
Mr Dunne said that he thought Jim Wray was dead at the time that the soldiers stood over his body. He had called to Mr Wray twice and on the second time, Mr Wray had slumped forward. Within seconds the soldiers had arrived. Two soldiers stood over Mr Wray’s body. Mr Dunne was not aware that two bullets had struck Mr Wray.
2 FATHER KIERAN O’DOHERTY’S EVIDENCE
2.1
QUESTIONS ON BEHALF OF THE TRIBUNAL
2.1.1
IRA
Father O’Doherty was a priest attached to St Eugene’s cathedral. He was not aware of any assurances sought from or given by the IRA.
2.1.2
Parochial house
Father O’Doherty watched the march from the parochial house. There was a telephone call at about 4:15pm telling him that people had been shot. The caller told him to come down and he assumed that it was to the Bogside. He and Father Irwin left immediately.
2.1.3
Abbey Park
Father O’Doherty tended to Joseph Mahon in 4 Abbey Park. He spent about 10 minutes in a flat in Abbey Park and left when the message came through that others had been shot.
2.1.4
Block 1 of the Rossville Flats
Father O’Doherty made his way through Abbey Park and does not recall seeing any bodies there. He approached the southern end of block 1 and saw two bodies. He was told about another man that had been shot and who was on the first floor landing of the Rossville Flats. He later learned that the man was Kevin McElhinney. Mr McElhinney was dead and Father O’Doherty tried with others to identify him. He does not recall finding any rubber bullets in Mr McElhinney’s pockets.
Father O’Doherty was with the body of Kevin McElhinney for at least 10 minutes and he heard shots being fired from somewhere outside the building.
2.1.5
Shooting
Father O’Doherty returned to the Parochial House via Lisfannon Park. He was opposite Glenfada Park South when he heard further shots that lasted for about 30 seconds. People fell forward and he assumed that the shots were coming from behind him. He did not see the strike of any bullets on the ground.
2.2
QUESTIONS ON BEHALF OF THE FAMILIES AND WOUNDED
2.2.1
Shooting
Father O’Doherty said that he heard the burst of shooting at about 5:00pm or 5:10pm. It was a long time after the other shooting that had taken place.
2.3
QUESTIONS ON BEHALF OF THE SOLDIERS
2.3.1
Priests meeting
Father O’Doherty can recall a meeting of the priests to decide whether they should give evidence at the Widgery Inquiry. He cannot recall the priests actually saying what they had seen. Father O’Doherty said that there was no line to be taken. He was asked about Denis Bradley’s evidence and said that apart from Bishop Daly, he does not remember any priest saying what they had actually seen.
3 JAMES LOGUE’S EVIDENCE
3.1
QUESTIONS ON BEHALF OF THE TRIBUNAL
3.1.1
Hugh Gilmore
Mr Logue said that he spoke to Hugh Gilmore at the beginning of the march. He did not know whether Mr Gilmore was ever involved in rioting. He said that Mr Gilmore was not carrying a weapon, stick, stone or anything of that sort.
3.1.2
Abbey Park/Glenfada Park North
Mr Logue went to his aunt, Mrs O’Riley’s at 7 Abbey Park. He looked out of the window and had a line of sight through the alleyway leading into Glenfada Park North. He could see people running around and taking cover in Glenfada Park North.
Mr Logue saw at least half a dozen soldiers in Glenfada Park North. There was a group of two or three soldiers fairly close to the alleyway in the southwest corner of Glenfada Park North. They were close to the civilians in the alleyway. The soldiers seemed hyper and were running about. All of the soldiers were carrying rifles.
The two or three soldiers in the alleyway were aiming their rifles towards Abbey Street and the Stardust ballroom. The soldiers were shouting at each other but he could not hear what was being said. All the people outside who had seen the soldiers had scattered in all directions.
Mr Logue’s next recollection is of seeing a man with his hands raised over his head. Two of the soldiers near the alleyway raised their rifles to shoulder height and aimed at the man. He heard shots and saw the man with his hands in the air fall. He assumed that the soldiers had shot him. Mr Logue cannot recall seeing the recoil of a gun or the flash from the muzzle of a gun. He is sure that both soldiers were carrying rifles. He heard more shots and saw the two soldiers still standing with their rifles raised.
In his 1972 statement, Mr Logue said that when the man was first shot he raised both of his arms and he had the impression that the man was shot again. He now remembers the man raising his arms and then being shot. He cannot recall how he got the impression that the man had been shot again. He said that he was told later that the man was called Gerard McKinney.
Moments later, Mr Logue saw another man crawling in a northerly direction along the path between Abbey Park and Glenfada Park South. It seemed that the man was crawling towards Gerard McKinney. People were shouting to the man to stay where he was. Mr Logue turned away from the window. He heard more shots and then heard people say that the man who had been crawling had been shot. Mr Logue looked out of the window and saw the man lying still.
3.2
QUESTIONS ON BEHALF OF THE SOLDIERS
3.2.1
Abbey Park
Mr Logue remembers two soldiers fairly close to him in the entrance to Glenfada Park North and a slightly larger group of soldiers further behind them. He cannot recall seeing any soldier standing right outside his house. He does not remember the man who was shot walking sideways and presenting his side to the soldiers. The crawling man was on his own.
4 MAUREEN DOHERTY’S EVIDENCE
Mrs Doherty is a sister to Patrick Doherty who was killed on Bloody Sunday.
4.1
QUESTIONS ON BEHALF OF THE TRIBUNAL
4.1.1
Rossville Street/Glenfada Park North
Mrs Doherty was sitting on the low wall by the rubble barricade when she heard the shout that the Army were coming in. Before she knew it, everybody was running and she could hear the sound of shooting. Everybody went in different directions. Mrs Doherty ran through Glenfada Park North, she did not notice any soldiers.
4.1.2
Abbey Park/Glenfada Park North
Mrs Doherty was in Mrs O’Riley’s house and saw William McKinney crawling along the wall of the west block of Glenfada Park North towards the alley leading to Abbey Park. She had been at the window for only a couple of seconds when she noticed Mr McKinney. There was a girl Knight of Malta somewhere near.
Mrs Doherty’s attention was diverted away from William McKinney by the sight of a soldier in Abbey Park. The soldier was exactly opposite the window that Mrs Doherty was looking out from. She had not seen where the soldiers had come from.
Mr Clarke said that there was a fair amount of evidence from people who saw soldiers near the alleyway but no one had put a soldier as far into Abbey Park. Mrs Doherty said that she had seen the soldier in Abbey Park and that he walked towards the two men on the steps.
One of the men was very young (Gerard Donaghy) and the older man (Gerard McKinney) was slightly in front. The soldier was aiming his gun at the two men. He brought his gun up to his hip as he moved. As Mrs Doherty looked at the two men, she heard two shots and they both fell. Mr McKinney fell first. He landed on his back and blessed himself when he was lying down. Mr Donaghy went down on his side.
Mrs Doherty moved away from the window. When she went back, there were two Knights of Malta close to the body of Gerard McKinney.
4.2
QUESTIONS ON BEHALF OF THE SOLDIERS
4.2.1
Glenfada Park North
Mrs Doherty knew that something was going on in Glenfada Park North but she could not say what it was because she was watching the soldier in Abbey Park.
4.2.2
Abbey Park
Mrs Doherty does not know where Gerard Donaghy had been before she saw him on the steps. She did not see a soldier with his gun pointing towards Gerard McKinney’s side.
5
EILEEN COLLIN’S EVIDENCE
5.1
QUESTIONS ON BEHALF OF THE TRIBUNAL
5.1.1
The Shiels’ house
Mrs Collins was asked questions about her mother’s house (Mrs Shiels of Columbcille Court). Mrs Collins said that her mother’s house was packed. Within seconds of arriving there, a group of men appeared at the doorway with John Johnston. A young man who had been injured in the leg was also brought in.
Mrs Collins said that her mother’s door was always open and because it was next to Aggro Corner, people would go there. If gas was being fired, Mrs Shiels would have bowls with rags soaked in vinegar as protection against the gas.
The house was not deliberately used as a First Aid post but Mrs Collins said that her mother would not have turned anyone who had been hurt away.
Mrs Collins was asked about notes made by Tony Parker of the New Statesman. She said that there were only two injured people brought to her mother’s house on Bloody Sunday.
Mrs Collins was looking out of the kitchen window when she saw 25 to 30 soldiers running down William Street from the direction of Little James Street. She saw soldiers arresting anyone that happened to be in the road.
5.1.2
Abbey Park
Mrs Collins decided to get back to her home in the Rossville Flats to check on her children. One of the soldiers north of Glenfada Park North tried to stop her. She saw a body on a flight of steps. She went back to her mother’s house to fetch a sheet to cover the body. She noticed the door of Mrs Carr’s house and could see two more bodies covered with sheets.
5.2
QUESTIONS ON BEHALF OF THE SOLDIERS
5.2.1
William Street
Mrs Collins said that the name Aggro Corner was one that had been given to the area by soldiers.
5.2.2 Mrs
Shiels’ house
Mrs Collins said that her mother’s house was a well-known Republican house.
5.2.3 Tony
Parker’s notes
Mrs Collins does not remember being interviewed by Tony Parker of the New Statesman. She said that there are things in his notes that she did not say and parts had been exaggerated.
5.3
FURTHER QUESTIONS ON BEHALF OF THE TRIBUNAL
5.3.1
Gerard Donaghy
Mrs Collins said that she did not know at the time of Bloody Sunday that Gerard Donaghy was a member of the Fianna.
6
PAT MOYNE’S EVIDENCE
6.1
QUESTIONS ON BEHALF OF THE TRIBUNAL
6.1.1
Arrest
Mr Moyne went for a walk after attending 11:00am mass. As he reached the Palace Picture house and the Gluepot Bar, he was grabbed by 2 paras and pushed up against the window with the butt of the para’s rifle. He remembers the photographer, Larry Doherty, going to take a photograph. He does not remember anyone else other than Mr McFadden being there. He was made to get in an APC and was held down on the floor.
The APC took him into a yard at the back of the Strand Road
police station. He saw about 100
paratroopers in the backyard of the police station. They had blackened faces.
He remembers the officer in charge telling a police sergeant that they
had been arrested. Mr Moyne was
never told that he had been arrested or why.
6.1.2
Rossville Street
Mr Moyne saw the APCs coming down Rossville Street. He heard people shouting that the soldiers were firing live rounds and that someone had been shot. He cannot recall the period of time between seeing the APCs and hearing shots.
He saw Knights of Malta or St John’s ambulance men attending to people in front of the Rossville Flats. He remembers 20 to 30 people around the rubble barricade. The soldiers were coming up Rossville Street.
He did not see any missiles being thrown from the rubble barricade.
6.1.3
Glenfada Park North
Mr Moyne started running towards Abbey Park. He saw 20 to 30 people standing about Glenfada Park North. Somewhere taking cover against the wall. He heard one or two shots being fired towards the rubble barricade and presumed that they were fired from Rossville Street.
Jim Wray was beside him and Mr Moyne spoke to him briefly. Suddenly Mr Wray froze. Mr Moyne heard 5 or 6 shots. Jim Wray went down and was lying half on and off the pavement.
Mr Moyne had seen soldiers enter Glenfada Park North from the northeast and northwest corners. One soldier came in ahead of the others from the northeast corner. There were one or two soldiers behind the first. The first soldier continued towards the centre of the square. He had his gun at his hip and Mr Moyne had the impression that he was the soldier that shot Jim Wray. Mr Moyne froze for 10 to 20 seconds and suddenly everyone started running towards Abbey Park. He thinks that the first soldier may have shot Jim Wray a second time.
6.1.4 Vinny
Coyle’s house
Mr Moyne ran into Abbey Park and then went looking for a telephone. He ran to Vinny Coyle’s house in Lisfannon Park. He was surprised that Mr Coyle was not at the march. He told Mr Coyle what had happened and was met with disbelief. Mr Coyle said that he would ring for an ambulance. Mr Coyle was the only person in his house when Mr Moyne was there.
6.2
QUESTIONS ON BEHALF OF THE FAMILIES AND WOUNDED
Mr Moyne recalls running with people. He said that there was no aggressive behaviour from the crowd in Glenfada Park North. His best memory is of people standing about and then movement. He knew Jim Wray reasonably well. He talked with him and ran with him and saw him fall. He stayed with Mr Wray for a fleeting moment.
6.3
QUESTIONS ON BEHALF OF THE SOLDIERS
6.3.1
Rossville Street
Mr Moyne said that people panicked as the soldiers came up Rossville Street.
6.3.2
Glenfada Park North
Mr Moyne did not see any weapons or aggressive action by the people in Glenfada Park North. Mr Peter Clarke asked Mr Moyne about the photograph of Gregory Wild in Glenfada Park North. Mr Clarke suggested that a soldier may have mistaken the stick he was carrying for a rifle. Mr Moyne said that he would not comment on that because he had not seen it.
Mr Moyne ran because he saw the soldiers and could hear gunfire. He said that the mass of people did not run to the Abbey Park alleyway.
Mr Moyne did not see Mr Wray drop to the ground. He was with him one minute and then not with him the next. He thinks that Mr Wray froze.
6.3.3
Vinny Coyle’s house
Mr Moyne went to Vinny Coyle’s house. He told Mr Coyle that the soldiers had been shooting people. His impression was that Mr Coyle had no knowledge of what he was telling him about.
7
PADDY McCAULEY’S EVIDENCE
Mr McCauley was 16 years old at the time of Bloody Sunday.
7.1
QUESTIONS ON BEHALF OF THE TRIBUNAL
7.1.1
Rioting
Mr McCauley said that there were rules that were followed by rioters and the British Army. He said that, in his experience, the British Army never ventured south of the junction of William Street and Rossville Street prior to Bloody Sunday.
Mr McCauley said that before Bloody Sunday he had witnessed occasional gun battles between the Provos and the British Army. Every second or third Saturday afternoon there might be the odd gun battle. He said that sometimes he would get a warning that a sniper was about to fire.
Mr McCauley said that on Bloody Sunday, the hype was up and he and other hard-core rioters were looking fir a show down with the British Army because of the previous weekend at Magilligan. He wanted revenge by forcing his way through to the Guildhall. The vast majority of marchers were simply there for the march. He was one of the minority who wanted to get through to the Guildhall.
7.1.2
Barrier 14
Mr McCauley said that he was with a group of 50 to 60 people who ran ahead of the head of the march to confront the soldiers. Mr Clarke said that the photographs appear to show a breakaway group which began when the head of the march reached the junction of Rossville Street and William Street, but that it was very soon followed by the front of the march.
7.1.3
Waterloo Street
Mr McCauley left the barrier and went to riot on Waterloo Street. He threw stones at the soldiers and APCs at the northern end of the street.
7.1.4
Lisfannon Park
Mr McCauley said that as he went through Columbcille Court he saw a sudden surge of people who were running towards the Bogside. He intended to go to Glenfada Park North because he could hear people calling out that it was safe. He went to Lisfannon Park and first heard shooting. He thought that the shots were coming from the city walls. The bullets struck the Bogside Road in front of him.
Mr McCauley ran across the Bogside Road with his hands in the air. He said that no shots were fired and he reached the pathway between Abbey Park and Glenfada Park.
7.1.5
Glenfada Park North/Abbey Park
Mr McCauley said that he saw people in Glenfada Park North running and hiding and leaping over fences. He could see two figures lying on the pavement on the southern side of Glenfada Park North. He could not see whether they were wounded.
Mr McCauley saw the body of a man lying on his side. There was a soldier who had his foot on the man’s body and was pointing the muzzle of his rifle towards the man’s ribcage. He said that he now knows that the man was Jim Wray.
Mr McCauley reached the stone steps at Abbey Park. He said that he saw a man who he believes to be Gerard McKinney. He said that it appeared that Mr McKinney was heading towards a man lying at the small wall or the soldier. The soldier he had seen shoot Jim Wray spun around with his rifle at hip level and fired towards Mr McKinney. He said that Mr McKinney’s hands were still raised as he fell.
Mr McCauley was taken to the garden of the Carr’s house. He could not get inside the house because of the numbers inside.
7.1.6 1972
statement
Mr McCauley said that he was only prepared to give a brief statement at the time because he wanted to avoid being arrested as a rioter. He had not mentioned the events in Lisfannon Park, Glenfada Park North or Abbey Park in his statement. He said that he was being as brief as possible.
7.2
QUESTIONS ON BEHALF OF THE FAMILIES AND WOUNDED
7.2.1
Glenfada Park North and Abbey Park
Mr McCauley said that he had just reached the steps in Abbey Park when he saw the shootings of Jim Wray and Gerard McKinney. He had no doubt that he saw a soldier fire a shot into Jim Wray’s body. The soldier turned and fired in his direction right away.
7.3
QUESTIONS ON BEHALF OF THE SOLDIERS
7.3.1
1972 statement
Mr McCauley said that he had made a statement in 1972 because he thought that something should be said. His 1972 statement did not put the record straight in terms of the murders he had seen.
7.3.2
Shooting
He was mistaken to say that the first time he had heard shooting was when he was in Lisfannon Park.
7.3.3
Glenfada Park North
Mr McCauley agreed that Glenfada Park North was generally known to be a safe place to go because he could not be seen from the Embassy Ballroom or the city walls and the Army would not go in that far. He agreed that if a person was carrying weapons, the obvious place to go would be Glenfada Park North.
7.3.4
Jim Wray
Mr McCauley said that he saw a soldier with his foot on a man’s back. The bullet went straight through the man.
7.3.5
Evidence
Mr McCauley said that it is not possible that the account he gave is a combination of his hatred for soldiers and what people had told him had happened.
7.4
FURTHER QUESTIONS ON BEHALF OF THE TRIBUNAL
7.4.1
Abbey Park
Mr McCauley said that he was on the steps of Abbey Park when he witnessed the shooting of Jim Wray and Gerard McKinney.
7.4.2
Nail bombs
Mr McCauley said that he had actively gone to Waterloo Street to look for nail bombs. He would have known which people to ask for the nail bombs.
8
GERRY McLAUGHLIN’S EVIDENCE
8.1
QUESTIONS ON BEHALF OF THE TRIBUNAL
8.1.1
Glenfada Park North
Mr McLaughlin identified himself and Danny McCloskey in photographs of the scene in Glenfada Park North. He saw a soldier appear from the northeast gap of Glenfada Park North. The soldier looked over his shoulder and yelled ‘here the bastards are’. He said that he was 99% sure that the soldier was carrying a Sterling sub machine gun which he gripped and aimed in Mr McLaughlin’s direction. This provoked panic and everyone seemed to run at the same time.
Mr McLaughlin ran and caught a fleeting glimpse of the
helmets of four soldiers running into Glenfada Park North.
He could hear the sound of 5 or 7 shots.
There was a lot of pushing and shoving and there were about 40 to 50
people behind him. Before Mr
McLaughlin had gone through the alley he heard a shout from his right ‘I’m
hit, I’m hit.’
Mr McLaughlin looked at the film footage of the soldiers who were marching the arrestees and identified the soldier that he thought was carrying the Sterling. (The soldier in the film footage was carrying an SLR.)
8.1.2
Glenfada Park South
Mr McLaughlin ran through Glenfada Park South and dived on the ground. He saw a bullet strike the ground in front of Lisfannon Park. He could hear a lot of firing at the time.
8.1.3
Rossville Flats
Mr McLaughlin decided to make his way home to the Rossville Flats. As he walked along the western side of Joseph Place he could still hear intermittent gunfire. When he got to the three-penny bits, he saw three or four soldiers between the Ferrat Scout car and the wall of Block 1.
He could see a soldier looking through the sight of his rifle. He could hear a sound of ‘boom, boom, boom’ from the direction of the ferrat car. He assumed that the noise came from there. He agreed that the sound could be of rubber bullets being fired.
8.2
QUESTIONS ON BEHALF OF THE SOLDIERS
8.2.1
Glenfada Park North
Mr McLaughlin said that on Bloody Sunday, Glenfada Park North seemed like a safe place because it seemed calm in there and was surrounded by walls. He would not say that it was a place that everybody went to.
Mr McLaughlin said that he does not remember seeing anyone wearing goggles on Bloody Sunday. (Mr Treacy, on behalf of some of the families and wounded, pointed to Mr Wild’s statement. Mr Wild said that he had been wearing a surgical mask that he had obtained from a Knight of Malta.)
9
JOHN O’KANE’S EVIDENCE
9.1
QUESTIONS ON BEHALF OF THE TRIBUNAL
9.1.1
Columbcille Court
Mr O’Kane was on the march with his brother in law Gerard McKinney. People told him that two people had been shot on the waste ground beside the Grandstand Bar. A few minutes later, he saw a ruckus in Columbcille Court with a BBC reporter and about 10 people who were giving him a hard time. Gerard McKinney intervened.
9.1.2
Rossville Street
Mr O’Kane and Mr McKinney made their way into Glenfada Park North. He saw people running down Rossville Street and 3 or 4 APCs with about 20 soldiers. The soldiers seemed to be firing continuously from rifles. He could hear firing and the soldiers had their rifles raised, seemingly aimed at certain people.
He remembers that somebody who was in the process of clambering over the rubble barricade, suddenly fell forward. Mr O’Kane ducked back behind the wall and remembers a group of men carrying a young lad who had been shot.
9.1.3
Glenfada Park North
Mr O’Kane came across Seamus Liddy who had been hit by a rubber bullet.
Mr O’Kane’s 1972 statement suggests that he was next to Michael Kelly when Mr Kelly fell at the rubble barricade rather than when Mr Kelly was brought into Glenfada Park North. He said that, at the time, he was traumatised and worrying about his sister. He said that Michael Kelly was brought in from the barricade whilst he was at the gable end.
Mr O’Kane remembers a time when Michael Kelly was knocked out of his hands whilst he was trying to help carry him. He looked to his right and saw three paras had entered Glenfada Park North. Two via the northeast entrance and one via the northwest entrance.
Mr O’Kane said that soldiers were walking towards him with their rifles up to their shoulders. He and Mr McKinney ran with the crowd to the alleyway leading into Abbey Park. There were about 15 people trying to get out of the alleyway at this time. Mr O’Kane said that none of them were confronting the soldiers. He heard bullets whizzing past his head and hitting the wall to his left. The shooting appeared to be random.
Mr O’Kane got through the southwestern exit. He was aware that a man had fallen because he heard him stumble. He looked back and saw that the man had been shot in his right side. The man was already on the ground. Mr O’Kane said that he now knows the man to be Jim Wray.
Mr O’Kane and Gerard McKinney took cover in a garden which runs along the western side of the western block of Glenfada Park North. He could see the man lying in the corner with his head facing the alleyway and his feet facing the middle part of the Glenfada Park North courtyard. The man was still alive. The upper part of his body was on the footpath and his legs were on the tarmac. Mr O’Kane said that the man raised his right hand saying ‘help me.’ Two shots rang out and the man’s body jumped off the ground and fell back down limp. Mr O’Kane assumed that the man had been shot by the para who was close to him.
9.1.4 Abbey Park
Mr O’Kane ducked back around the corner and made his way with Gerard McKinney up the western side of the west side of Glenfada Park North. Mr O’Kane said that the sequence of events he described in his 1972 statements is likely to be the most accurate. In those statements he said that he and others started to run from the cover of the flats. People started to shout ‘get back.’ Mr O’Kane started to run back from where he came but Gerard McKinney and Gerard Donaghy had not.
Mr McKinney had his right arm stretched out across Gerard Donaghy’s chest. He said ‘just a minute son, till we see if it is clear.’ Mr McKinney moved his head towards the opening to see whether it was safe to cross. His arms shot up in the air and he shouted ‘no, no.’ As he did, a shot rang out and Mr McKinney fell and blessed himself, his legs kicked and he lay still. Then another shot rang out and Gerard Donaghy fell to the ground gripping his stomach and squealing.
9.1.5 Mrs
Rudd’s evidence
Mr O’Kane said that after Bloody Sunday, Mrs Rudd told his mother that she had seen a soldier with his rifle trained on Mr O’Kane’s back.
9.1.6
Rubble barricade
Mr O’Kane said that he cannot be 100% sure about his evidence that he saw soldiers tossing the bodies at the rubble barricade into an APC.
9.2
QUESTIONS ON BEHALF OF THE FAMILIES AND WOUNDED
9.2.1
Glenfada Park North/Abbey Park
Mr O’Kane heard bullets striking the houses on the south side of Glenfada Park North as he ran. He said that Gerard Donaghy was trying to get to James Wray. Mr O’Kane and Mr McKinney pulled Mr Donaghy back.
9.3
QUESTIONS ON BEHALF OF THE SOLDIERS
9.3.1
Rossville Street
Mr O’Kane said that he had a mental picture of about 20 soldiers advancing with the APCs, all of them firing rifles. He said that he really did think that he had seen that but agreed that it could possibly be a picture from a film.
9.3.2
Glenfada Park North
Mr O’Kane thinks that he was trying to help carry the body of Michael Kelly. He thinks that the group changed from moving north across the courtyard to moving to the west because they realised that that would be a safer route.
He does not recall seeing any soldiers with visors. He does not recall seeing a car in Glenfada Park North.
9.3.3
Jim Wray
Mr O’Kane agreed that when he was looking through the alleyway at Jim Wray’s body he was unable to see into the courtyard of Glenfada Park North. He could not see the soldier in the vicinity of Jim Wray’s body.
Sir Allan Green suggested that he had heard about Jim Wray’s body rising and falling down again and asked why he had not referred to seeing the body of Mr Wray in his 1972 statement. Mr O’Kane said that it was not a complete statement and that he was 100% sure that he had seen the body of Mr Wray rise and go down.
9.3.4
Abbey Park
Mr O’Kane said that he had a clear picture of Gerard McKinney being shot just as he emerged beyond the protection of the south gable wall. He disagreed with the suggestion that the bullet that hit Mr McKinney then went on to hit Gerard Donaghy. He said that there was nothing in between Mr Donaghy and the soldier who shot him.
9.4
FURTHER QUESTIONS ON BEHALF OF THE TRIBUNAL
9.4.1
Sunday Times
Mr O’Kane remembers being interviewed by the Sunday Times team. He does not think that he gave them a copy of his own handwritten statement.
10 JAMES HEGGARTY’S EVIDENCE
10.1
QUESTIONS ON BEHALF OF THE TRIBUNAL
10.1.1
Columbcille Court
Mr Heggarty said that he saw Gerard McKinney in the area between Columbcille Court and Kells Walk. He said that Mr McKinney was saying to people ‘stand your ground.’
Mr Heggarty said that he heard the noise of gunfire and saw holes appearing on a wall. He could not tell where the shots were coming from. He had not seen any soldiers. He said that Mr Lynch put his biro pen into the holes on the wall and pushed it in four and a half inches.
10.1.2
Fahan Street West
Mr Heggarty decided to run across Fahan Street West. He heard further shooting from the direction of the city walls. He sheltered near Lisfannon Park.
11 LIAM MAILEY’S EVIDENCE
Mr Mailey was an amateur photographer. He agreed to try and locate the contact sheets of the photographs he had taken on Bloody Sunday. These will confirm the sequence of events that Mr Mailey witnessed.
11.1
QUESTIONS ON BEHALF OF THE TRIBUNAL
11.1.1 Low calibre
gunfire
Mr Mailey said that at some stage he heard low calibre gunfire. He said that it sounded like an air rifle being fired. He cannot recall when this fits into the sequence of events on Bloody Sunday. He said that it could have been when he was on his way to the Rossville Flats or at the junction between Rossville Street and William Street or around the rubble barricade.
11.1.2
Rossville Street
Mr Mailey said that the sequence of events that he gave in his 1972 statement would have been correct. He cannot remember seeing two people injured in the advancing crowd. He moved towards the flats and heard three single shots which appeared to be of a lower calibre than rifle shots. He photographed Michael McDaid on Rossville Street.
Mr Mailey heard a soldier shout ‘photographers, clear the street.’ He does not remember the soldier firing whilst he was at the rubble barricade. Mr Mailey walked to the southern entrance of Block 1. He can be seen in a photograph at the entrance to Block 1.
11.1.3
Block 1 of the Rossville Flats
Mr Mailey went into the entrance to Block 1. He went up to the first floor and heard that someone outside had been injured. Mr Mailey went back downstairs to see if he could help. As he turned the corner, he saw a man falling forwards towards the entrance door and a fresh splinter of wood fly from the doorpost. He remembers the man was very close to or possibly on the ground when he was hit. Mr Mailey helped carry the man to the landing. There was no one else on the landing apart from an old man called Artie Orr.
11.2
QUESTIONS ON BEHALF OF THE FAMILIES AND WOUNDED
11.2.1
Rubble barricade
Mr Mailey did not hear any nail bombs, petrol bombs or acid bombs at the rubble barricade. He did not see anyone wielding a weapon.
11.3
QUESTIONS ON BEHALF OF THE SOLDIERS
11.3.1
Photographs
Mr Mailey said that he would have taken the contact sheet of his photographs to the Widgery Inquiry.
Mr Mailey recalls numerous requests by people for copies of his photographs but not for an inspection of them.
11.3.2
Widgery evidence
Mr Mailey had received a story about one of the bodies he had photographed. He had been told that it had been moved from the rubble barricade.
11.4
FURTHER QUESTIONS ON BEHALF OF THE TRIBUNAL
11.4.1
Widgery Tribunal
Mr Mailey did not witness the bullet that hit Kevin McElhinney ricochet off the doorpost and hit Paddy O’Hagan on the ankle.
12
SEAMUS CARLIN’S EVIDENCE
Lord Saville terminated Mr Carlin’s evidence whilst counsel to the Tribunal was questioning him.
12.1
QUESTIONS ON BEHALF OF THE TRIBUNAL
12.1.1
William Street
Mr Carlin said that he was stood underneath an enamel sign on William Street when something impacted above his head. He looked up and got aluminium dust in his eyes.
Mr Carlin said that he was blinded by CS gas and covered in blood from the young man he had been helping. He was taken to a house and whilst inside heard high velocity fire that seemed to come from close by. Mr Carlin said that he thought that the soldiers were still situated near William Street and so he presumed that the IRA were nearby.
12.1.2
Abbey Park
Mr Carlin was in a house on the eastern side of Glenfada Park South. He saw a group of 6 or 7 men lying in the open on the paved area between Glenfada Park South and Abbey Park. After a few moments, most of the men got up and went into an adjacent house. Mr Carlin said that he saw Gerard McKinney lying face up on the shallow steps.
Mr Carlin said that he saw Gerard Donaghy who was lying on the ground. He said that Mr Donaghy started to lift his head and shoulders off the ground. He assumed that Mr Donaghy had been shot but he could not see a wound on him. He did not see the impact of a bullet.
Mr Carlin saw a soldier standing outside a fence. He could not say exactly where the soldier was standing.
13
GEORGE HILLEN’S EVIDENCE
13.1
QUESTIONS ON BEHALF OF THE TRIBUNAL
13.1.1
Glenfada Park North
Mr Hillen was on the eastern side of Glenfada Park North. He said that he saw a large number of people at the gable end. He said that there was no talk of confronting the Army. He did not see anyone armed with any kind of weapon. Information was relayed around the corner that someone had been shot.
When he heard shouts of ‘they are coming in,’ he decided to run. Mr Hillen was not aware of anyone holding guns or anything that was smoking or fizzing. He tried to push through the gap to Abbey Park and noticed Jim Wray. Mr Hillen was surprised to see him as Mr Wray would not usually go on marches. Jim Wray was on the right hand side.
Mr Hillen looked around and saw a soldier in the car park who was lifting a rifle. This was the only soldier that Mr Hillen saw.
Within a spilt second of seeing the soldier, he heard Mr Wray shout ‘I’m hit.’ He did not see Mr Wray hit the ground and thinks that he may have been supported by the crowd that was in front of him as he fell. Mr Hillen was aware of shooting but could not say whether it was the soldier that he had seen who shot Mr Wray.
13.1.2
Abbey Park
Mr Hillen pushed his way through the alleyway that led into Abbey Park. He took cover with a number of other people at the back of the western block of Glenfada Park South. He saw Gerard Donaghy walking from the direction of Columbcille Court. He said that Mr Donaghy appeared to be aiming for the alleyway between Glenfada Park North and South. Mr Hillen said that Mr Donaghy was on his own and that he had shouted to him not to go around the corner.
Mr Hillen heard two or three shots which sounded closer than the general shooting. He said that the shooting was off and on and seemed to be coming from the car park.
Less than three minutes after this, Mr Hillen thinks that he saw the body of Gerard Donaghy being carried by two or three older men. Mr Hillen said that he could not say whether Mr Donaghy had gone into the alleyway. He had presumed that he had done.
13.2
QUESTIONS ON BEHALF OF THE FAMILIES AND WOUNDED
13.2.1
Glenfada Park North
Mr Hillen was in Glenfada Park North for three or four minutes. People were crouching down and taking shelter. There was a press of people trying to get through the alleyway.
13.2.2
Abbey Park
Mr Hillen did not see the face of anyone that was carried out from the alleyway between Glenfada Park North and South.
13.3
QUESTIONS ON BEHALF OF THE SOLDIERS
13.3.1
Embassy Ballroom
Mr Peter Clarke suggested that the CS gas had come from barrier 12. Mr Hillen said that he saw CS gas being fired from the top of the Embassy Ballroom.
13.3.2
Glenfada Park North
Mr Hillen said that he did not know if there was anyone behind him or Mr Wray as they ran towards the alleyway.
14
PEARSE McCAUL’S EVIDENCE
14.1
QUESTIONS ON BEHALF OF THE TRIBUNAL
14.1.1
Magilligan
Mr McCaul said that he attended the protest at Magilligan the week before Bloody Sunday. He saw his neighbour, a woman in her 70s being hit over the head with a baton.
Mr McCaul said that it was not a riot and that the paras had just advanced on the marchers.
14.1.2
William Street
Mr McCaul said that there was confusion in the crowd and that word came through that Damien Donaghy had been shot. He had met Mickey Bridge and Seamus Friel but split up with Mickey Bridge when the Army came up William Street.
14.1.3
Barrier 14
Mr McCaul said that he went to confront the Army at barrier 14. He did not take any weapon or missile on the march.
He had taken part in riots in the past and had been present when nail bombs and petrol bombs had been thrown. He had never seen a gunman use rioters as cover to shoot at the Army.
14.1.4
Rubble barricade
Mr McCaul said that he saw 15 to 16 soldiers advancing down Rossville Street. He recalls soldiers strung out in a line across the road, just north of Glenfada Park North.
There was an intense burst of rubber bullet fire for a couple of minutes and he could see bullets bouncing off the rubble barricade. Three or four minutes later, live shots were fired. Mr McCaul did not see anything that would have justified the Army firing at the rubble barricade. He was at the gable end of Glenfada Park North when he heard the live fire.
Mr McCaul helped to carry one of the bodies from the rubble barricade. He helped to carry Michael Kelly’s body across the Glenfada Park North courtyard. He is not sure whether he had helped to carry two separate people or whether it was Mr Kelly that he had carried from the barricade and then picked up again to carry across the courtyard.
14.1.5
Glenfada Park North
Mr McCaul can be seen in the photograph of the group carrying Michael Kelly across the courtyard. He said that he cannot remember anything else that was going on at this time. As the group approached the alleyway leading to Abbey Park, Mr McCaul saw two soldiers appear through the alleyway at the northeastern corner. The soldiers did not appear to be taking cover. He does not recall anything that would have caused the soldiers to shoot. He does not recall hearing any firing other than Army fire. He said that the demeanour of the soldiers gave him the impression that they were about to start shooting. Mr McCaul said that he dropped Mr Kelly’s body.
Mr McCaul and Seamus Friel started to run towards the southwest corner of Glenfada Park North. There was a man running behind him who Mr McCaul has recently found out was James Wray. Mr McCaul reached the alleyway where there were about six other people sheltering. He pressed himself up against the wall. He was too afraid to look into the car park but could see the southwest corner. Jim Wray had fallen. He was lying face down with the whole of his body on the pavement and his arms outstretched. He saw Mr Wray try to push himself up from the ground but he lurched forward suddenly as if he had been shot. Mr McCaul did not see the bullet that hit Mr Wray.
Mr McCaul has no recollection of anyone turning to face the soldiers whilst in the car park.
14.1.6 South of the
Rossville Flats
Mr McCaul saw the body of Bernard McGuigan. There was quite a few people gathered around Mr McGuigan’s body. He does not remember seeing an ambulance or soldiers in Rossville Street. He spent about two or three minutes around the Rossville Flats and then headed towards Free Derry Corner.
Mr McCaul saw soldiers standing at the parapets on the city walls. He started to run towards Free Derry Corner and heard a shout ring out at him. Mr McCaul could not say whether the shot was aimed at him. He said that it seemed to come from the Derry Walls. He did not see any civilian with a gun. He did not hear a shot that might have been fired from a civilian weapon. He agreed that he could not be sure that the shot that was fired at him was Army fire.
14.2
QUESTIONS ON BEHALF OF THE FAMILIES AND WOUNDED
14.2.1
Rubble barricade
Mr McCaul said that he did not see any blood on the bodies lying at or near to the rubble barricade. He agreed that they may have been people who had simply dropped to the ground when the gunfire started.
Mr MacDonald suggested that it was more likely that Mr McCaul had carried one body from the rubble barricade. He told Mr McCaul about George Downey’s evidence that he had seen him go out to the rubble barricade. Mr McCaul agreed that it is more likely that he had carried Michael Kelly on two separate occasions rather than two separate bodies.
Mr McCaul did not see anyone with a pistol, rifle, nail bomb or petrol bomb.
Mr McCaul said that the soldiers in Rossville Street did not look like a snatch squad. They were not operating in a group. He said that a snatch squad would normally just carry batons.
14.2.2
James Wray
Mr McCaul said that he thinks that the gunfire in Glenfada Park North continued for about half a minute. He believed that Jim Wray was hit twice. The first shot that hit Mr Wray would have been one of the first shots fired. The second shot was one of the last shots. Mr Wray lurched forward and then was still.
Mr McCaul remembers a Knight of Malta going towards Mr Wray.
14.3
QUESTIONS ON BEHALF OF THE SOLDIERS
14.3.1
Magilligan
Mr McCaul said that the soldiers diverted the marchers down to the beach at Magilligan. He said that he witnessed a wholly unprovoked attack with the violence coming from the soldiers. He said that at least one of the paras said something that made it clear that they would be in Derry the following week.
Mr Glasgow told Mr McCaul about the evidence of Paddy McCauley. He said that Mr McCauley had told the Tribunal he was going to get revenge on the paras and would get through to the Guildhall. Mr McCaul said that he had not heard any talk of revenge.
14.3.2
Barrier 14
Mr McCaul said that he did not see a single stone thrown at barrier 14. He did not hear any explosions or rubber bullets being fired.
14.3.3
Rubble barricade
Mr McCaul said that whoever he had taken in from the rubble barricade had been dragged rather than carried in.
14.3.4
Glenfada Park North
Mr McCaul could not say why the group carrying Michael Kelly changed direction. He said that there was a lot of confusion.
Mr McCaul did not see any guns taken out of a car.
Mr McCaul said that he saw Jim Wray lurch forward very suddenly as if he had been shot. He was only a few feet away from where Mr Wray fell. Mr McCaul agreed that the position he was in the alleyway determined how much that could be seen in Glenfada Park North. He has no recollection of any soldier near to the body of Jim Wray.
15
MICHAEL CUSACK’S EVIDENCE
15.1
QUESTIONS ON BEHALF OF THE TRIBUNAL
15.1.1
Stewarding
Vinny Coyle had asked Mr Cusack if he would be a steward. He said that Mr Coyle was the chief marshal at the march. Mr Coyle had asked him to be a steward at the start of the march at Bishops Field. Mr Coyle was getting everyone organised for the march. Mr Cusack’s instructions were to keep order.
Mr Cusack was initially at the tail end of the march and then went up along the line.
15.1.2
Barrier 14
Mr Cusack said that there were about 4 or 5 youths throwing stones at the soldiers at barrier 14. There were a number of stewards standing in the alleyway. When the soldiers fired the CS gas the people had no alternative but to go into the laneway. Stewards were refusing to let people through the alleyway and were telling them to stand their ground.
Mr Cusack assumed that Hugh McMonagle was a steward. He said that there were people who were not stewards who were trying to bring normality back to the situation.
15.1.3
Rossville Street
Mr Cusack walked to Free Derry Corner and then back up Rossville Street. He heard shots fired and saw people sheltering at the rubble barricade. He did not see anything thrown from the barricade. He did not hear the sound of nail bombs or petrol bombs. He did not see anything at the barricade that might have looked like a weapon.
There was a lull in the shooting and Mr Cusack stated moving towards Fahan Street West. He saw people carrying a man either from or into a house in Abbey Park which fronted Fahan Street West.
15.2
QUESTIONS ON BEHALF OF THE FAMILIES AND WOUNDED
15.2.1
Free Derry Corner
Mr Cusack was shown some new photographs of the scenes at Free Derry Corner. He said that bullets came from the direction of William Street and 10 to 20 seconds later, he became aware of shots coming from a different direction. He thought that the shots were coming from the walls.
15.3
QUESTIONS ON BEHALF OF THE SOLDIERS
15.3.1
Barrier 14
Mr Cusack said that the rioting got unpleasant when CS gas was fired. He said that he wanted to get people to stand their ground at barrier 14. The scene got unpleasant when CS gas was fired.
15.3.2
Rubble barricade
Mr Cusack said that he feared for the safety of the people at the rubble barricade. He was concerned that soldiers might think that people were petrol bombers because they were lying on the ground when the live rounds were fired.
He said that when he gave his statement to Eversheds he had told them that people were throwing objects. He was asked by the solicitor whether they could have been petrol bombs and had answered ‘yes they could have been.’
16
APPLICATION ON BEHALF OF WITNESS X
The Tribunal heard an application by lawyers acting on behalf of an unidentified witness known as ‘X.’ Witness X asked that the Tribunal grant him anonymity, allow him to give evidence behind a screen and redact any documents that refer to him by name.
There was an open part to his application which was
circulated to all the lawyers and a closed part that was only available to the
members of the Tribunal.
16.1
BACKGROUND TO THE APPLICATION
16.1.1
Document purporting to be RUC interview with X
A redacted document which purports to be an RUC interview with X has been made available to the BSI. The document states,
The document was obtained from the BBC.
16.1.2
X’s statement to the BSI
X has provided a statement to the BSI that has not yet been made available to the interested parties. In the BSI statement, X said that he was at home on Bloody Sunday and was not a member of either branch of the IRA. He said that he has no knowledge of the interview allegedly conducted by the RUC or of the content of the interview note.
16.1.3
Threat assessment
A threat assessment on X states that if the documents referring to him were published, the possibility of the threat against him and others referred to in the documents would become a reality.
A more recent threat assessment states that it would be impossible to give an accurate assessment of the likely level of the threat in the absence of any specific intelligence.
16.2
SUBMISSIONS ON BEHALF OF WITNESS X
Tuesday 13
paras 6
to 8 and interlocutory hearing
Wednesday 14
paras 9 to 12.1.1
Thursday 15
paras 12.1.1 to 15
For Peace Justice & Human Rights
