innocent - bloody sunday report

7/31/2019 Innocent - Bloody Sunday Report

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Remembering 15 June 2010, reactions to the Saville Report on Bloody Sunday

INNOCENT


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Contents

IntroduCtIon

Conal McFeely Bloody Sunday Trust 3

FamIlyresponsesto savIlle report

Mickey McKinney Chair o Proceedings 4

Tony Doherty Collective Family Response 4

Individual Family Responses 5

On Behal o the Wounded 8

John Kelly Statement o Thanks 9

oFFICIalreaCtIonsto savIlle report

David Cameron, British Prime Minister, Statement to House o Commons 12

Mark Durkan, MP or Foyle, Statement to House o Commons 15

Martin McGuinness, Deputy First Minister, Guildhall Square, Derry 16

Mary McAleese, President o Ireland, Public Statement 16

Brian Cowen, An Taoiseach, Statement on the Publication o the Saville Inquiry 18

Protestant Church Leaders, Hand o Friendship Extended to Bloody Sunday Families 19

The Bloody Sunday Family Support Programme wish to expressour sincere gratitude to the countless unsung heroes in the cityand beyond who supported the campaign or justice over manyhard years. Their seless contribution eased the burden o theamilies and made it possible or the truth to be set ree on that

momentous day in June 2010. For their eorts on the day wewould like to thank the ollowing: Dave Duggan, MaolosaBoyle, Raymond McCartney, Robin Percival, Eamonn McCann,Christine Bell, Colum Eastwood, Conal McFeely, Adrian Kerr,

Colm Barton, Bishop Edward Daly, Paul McFadden, EimearOCallaghan, the Bloody Sunday Weekend Committee, PatFinucane Centre, Cnamh, Wave, Void Gallery, GuildhallPress, the Derry Journal, Derry City Council, E&I Engineering.

The amilies wish to thank Julieann Campbell and Mickey

McKinney or their dedicated work through the SupportProgramme unded by the Irish Department o Foreign Aairsand Creggan Enterprises.

Many thanks to Hugh Gallagher or his images o the day.

aCknowledgements


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IntroduCtIon

Conal McFeely Bloody Sunday Trust

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On the aternoon o 30 January 1972, BarneyMcGuigan kissed his wie, Bridie, and let to go ona civil rights march. The decision was to cost him hislie. Barney was one o the thirteen men shot deadby paratroops on what the world was to call BloodySunday (a ourteenth victim, John Johnston, diedour months later). The subsequent inquiry into theatrocity, chaired by Lord Widgery and publishedin April 1972, compounded tragedy with travesty,concluding that there was a strong suspicion that someo the deceased had been handling weapons or bombs.

That stain on the dead mens reputation was

to linger or almost orty years until, on 15 June2010, they were all ully and fnally exonerated by aBritish Prime Minister. On that day, David Cameronannounced to the House o Commons the fndingso an unprecedented second inquiry under LordSaville: What happened on Bloody Sunday was bothunjustifed and unjustifable. It was wrong.

Those o us who were on the original march alwaysknew that truth, but the world had to hear it as

well. It was typical o the Bloody Sunday amilies sequestered in the Guildhall that they stole David

Camerons thunder and broke the news themselves tothe people o Derry, by giving thumbs up signs to the

thousands waiting expectantly in the square below. Myown abiding memory o that historic day is o relativeater relative, victim ater victim, repeating the wordInnocentto the jubilant throng.

It has been a privilege or me to accompany theamilies on their long and painul walk to vindication.Their tenacity and dignity has inspired all o us inthe Bloody Sunday Trust, and will inspire othercommunities in Ireland and beyond to believe thattruth can be set ree.

The Saville Report brought comort to the majorityo the bereaved and wounded, although it continues

to tarnish the reputation o one o the victims myown good riend, Gerry Donaghey.The amilies can rest now that the truth has been

set ree and the innocence o their loved ones hasbeen acknowledged ofcially. It is or others to ensurethat justice the outstanding demand o the BloodySunday campaign is also delivered.

Ater Savilles fndings were announced, BridieMcGuigan captured the mood simply but beautiully

when she spoke to the expectant crowd in GuildhallSquare on that warm summers day:

The heavens wept when Barney was buried;the sun shone when his name was cleared.


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My name is Mickey McKinney. My twenty-seven-year-old brother Willie McKinney was murdered byBritish paratroopers on Bloody Sunday.

This is a historic day or Derry and I would liketo thank you all or your patience as we have all hadpatience over the past thirty-eight years, but todaythe waiting has come to an end. This has been a verychallenging and traumatic time or the amilies andthe wounded.

We could not have done this without yourencouragement and support. We know that we standhere today among riends.

Mickey McKinney Chair o Proceedings

Guildhall Square, Derry

FamIlyresponsesto savIlle report

Tony Doherty Collective Family Response


Unjustifed and unjustifable.Those are the words we have been waiting to hear

since 30 January 1972 and I think, Derry, you have beenabsolutely brilliant in this.

The victims o Bloody Sunday have been vindicated andthe Parachute Regiment has been disgraced. Their medalso honour have to be removed. Widgerys great lie has beenlaid bare. The truth has been brought home at last.

It can now be proclaimed to the world that the deadand the wounded o Bloody Sunday, civil rights marchers,

were innocent one and all, gunned down in their ownstreets by soldiers who had been given to believe theycould kill with perect impunity. The Parachute Regimentare the ront-line assassins or Britains political andmilitary elite. The report o the Saville Tribunal confrmsthis. It was the paras mission in Derry to massacre peoplethey thought o as enemies o the state. They will haveknown that murder is what was expected o them whenthey erupted onto our streets.

Bloody Sunday wounded Derry very, very badly. Wemay hope that rom today we can begin to bind up those

wounds. But we recognise, too, that the issues arising romthe Report go wider and deeper than Derrys concerns.

When the state kills its citizens it is the interests o all thatthose responsible be held to account. It is not just Derry,or one section o the people o Derry, it is democracy itsel

which needs to know what happened here on 30 January1972. The British people need to know. The Irish peopleneed to know. The world now knows.

Our campaign in the frst instance was or justice orour loved ones. But we didnt fght only or ourselves.

We have tried to stand in the place o others who havesuered the same grie and the same grievous wrong atthe hands o unaccountable power and who may never

win any ofcial inquiry, who may never have their truthtold. We are mindul o the victims o the Ballymurphymassacre by men o the Parachute Regiment in August

1971, o the amilies o the two men murdered by theparas on the Shankill Road in September 1972. And oall amilies bereaved by the paratroopers and other stateorces over the course o this bloody conict. And oall who have died here, rom whatever background, at

whomevers hand.Bloody Sunday was the price the Bogside paid or Free

Derry. So it is, always and everywhere. Just as the civilrights movement o orty years ago was part o somethinghuge happening all over the world, so the repression thatcame upon us was the same as is suered by ordinary

people everywhere who dare stand up against injustice.Sharpville. Grozny. Tiananmen Square. Daur. Fallujah.Gaza. Let our truth stand as their truth too.

Bloody Sunday was a great injustice. But the fght ortruth and justice has also been an inspiration to us and tothe people o Derry. It has deepened our sense o who weare and made us more aware that we are also citizens o the

world. Nobody who struggles or justice will be a strangerhere. Nobody who dies in the struggle or justice will beorgotten here. Thank you, Derry.


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Duddy Family Gerry Duddy

My name is Gerry Duddy, brother o Jackie Duddy. Over thirty-eight yearsago, a young man, my brother Jackie, in Savilles own words: was running

away rom the soldiers when he was shot and at that time he was posing nothreat o death or serious injury to anyone.

Widgery destroyed our loved ones good name today we cleared them.I am delighted to say Jackie was innocent.

Gilmour Family Bernard Gilmour

My name is Bernard Gilmour and thats my brother Hugh. He was shotgoing over the barricade on Bloody Sunday by Private U. He was seventeenyears o age and innocent.

Kelly Family Kathleen Cooley

My name is Kathleen Cooley. Michael was my brother; he was murderedon Bloody Sunday. Quoting Saville: We are sure that the soldier fredeither in the belie that no one at the barricade was posing a threat or notcaring i anyone at the barricade was posing such a threat.

Its been almost our decades since our brother Michael was killed. Todaythe truth has been told. I say now to my little brother Michael and myloving mother and ather, at last you can rest in peace orever.

McDaid Family John McDaid

My name is John McDaid. Michael was my younger brother who wasmurdered on the streets o Derry on Bloody Sunday. Quoting rom Saville:Michael was going to the aid o William Nash, we are sure he was notarmed with any weapon.

Thank you or your attention.

Nash Family Kate Lyons

Some thirty-eight years ago, a story went around the world concocted byGeneral Mike Jackson. He said there were gunmen and bombers on ourstreets and they were shot and killed. Today that lie has been uncovered.

My name is Kate Nash, sister o William Nash and daughter o AlexNash. Quoting Saville: As to the shooting on Rossville Street which causedthe deaths o William Nash, John Young and Michael McDaid, CorporalP claimed he aimed at a man with a pistol, Soldier J at a man with a nail-bomb and Soldier P at a man with a pistol. We reject each o these claims asknowingly untrue. We are sure that the soldier who shot and injured AlexNash while he was tending his dead son Willie at the barricade could not

have believed that he identifed him as posing a threat or causing seriousdeath or injury.

My brother William we know he was innocent, we have always knownhe was innocent. Now the world knows.

IndIvIdualFamIlyresponses


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Young Family Leo Young

My name is Leo Young, brother o John who was murdered onBloody Sunday and who has now been vindicated as innocent.

John Young was going to the aid o William Nash when he wasshot. We are sure he was not armed with any lethal weapon. John

Young was innocent.

McElhinney Family Jean Hegarty

My name is Jean Hegarty; Im the big sister to KevinMcElhinney. Quoting Lord Saville: Kevin McElhinney wasshot as he was crawling away rom soldiers. These shots werenot fred in ear or panic. He posed no danger to lie or danger

o injury.Thirty-eight years, our months, fteen days, almost to theminute Kevin is innocent.

W McKinney Family Joe McKinney

Im Joe McKinney, one o the brothers o Willie McKinneywho was murdered on Bloody Sunday. In the words o LordSaville: Willie McKinney was shot in the back by an aimedshot and atally wounded. There was no evidence and no-onehas suggested that Willie McKinney was in possession o anyorm o weapon.

Our brother, Willie McKinney, is innocent.

Wray Family Liam Wray

My name is Liam Wray, speaking on behal o the Wray amily.Our brother Jim while trying to exit Glenada Park to a placeo saety was specifcally targeted while posing no threat andshot in the back. As he lay there deenceless, he was deliberatelyshot again. The Saville Report stated clearly that there was no

justifcation or either o these two shots.This Inquiry has vindicated the Wray amily and much more

so, the people o Derry. We always knew the truth and now theworld knows the truth. Jim was murdered. Jim was innocent.And to the Derry people, the Wray amilys gratitude couldnever be expressed in words alone. Thank you.

Donaghey Family Geraldine Doherty

My name is Geraldine Doherty. I am the niece o Gerald

Donaghey. Today the world has been told my uncle wasinnocent. He was murdered by Soldier G as he was tryingto get away to saety. Lord Saville has said that there was no

justifcation or his shooting. He was only seventeen. Innocent.


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G McKinney Family Regina McLaughlin

My name is Regina McLaughlin; I am the daughter oGerry McKinney who was murdered on Bloody Sunday.

Im doing this or Mammy, or Kevin, or Aileen, Tracey,Martine, Fred, Mairead, Daddys brothers and sisters andin memory o our brother Gerry. Our ather has beendeclared innocent this day by Lord Saville. I quote: In ourview, Private G deliberately targeted Gerry McKinney in

Abbey Park. Private G denied fring in Abbey Park, but weare sure that he did so. We conclude that Private G neitherhad, nor could have believed that he had, any justifcationor shooting Gerry McKinney, a person who was notposing any threat o causing death or serious injury.

My ather is innocent.

Doherty Family Gleann Doherty

My name is Gleann Doherty; Im the son o PatrickDoherty. Quoting rom Saville: Patrick Doherty was shotas he crawled away rom danger by Lance Corporal F. LanceCorporal F did not fre in a state o ear or panic.

My ather was innocent.

McGuigan Family Charlie McGuiganMy name is Charlie McGuigan; Im the son o BarneyMcGuigan. The Saville Report has ound today that SoldierF is ound to have unlawully killed Barney McGuigan.Saville adds Barney McGuigan was not doing anything thatcould have justifed his killing... the Inquiry has ound thatSoldier F alsifed his accounts o the day and did not shoot ina state o panic or ear. Quoting Saville: We are sure SoldierF killed Barney McGuigan rom a kneeling position.

Barney McGuigan posed no threat whatsoever and would

be celebrating his eightieth birthday tomorrow, were it notor Soldier F.

The truth is out Barney is innocent.

Johnston Family Jimmy Duddy

My name is Jimmy Duddy, nephew o Johnny Johnston, theoldest shot on Bloody Sunday. Johnny died a ew monthsaterwards rom his injuries. My ather John Duddy had

worked with the other amilies or thirty-eight years to get

the truth, sadly he passed away in May this year. Like somany others o the amilies, never to see his loved one clearedand the lies told against them proven to be lies. Johnny, likeeverybody else, was innocent.


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Caroline ODonnell

My name is Caroline ODonnell and I am here today on behalo my ather who was shot and wounded on Bloody Sunday. The

ollowing are a list o those shot and wounded and have now allpassed away:

Michael Bradley Innocent.Patrick Campbell Innocent.Peggy Deery Innocent.Daniel Gillespie Innocent.Daniel McGowan Innocent.

Alex Nash Innocent.Patsy ODonnell Innocent.

Alana Burke

My name is Alana Burke and I survived Bloody Sunday. I just wantyou to remember all o those who were injured along with mysel:

Michael Bridge Innocent.Damian Donaghy Innocent.

Joe Friel Innocent.Joe Mahon Innocent.Michael Quinn Innocent.

Patsy McDaid Innocent.

Damian Donaghy

My name is Bubbles Donaghy and I will now quote Lord Saville:None o the wounded were posing a threat o death or serious injuryor indeed were doing anything else that would have justifed theirshootings.

We are all innocent.

on BehalFoFthewounded


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On behal o the Bloody Sunday amilies, I want tothank all those who have joined us on our marchor justice over the last thirty-eight years. It was theGuildhall we set o to march to all those years ago.Its a long walk weve had to reach it. We would neverhave made it without you. Thank you, Derry.

We thank our riends throughout Ireland, through-

out the world, who have kept the ame alive with us,who saw to it that the crimes o Bloody Sunday ol-lowed the perpetrators wherever they went.

We especially thank the thousands o eyewitnesseswould came orward to give evidence to the inquiry this day is their day too. We know and appreciate thetrauma that you all went through to help our amilies,to carry us along the last stretch o our journey. And Isee a ew here smiling up at me.

The report is very long, very detailed and coversevery possible aspect o Bloody Sunday. However, whatmatters most, what has mattered over the years, is theinnocence o our loved ones. Everything else ades intoinsignifcance compared to the act that those gunneddown on Bloody Sunday were ordinary, decent,innocentDerry people. That was the verdict we wanted

and that is the verdict we have today. That will be theverdict o history or all time. That is what matters.

We say to those in ofcial positions in governmentwho must now decide how to react to the conclusionso the Saville Inquiry we say to them only this thatour struggle was or the truth and the justice that onlytruth can bring. Let the light o that be your guide. Thelight o justice. Let justice be done. Let justice be done,though the heavens all. Thank you. We have overcome.

John Kelly Statement o Thanks



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David Cameron, British Prime Minister

Statement to House o Commons, 3. 30pm, 15 June 2010

oFFICIalreaCtIonsto savIlle report

With permission, Mr Speaker, I would like to make astatement.

Today, my Right Honourable Friend, the Secretaryo State or Northern Ireland is publishing the reporto the Saville Inquiry, the Tribunal set up by theprevious Government to investigate the tragic eventso 30 January 1972 a day more commonly knownas Bloody Sunday. We have acted in good aith bypublishing the Tribunals fndings as quickly as possibleater the General Election.

Mr Speaker, I am deeply patriotic. I never want tobelieve anything bad about our country. I never want tocall into question the behaviour o our soldiers and ourarmy who I believe to be the fnest in the world. AndI have seen or mysel the very difcult and dangerouscircumstances in which we ask our soldiers to serve. Butthe conclusions o this report are absolutely clear.

There is no doubt. There is nothing equivocal. Thereare no ambiguities. What happened on Bloody Sunday

was both unjustifed and unjustifable. It was wrong.Lord Saville concludes that the soldiers o Support

Company who went into the Bogside did so as aresult o an order which should not have been givenby their Commander on balance the frst shot in thevicinity o the march was fred by the British Armythat none o the casualties shot by soldiers o SupportCompany was armed with a frearm that there wassome fring by republican paramilitaries but. noneo this fring provided any justifcation or the shootingo civilian casualties and that in no case was any

warning given beore soldiers opened fre.He also fnds that Support Company reacted

by losing their sel-control orgetting or ignoring

their instructions and training with a serious andwidespread loss o fre discipline.

He fnds that despite the contrary evidence givenby the soldiers none o them fred in responseto attacks or threatened attacks by nail or petrolbombers and that many o the soldiers knowinglyput orward alse accounts in order to seek to justiytheir fring.

Whats more Lord Saville says that some o thosekilled or injured were clearly eeing or going to theassistance o others who were dying.

The Report reers to one person who was shot whilecrawling away rom the soldiersanother was shot,in all probability, when he was lying mortally woundedon the ground and a ather was hit and injured byarmy gunfre ater he had gone to tend his son.

For those looking or statements o innocence,Saville says: The immediate responsibility or thedeaths and injuries on Bloody Sunday lies with thosemembers o Support Company whose unjustifablefring was the cause o the those deaths and injuries

and crucially that none o the casualties was posinga threat o causing death or serious injury, or indeed wasdoing anything else that could on any view justiy theirshooting.

For those people who were looking or the Report touse terms like murder and unlawul killing, I remindthe House that these judgements are not matters or aTribunal or or us as politicians to determine.

Mr Speaker, these are shocking conclusions to readand shocking words to have to say. But, Mr Speaker,you do not deend the British Army by deending the

indeensible.


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We do not honour all those who have served withdistinction in keeping the peace and upholding the ruleo law in Northern Ireland by hiding rom the truth.So there is no point in trying to soten or equivocate

what is in this Report. It is clear rom the Tribunalsauthoritative conclusions that the events o BloodySunday were in no way justifed.

I know some people wonder whether nearly ortyyears on rom an event, a Prime Minister needs to issuean apology. For someone o my generation, this is aperiod we eel we have learned about rather than lived

through. But what happened should never, ever havehappened. The amilies o those who died should nothave had to live with the pain and hurt o that day and a lietime o loss.

Some members o our Armed Forces acted wrongly.The Government is ultimately responsible or theconduct o the Armed Forces. And or that, on behalo the Government and indeed our country I amdeeply sorry.

Mr Speaker, just as this Report is clear that the actionso that day were unjustifable so too is it clear in some

o its other fndings. Those looking or premeditation,those looking or a plan, those looking or a conspiracyinvolving senior politicians or senior members o the

Armed Forces they will not fnd it in this Report.Indeed, Lord Saville fnds no evidence that the events

o Bloody Sunday were premeditated. He concludes thatthe United Kingdom and Northern Ireland Govern-ments, and the army, neither tolerated nor encouragedthe use o unjustifed lethal orce. He makes no sugges-tion o a Government cover-up. And Lord Saville creditsthe UK Government with working towards a peaceulpolitical settlement in Northern Ireland.

Mr Speaker, the Report also specifcally deals withthe actions o key individuals in the army, in politicsand beyond, including Major General Ford, BrigadierMacLellan and Lieutenant Colonel Wilord. In eachcase, the Tribunals fndings are clear.

It also does the same or Martin McGuinness. Itspecifcally fnds he was present and probably armed

with a sub-machine gun but concludes we are surethat he did not engage in any activity that provided any

o the soldiers with any justifcation or opening fre.Mr Speaker, while in no way justiying the eventso 30 January 1972, we should acknowledge thebackground to the events o Bloody Sunday.

Since 1969, the security situation in Northern Irelandhad been declining signifcantly. Three days beoreBloody Sunday, two RUC ofcers one a Catholic

were shot by the IRA in Londonderry, the frst policeofcers killed in the city during the Troubles. A thirdo the city o Derry had become a no-go area or theRUC and the army. And in the end, 1972 was to proveNorthern Irelands bloodiest year by ar with nearly 500people killed.

And let us also remember, Bloody Sunday is not thedefning story o the service the British Army gave in

Northern Ireland rom 1969 to 2007. This was knownas Operation Banner, the longest, continuous operationin British military history, spanning thirty-eight yearsand in which over 250,000 people served.

Our Armed Forces displayed enormous courage andproessionalism in upholding democracy and the rule olaw in Northern Ireland. Acting in support o the police,they played a major part in setting the conditions thathave made peaceul politics possible... and over 1,000members o the security orces lost their lives to thatcause. Without their work, the peace process would not

have happened.O course, some mistakes were undoubtedly made.

But lessons were also learned.Once again, I put on record the immense debt o

gratitude we all owe those who served in NorthernIreland.

Mr Speaker, may I also thank the Tribunal or itswork and all those who displayed great courage ingiving evidence.

I would also like to acknowledge the grie o theamilies o those killed. They have pursued their longcampaign over thirty-eight years with great patience.Nothing can bring back those that were killed but Ihope, as one relative has put it, the truth coming outcan set people ree.

John Major said he was open to a new inquiry.Tony Blair then set it up. This was accepted by thethen Leader o the Opposition. O course, none o usanticipated that the Saville Inquiry would last twelveyears or cost 200 million. Our views on that are welldocumented. It is right to pursue the truth with vigour

and thoroughness but let me reassure the House thatthere will be no more open-ended and costly inquiriesinto the past.

But today is not about the controversies surrounding


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the process. Its about the substance, about what thisreport tells us. Everyone should have the chance toexamine the complete fndings and thats why thereport is being published in ull. Running to morethan 5,000 pages, its being published in ten volumes.Naturally, it will take all o us some time to digest the

reports ull fndings and understand all the implications.The House will have the opportunity or a ull daysdebate this autumn and in the meantime I have askedmy Right Honourable Friends the Secretaries o Stateor Northern Ireland and Deence to report back to meon all the issues that arise rom it.

Mr Speaker, this Report and the Inquiry itseldemonstrate how a State should hold itsel to accountand how we are determined at all times no matterhow difcult to judge ourselves against the higheststandards. Openness and rankness about the past

however painul do not make us weaker, they makeus stronger. Thats one o the things that dierentiatesus rom terrorists.

We should never orget that over 3,500 people people rom every community lost their lives inNorthern Ireland, the overwhelming majority killed byterrorists. There were many terrible atrocities.

Politically motivated violence was never justifed,whichever side it came rom. And it can never bejustifed by those criminal gangs that today want to dragNorthern Ireland back to its bitter and bloody past.

No Government I lead will ever put those who fghtto deend democracy on an equal ooting with those

who continue to seek to destroy it. But neither will wehide rom the truth that conronts us today.

In the words o Lord Saville:What happened on Bloody Sunday strengthened

the Provisional IRA, increased nationalist resentmentand hostility towards the army and exacerbated theviolent conict o the years that ollowed. BloodySunday was a tragedy or the bereaved and the

wounded, and a catastrophe or the people o NorthernIreland.

These are words we can not and must not ignore.But what I hope this Report can also do is to mark themoment when we come together, in this House andin the communities we represent. Come together toacknowledge our shared history, even where it divides

us. And come together to close this painul chapter onNorthern Irelands troubled past. That is not to say that

we must ever orget or dismiss that past. But we mustalso move on.

Northern Ireland has been transormed over thepast twenty years and all o us in Westminster andStormont must continue that work o change, comingtogether with all the people o Northern Ireland tobuild a stable, peaceul, prosperous and shared uture.

It is with that determination that I commend thisstatement to the House.


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Mark Durkan, MP or Foyle

Statement to House o Commons, 15 June 2010

May I thank the Prime Minister or his clear statement.From talking to representatives o the amilies a short

while ago, I know that they would want to be associatedwith those thanks.

This is a day o huge moment and deep emotion inDerry. The people o my city did not just live throughBloody Sunday; they have lived with it since. Does thePrime Minister agree that this is a day to receive andreect on the clear verdicts o Saville, and not to pass

party verdicts on Saville?The key verdicts are:Despite the contrary evidence given by soldiers, we

have concluded that none o them fred in response toattacks or threatened attacks by nail or petrol bombers.No-one threw or threatened to throw a nail or petrolbomb at the soldiers on Bloody Sunday.

A urther verdict is:None o the casualties was posing any threat o

causing death or serious injury.O course, there is also the verdict that the British

Army fred the frst shots, these were not justifed andnone o the subsequent shots that killed or woundedanyone on Bloody Sunday was justifed. In rejectingso much o the soldiers submissions and alse accounts,the report highlights where victims were shot in theback or while crawling on the ground, or shot again

when already wounded on the ground.Will the Prime Minister confrm that each and every

one o the victims: Bernard McGuigan, 41; Gerald Donaghey, 17; Hugh

Gilmour, 17; John Duddy, 17; Gerard McKinney, 34;James Wray, 22; John Young, 17; Kevin McElhinney,17; Michael Kelly, 17; Michael McDaid, 20; PatrickDoherty, 31; William McKinney, 27; William Nash,19; and John Johnston, 59

are all absolutely and totally exonerated by todaysreport, as are all the wounded?

These men were cut down when they marched orjustice on their own streets. On that civil rights march,they were protesting against internment without trial.But not only were their lives taken, but their innocent

memory was then interred without truth by the travestyo the Widgery Tribunal. Will the Prime Ministerconfrm clearly that the Widgery fndings are nowrepudiated and binned, and that they should not be

relied on by anyone as giving any verdict on that day?Sadly, only one parent o the victims has survived

to see this day and hear the Prime Ministers openand ull apology on the back o this important report.Lawrence McElhinney epitomises the dignity anddetermination o all the amilies who have struggledand strived to exonerate their loved ones and have thetruth proclaimed.

Seamus Heaney reected the numbing shock o

Bloody Sunday and its spur to the quest or justice ornot only amilies but a city when he wrote:

My heart besieged by anger, my mind a gap of danger,I walked among their old haunts, the home groundwhere they bled;And in the dirt lay justice, like an acorn in the winter,Till its oak would sprout in Derry, where the thirteenmen lay dead.

The Bloody Sunday monument on Rossville Street

proclaims:

Their epitaph is in the continuing struggle fordemocracy.

I today, as I sincerely hope it does, oers a healing ohistory in Derry and Ireland, may we pray that it alsospeaks hope to those in other parts o the world who areburdened by injustice, conict and the transgressions ounaccountable power.

The Prime Ministers welcome statement and the

statement that will be made by the amilies onthe steps o the Guildhall will be the mostsignifcant records o this day on the backo the report that has been published.

However, perhaps the most impor-tant and poignant words rom today willnot be heard here or on the airwaves.Relatives will stand at the graves o vic-tims and their parents to tell o a travestyfnally arrested, o innocence vindicated ando promises kept, and as they do so, they

can invoke the civil rights anthemwhen they say:

We have overcome. We haveovercome this day.


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Mary McAleese, President o Ireland

Public Statement, 15 June 2010

Martin McGuinness, Deputy First Minister

Guildhall Square, Derry, 15 June 2010

I welcome todays publication o the Report o the

Saville Inquiry into the awul events which occurred inDerry on that ateul Sunday, 30 January 1972.

Thirteen innocent people were shot dead and a similarnumber wounded, one o whom subsequently died.The injustices perpetrated that day and the sueringthey engendered were compounded by the subsequent

Widgery Report and led many people at the time todespair o the efcacy o politics or peaceul protest.

Bloody Sunday thus became a seminalevent in the history o the Troubles in

Northern Ireland.In undertaking the Inquiry, Lord

Saville committed himsel to seekingthe truth with airness, thoroughnessand impartiality. The comprehensivescale o his Report is reective o that

mandate and o the importance oBloody Sunday in the overall narrative

o the conict in Northern Ireland. Wecan all best honour the memory o thosewho died by taking the time to read the

Report in detail and to reect careullyon its fndings and conclusions.Since 1992, the British Gov-

ernment has acknowledged that

those who were killed were innocent o any allegation

o handling arms or explosives, so while the SavilleReport was not required to establish that innocence it

was needed in the interests o establishing truth andserving justice. Since the Saville Inquiry has oundthat all the deaths and casualties were unjustifed andunjustifable, the implications o this fnding willclearly need to be considered by the appropriate au-thorities.

For those who survived, or the bereaved and orthe people o Derry, today is a deeply sensitive anddistressing day, as well as being a poignant time orall those who were victims or lost loved ones in theTroubles. It is also a momentous day or the survivorsand amilies o Bloody Sunday as they have pursuedtheir campaign or justice and truth or over thirty-eight years and have done so with resolute and dignifeddetermination. I ervently hope that, by its publication,the Saville Report will provide them, at long last, withthe consolation that the world now knows the awultruth about Bloody Sunday.

I thank Lord Saville, his colleagues and team or

their work and commitment over the last twelve years. Ialso wish to pay tribute to ormer Prime Minister TonyBlair and the late Secretary o State Mo Mowlam or thedecision to establish the Inquiry.

This is a momentous day or Derry and or Irelandand indeed or all those people who hold dear tothem the concept o truth and justice. It is a mo-mentous day because, quite incredibly, on the sameday, we had a British Law Lord and a British Con-servative Prime Minister not pointing the fnger oresponsibility at the people o Derry, but pointing it

clearly at a regiment o the British Army.In many ways, its a memorable day and I think

the people in Derry who came here in a very digni-fed ashion to support the amilies were very struck

by the generosity o words used byDavid Cameron, and rightly so.

Today is a day when the amilieshave been vindicated. Every singleperson in this city has been ound notto have been contravening anything ordoing anything that would have justifed

what happened.Today is a watershed or Derry, a day o ex-traordinary historic signifcance. It is also amomentous day or truth.


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Above: President Mary McAleese receives the Bloody Sunday amilies at Aras an Uachtarin.Below: Representatives rom the Bloody Sunday amilies delivering a copy o the Saville Report fndings

to Taoiseach Brian Cowen in the Ofces o the Taoiseach, Merrion Street, Dublin.


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Brian Cowen, An Taoiseach

Statement on the Publication o the Saville Inquiry, 15 June 2010

Today is the day when the truth has been set ree in thecity o Derry.

This is not about the re-opening o old wounds, but

rather it is about the healing o the gaping wounds oinjustice let behind by the terrible events o BloodySunday.

The brave and honest words o Prime MinisterDavid Cameron in the House o Commons today willecho around the world. I thank him or the good aithhe has shown in ensuring that the Saville Report hasbeen published so early in his time in ofce.

Is cis brin agus nire an mid a tharla i nDoirear Dhomhnach na Fola. Mar a dirt Promh Aire naBreataine, David Cameron, n idir seasamh leis an

mid a tharla n a chosaint.Anois agus ocht mbliana is trocha caite, t or scal

na neachtra agus lom chlr na rinne deimhnithe.Early this morning, in Rossville Street in Derry,

a small group o the citizens o that city gathered tocomplete a journey. They walked rom the BloodySunday Monument to the Guildhall, ollowing theintended route o the thousands who took part in thecivil rights march o 30 January 1972.

It was a route that their mothers and athers, brothersand sisters, aunts and uncles, cousins and riends set out

upon on that ateul day.Many o them never returned.Thirteen men and boys were killed and fteen more

were wounded by British soldiers on the streets o theirhome town on that day. One o those wounded diedlater that year.

Their names are carved in stone in Derry, where theyell.

Their memories are etched in the hearts o theirloved ones.

And their deaths are inscribed indelibly on the pageso Irish history.

It is a short distance rom the Bogsideto the Guildhall, but the journey that wascompleted today has taken over thirty-

eight years.There are very ew events in the

history o a nation that are universallyrecognised and remembered that are

known or all time only by a name, aplace or a date.

Bloody Sunday is such an event in thehistory o Ireland.It was an immense tragedy or

those who were killed and injured,

and or the people o Derry. It was also a turning pointin the Troubles in Northern Ireland, which led to ahuge upsurge in support or violence. It was thereore

an immense tragedy or all o the people o these islands.Thousands died, and many more were injured,

in the Northern Ireland Troubles. Nearly 500 peopledied in 1972 alone. Each o those deaths gave rise tounspeakable grie and loss and suering. In each case,those let behind had to ace the unbearable truth oa loved one never to be seen again taken suddenly,

without warning and without reason.It is important to state clearly once more that violence

rom whatever quarter was not justifed.Not then.

And not now.Today, we think o all o the victims, the bereaved

and the injured. And today, we resolve that this willnever happen again.

The publication o the Saville Report is about theuture as well as about the past.

In Derry today, and across the North, a newgeneration is growing up in peace and equality. Theydo not ace the injustices that motivated the civil rightsmovement in 1972. They live in an Ireland that, in1998, engaged in a historic act o sel-determination

when the people, North and South, voted or theGood Friday Agreement. That was an overwhelminglypowerul democratic act that would have seemedunthinkable to their ellow citizens a mere twenty-sixyears earlier.

We owe it to our children to continue the greatcollective endeavour to build a better uture, in Derryand throughout Ireland.

The beauty, character and history o the city oDerry place it at the centre o Irelands story romthe oundation o the walls nearly 400 years ago to theNobel prize winners o today. There are chapters ogrie, destruction and division, certainly. But there arealso chapters o joy, o creativity and o hope.

Now, the city is building its own uture, reed romthe shackles that held back previous generations. Asthe peace bridge makes its symbolic journey acrossthe majestic River Foyle, so the people o Derry arecontinuing on their journey o reconciliation.

I hope and believe that the publication o the SavilleInquiry report is another step on that journey.

And let there be no doubt on this point it is anecessary step.Bloody Sunday was unique. The ultimate injustice

perpetrated on Bloody Sunday was the unjustifed and


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Bishop Ken Good, Bishop o Derry & Raphoe, RevDr Norman Hamilton, Moderator o the PresbyterianChurch in Ireland, and Rev Paul Kingston, President othe Methodist Church in Ireland, met with the amiliesat the site o the Bloody Sunday Monument in theBogside on Wednesday 16 June 2010.

The church leaders said they hoped Lord Savillesreport would bring comort and relie to the amilies

who lost loved ones as a result o that ateul day. In ajoint statement they said:

A cloud that has been hanging over this city oralmost our decades has begun to lit. The pain,tension and conict that resulted rom BloodySunday have not only blighted many lives, theyhave also seriously damaged healthy communityrelationships.

Our hope is that the Saville Report will bringcomort and relie to the amilies who lost loved

ones as a result o that ateul day. We believe thatthe Report presents a challenge and an opportunityor new and closer relationships within our widercommunity.

Recognising the goodwill and the signifcant e-orts already made by many people rom all sides,

we dare to believe that this can be a decisive turningpoint in reaching out to one another. Our hope isalways or more than mere co-existence. We wishto contribute to and to eel part o a sel-confdent,

welcoming city that is at peace with itsel.We commend the amilies o the victims o

Bloody Sunday or their patience and dignitythrough very difcult and trying times. We sensesomething o their pain and our prayer isthat they can now ace the uture witha renewed sense o hope.

Our purpose in meeting the ami-lies today is to hold out a hand oriendship. As Christian leaders, webelieve that reconciliation is at thevery heart o the Christian message.

We thereore extend our hand o riend-

ship and assure the amilies and all thevictims o our Troubles o ourprayers and support as we walktogether on this new journey.

Protestant Church Leaders

Hand o Friendship Extended to Bloody Sunday Families

unjustifable killing o innocent civilians by those whoclaimed to be keeping the peace and upholding the law.It was an act o murder that cried out or justice andtruth. Instead, justice and truth were denied and castaside.

The suering o the victims and their amilies wasdeeply compounded by the discredited and disgraceulfndings o the Widgery Tribunal. That is why the IrishGovernment joined with the amilies in pressing or anew Inquiry.

The Saville Inquiry was made necessary not by theevents o Bloody Sunday, horrifc though they were. TheSaville Inquiry was made necessary by the whitewashthat was the Widgery Report.

I want to pay tribute to the amilies and riends o thevictims o Bloody Sunday, and all o those who oughtor justice. Their dignity and their determination have

been an example to us all. Today is a day o vindicationor them. Their quest or a new inquiry has been ullyand incontrovertibly justifed.

A shameul attempt to distort history at the expenseo the innocent the Widgery Report has itsel nowbeen consigned to history.

The truth has been set ree.From this day orth, history will record what the

amilies have always known to be true.And rom this day orth, the world will understand

what the people o Derry have always understood.Fourteen innocent people died on the streets in Derryon 30 January 1972.

There is no doubt. There are no ambiguities. Intruth, there never were.

They were innocent.May they rest in peace.

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