Father Daly: All hell was let loose

Father Daly tries to lead John Duddy to safety

The picture of a priest waving a bloodstained handkerchief is perhaps one of the most enduring images from Bloody Sunday. It was captured on film by the BBC and has been shown since in TV reports referring to the tragic day.

Father Daly, as he was then known, was a 39-year-old curate at St Eugene's Cathedral in Londonderry.

We have waited 28 years for this. The events of that day have haunted me for all these years.

Speaking to BBC News Online Dr Daly, now retired, said he was "full of hope" for the new inquiry.

"The inquiry means a great deal to the families of those who died and those who were wounded. It also means a great deal to those of us who were unfortunate enough to witness those events.

"We have waited 28 years for this. The events of that day have haunted me for all these years.

"I hope that the truth of what happened and the precise reason or reasons for what happened on that terrible afternoon are established beyond doubt."

Last rites

On Bloody Sunday Father Daly joined the march it as it passed the cathedral after he had conducted a funeral.

We decided to make a dash for it...we were very nervous and frightened and when we laid him down on the pavement he had died.

He was close to 17-year-old John "Jackie" Duddy when he was shot.

"We tried to help him. I said a prayer with him and I anointed him and gave him the last rites," he said during an interview with the BBC in 1992.

"We decided to make a dash for it. I went in front with this handkerchief in my hand and they carried Jackie behind me. All hell was let loose."

"We were very nervous and frightened and when we laid him down on the pavement he had died."

Dr Daly first arrived in Derry as a priest in June 1962. He served in the Bogside area for more than 10 years. In 1972 he gave evidence to the Widgery tribunal which he describes as "the second atrocity".

In 1974 he was appointed Bishop of Derry, a post he held for nearly 20 years before retiring after suffering a stroke.

Father Daly said the demonstators were unarmed

Now he is due to give evidence to the fresh inquiry.

"I feel a personal duty or responsibility to do what I can to establish beyond doubt the innocence of those whose death or injury I witnessed," he says.

John McKinney, whose brother Willy died on Bloody Sunday and who now works at the Bloody Sunday Centre in Derry, adds: "Dr Daly is a very well-known figure throughout the city.

"He's always been very supportive of all the families and people wounded that day."