Gerald Donaghy
Encyclopedia
Gerald V. Donaghy (20 February, 1954 – 30 January, 1972) was a native of the Bogside
, Derry
who was killed by the Parachute Regiment
on Bloody Sunday
in Derry, Northern Ireland
.
Parachute Regiment during a Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association
march in the Bogside area of the city. Thirteen people, six of whom were minors, died immediately.
Donaghy was shot in the stomach while running to safety between Glenfada Park and Abbey Park, and was brought to a nearby house by bystanders where he was examined by a doctor. His pockets were turned out in an effort to identify him. A police
photograph of Donaghy's corpse showed nail bomb
s in his pockets. Neither those who searched his pockets in the house nor the British army medical officer (Soldier 138) who pronounced his death shortly afterwards say they saw any bombs. Donaghy had been a member of Fianna Éireann
, a youth section of the Provisional IRA, sometimes referred to as the "Junior IRA".
Paddy Ward, who gave evidence at the Saville Inquiry
, claimed that he had given two nail bombs to Donaghy several hours before he was shot dead.
and the Royal Ulster Constabulary
stated that nail bomb
s had been found beside him after he was shot. The first inquiry into Bloody Sunday, the since discredited Widgery Tribunal, chaired by Lord Widgery, agreed with the military.
However, Donaghy's family and other campaigners for the Bloody Sunday victims claimed that the nail bombs were planted by troops in order to blacken Donaghy's name and provide an excuse for the killings.
, Christopher Clarke, QC
, counsel to the inquiry, told the tribunal judges that they must decide if Donaghy had had nail bombs in his possession when he was shot dead. Donaghy was photographed at an army post with four nail bombs in his pockets but a number of civilians who tried to take him to hospital told the tribunal he was unarmed.
After a lengthy examination of the evidence in the Inquiry's Report, Lord Saville concludes "in our view Gerald Donaghy was probably in possession of the nail bombs when he was shot", but also notes "It remains to say, for reasons given elsewhere in this report, that Gerald Donaghy was not shot because of his possession of nail bombs".
Bogside
The Bogside is a neighbourhood outside the city walls of Derry, Northern Ireland. The area has been a focus point for many of the events of The Troubles, from the Battle of the Bogside and Bloody Sunday in the 1960s and 1970s...
, Derry
Derry
Derry or Londonderry is the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-biggest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire or Doire Cholmcille meaning "oak-wood of Colmcille"...
who was killed by the Parachute Regiment
Parachute Regiment
Parachute Regiment may refer to:*Parachute Regiment *Parachute Regiment *Paratroopers Brigade , Israel*44 Parachute Regiment *1st Airborne Brigade...
on Bloody Sunday
Bloody Sunday (1972)
Bloody Sunday —sometimes called the Bogside Massacre—was an incident on 30 January 1972 in the Bogside area of Derry, Northern Ireland, in which twenty-six unarmed civil rights protesters and bystanders were shot by soldiers of the British Army...
in Derry, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
.
Boyhood
Both of Donaghy's parents had died by 1966, when he was 12 years old, and he was raised by his elder siblings, Paddy and Mary. At the age of 15, he moved to Meenan Square and obtained a job with Carlin's as a delivery hand on a beer lorry.Bloody Sunday
On 30 January, 1972, 27 civil rights protesters were shot by members of the 1st Battalion of the BritishUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Parachute Regiment during a Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association
Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association
The Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association was an organisation which campaigned for equal civil rights for the all the people in Northern Ireland during the late 1960s and early 1970s...
march in the Bogside area of the city. Thirteen people, six of whom were minors, died immediately.
Donaghy was shot in the stomach while running to safety between Glenfada Park and Abbey Park, and was brought to a nearby house by bystanders where he was examined by a doctor. His pockets were turned out in an effort to identify him. A police
Royal Ulster Constabulary
The Royal Ulster Constabulary was the name of the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2000. Following the awarding of the George Cross in 2000, it was subsequently known as the Royal Ulster Constabulary GC. It was founded on 1 June 1922 out of the Royal Irish Constabulary...
photograph of Donaghy's corpse showed nail bomb
Nail bomb
The nail bomb is an anti-personnel explosive device packed with nails to increase its wounding ability. The nails act as shrapnel, leading almost certainly to greater loss of life and injury in inhabited areas than the explosives alone would. The nail bomb is also a type of flechette weapon...
s in his pockets. Neither those who searched his pockets in the house nor the British army medical officer (Soldier 138) who pronounced his death shortly afterwards say they saw any bombs. Donaghy had been a member of Fianna Éireann
Fianna Éireann
The name Fianna Éireann , also written Fianna na hÉireann and Na Fianna Éireann , has been used by various Irish republican youth movements throughout the 20th and 21st centuries...
, a youth section of the Provisional IRA, sometimes referred to as the "Junior IRA".
Paddy Ward, who gave evidence at the Saville Inquiry
Bloody Sunday Inquiry
The Bloody Sunday Inquiry, also known as the Saville Inquiry or the Saville Report after its chairman, Lord Saville of Newdigate, was established in 1998 by British Prime Minister Tony Blair after campaigns for a second inquiry by families of those killed and injured in Derry on Bloody Sunday...
, claimed that he had given two nail bombs to Donaghy several hours before he was shot dead.
Widgery Tribunal
The circumstances surrounding Donaghy's death were among the most hotly contested following Bloody Sunday. The British ArmyBritish Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
and the Royal Ulster Constabulary
Royal Ulster Constabulary
The Royal Ulster Constabulary was the name of the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2000. Following the awarding of the George Cross in 2000, it was subsequently known as the Royal Ulster Constabulary GC. It was founded on 1 June 1922 out of the Royal Irish Constabulary...
stated that nail bomb
Nail bomb
The nail bomb is an anti-personnel explosive device packed with nails to increase its wounding ability. The nails act as shrapnel, leading almost certainly to greater loss of life and injury in inhabited areas than the explosives alone would. The nail bomb is also a type of flechette weapon...
s had been found beside him after he was shot. The first inquiry into Bloody Sunday, the since discredited Widgery Tribunal, chaired by Lord Widgery, agreed with the military.
However, Donaghy's family and other campaigners for the Bloody Sunday victims claimed that the nail bombs were planted by troops in order to blacken Donaghy's name and provide an excuse for the killings.
Saville Inquiry
In his closing statement during the Saville InquiryBloody Sunday Inquiry
The Bloody Sunday Inquiry, also known as the Saville Inquiry or the Saville Report after its chairman, Lord Saville of Newdigate, was established in 1998 by British Prime Minister Tony Blair after campaigns for a second inquiry by families of those killed and injured in Derry on Bloody Sunday...
, Christopher Clarke, QC
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
, counsel to the inquiry, told the tribunal judges that they must decide if Donaghy had had nail bombs in his possession when he was shot dead. Donaghy was photographed at an army post with four nail bombs in his pockets but a number of civilians who tried to take him to hospital told the tribunal he was unarmed.
After a lengthy examination of the evidence in the Inquiry's Report, Lord Saville concludes "in our view Gerald Donaghy was probably in possession of the nail bombs when he was shot", but also notes "It remains to say, for reasons given elsewhere in this report, that Gerald Donaghy was not shot because of his possession of nail bombs".