THE FAMILIES of the 13 unarmed men shot dead by British army paratroopers in Derry almost 40 years ago are understood to be among the favourites to win this year’s People Of The Year Award.
The ceremony, which is organised by Rehab and sponsored by Quinn Healthcare, will be broadcast on RTÉ on September 11th.
Nominations for the award closed on June 15th, the day when the Saville Report into the Bloody Sunday killings was published exonerating those killed and wounded in Derry’s Bogside on January 30th, 1972.
Since then an adjudication panel consisting of leading members of the media, business, public service and community sector has been scrutinising the nominations.
Previous winners of the People Of The Year Award, which has been running since 1975, have included John Hume, Brian Keenan, Séamus Heaney, Pádraig Harrington, Mo Mowlam, Sir Bob Geldof and Maeve Binchy.
It’s believed that researchers from the programme have been in contact with members of the Bloody Sunday families.
“It’s all very hush hush but in a city like Derry which has a village like mentality, the word has already started to leak out,” said a source close to the families.
It’s believed that if the families do win the award it will be placed in the Free Derry Museum in the Bogside area of the city with other Bloody Sunday memorabilia.