A pub bouncer saved a man's life on Bloody Sunday when a paratrooper was on the verge of shooting him in the head, it was claimed today.
Paddy "Barman" Duffy tipped up the rifle pointing towards Mr Andrew Barr and told the soldier: "We don't want any trouble here," Mr Barr told the Saville Inquiry.
He described running for cover into a stairwell of the Rossville Flats where Mr Duffy, "a massive but very gentle man" who died in recent years was already standing.
Mr Barr said he hid under the stairs but seconds later a soldier came inside.
"As the soldier came into the flats I came out from underneath the stairs but I was still in a crouched position. I did not want to be shot like a rat in a hole.
"The soldier lowered his rifle to my head and held it pointing downwards to me approximately 12 inches away from my head.
"When the soldier pointed the gun at my head he was looking into my eyes. I was convinced the soldier was going to shoot me. The soldier was hyped up."
At that stage Mr Duffy intervened and Mr Barr stated: "I clearly remember feeling that if Paddy Duffy had not done this I would have been shot."
Later Mr Barr emerged from the flats see the body of Mr Bernard McGuigan shot through the head and lying in a pool of blood.
"When I saw Barney's body, I burst out crying at the sight of it. I had known Barney well. Barney was the type of man that would have been a good neighbour to those who lived beside him."
PA