A Bloody Sunday witness said today he saw a unit of IRA gunmen appear in the Bogside half an hour after he heard the first shots at the rally.
|
Mr Michael Havord, an Englishman and ex-Royal Navy sailor who settled in Derry in 1959, was giving evidence to the Saville Inquiry in Derry’s Guildhall today.
He said he saw four men wearing balaclavas and carrying what were probably Enfield .303 weapons leap out of a car he believed had come from the neighbouring Creggan estate.
He recalled seeing the men on Westland Street, south of the troops on the ground that day, and said: "The crowd of people cheered them and called out to go and get them.
"I remember thinking: poor young bastards, going to take on the British army."
Earlier Mr Havord told the tribunal, chaired by Lord Saville of Newdigate, that he spoke to Mr Malachy McGurran, chair of the Republican Clubs - the political wing of the Official IRA - ahead of the march and indicated to him that paramilitaries were not wanted on the demonstration.
He subsequently stated that the events of Bloody Sunday "were the end of NICRA [Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association]" and the civil rights movement in general.
"It was the best recruiting tool the Provisional IRA ever had. I even considered joining myself; only the fact that I was English prevented me.
"I lost a lot of friends after the events of Bloody Sunday because I was English. In particular I used to co-edit the civil rights paper and had friends in the Bogside who used to help distribute it for us in their area.
"When I went down to them after Bloody Sunday I was told to get out and not come back again."
PA