THE FUNERAL took place in Derry yesterday of Michael Bradley (59), who was one of the 14 civilians wounded when British army paratroopers opened fire on demonstrators during a civil rights march in the Bogside area of the city on January 30th, 1972.
Mr Bradley sustained gunshot wounds to his chest and arms as he attempted to take cover behind a wall in the car park behind the then Rossville Street flats complex.
Thirteen other civilians died on the day and the outcome of the Saville Inquiry into the Bloody Sunday killings is expected to be published in the form of a 5,000-page report this autumn.
Mr Bradley, who was one of the 922 witnesses who gave evidence to the inquiry which sat for 367 days over a five-year period, is survived by his wife Mona and by his sons Gerald, Michael and Chris.
During his evidence Mr Bradley said that he wanted to meet the paratrooper who shot him to ask him why he had gunned down an unarmed man.
Among those who carried his coffin into St Eugene’s Cathedral for Requiem Mass yesterday morning were Michael Bridge, Damien Donaghey and Joe Friel, all of whom were also wounded on Bloody Sunday.
Bishop Edward Daly, the retired bishop of Derry, attended the funeral as did the Mayor of Derry, Councillor Gerard Diver, Northern Ireland’s Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness and relatives of the Bloody Sunday victims.
Fr Michael Canny, the Administrator of St Eugene’s Cathedral who officiated at the Requiem Mass, said that Mr Bradley was a Bloody Sunday victim and campaigner.
“Unknown to him and the many others present, that day in 1972 was to change his life and the lives of a significant number of others for ever. As a result of the injuries he received he was to live the rest of his life in pain and was never able to work again,” he said.
“He like many others campaigned long and hard and over the past year or more he had been waiting in hope for the Saville inquiry findings to be published and it is regrettable that he is now among the many who have not lived to see justice.
“He made every attempt, despite the enduring scars of Bloody Sunday, to live life to the full. Michael was a big hearted and self-giving person.
“He was always available and going out of his way to help people. The generosity with which he gave of his time to many people knew no bounds,” said Fr Canny.