Civilian describes RUC-army scuffle

A civilian witness who drove a wounded man towards hospital and was intercepted and detained at an army barracks says that as…

A civilian witness who drove a wounded man towards hospital and was intercepted and detained at an army barracks says that as he left there punches were being thrown between army personnel and the RUC.

Mr Barry McMonagle says in his statement that he spent about two or three hours at the barracks and was questioned.

"As I made my way towards my car there were some fisticuffs between the army officers and the RUC," he states. "I could hear them shouting. It was from this that I became aware that eight or so people had died in Derry that day. As punches were being thrown I heard an RUC officer shout: `We have to f . . . ing live here, you know'."

Another witness, Mr Daniel McGowan, describes in his statement how he himself was struck in the leg and badly injured by a bullet as he helped another wounded man, Patrick Campbell, towards shelter.

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His assumption was that he was shot by the army from the city walls. He had never found out why he was shot.

Earlier, the inquiry was shown details of an RUC report of an interview carried out by two RUC officers with Mr McGowan in hospital a few days after Bloody Sunday. It said he had refused to make a statement and had "indicated that he did not wish to discuss his injuries or how he had received them".

It also commented that he was "a dour, unco-operative man and in my opinion was probably involved in illegal activities."

Mr McGowan, who spent almost nine weeks in hospital and many months with his leg in plaster, says in his statement, however, that although he had never been in trouble before, he did not trust the authorities to treat him fairly.

Given the circumstances in which he was shot, it was not surprising that he should have been described as unco-operative.

He states: "My life fell apart after Bloody Sunday. I had worked throughout my adult life until Bloody Sunday. I lost my job as a result of the injury I sustained and have not worked since. Physically I still suffer some discomfort in my right leg, which is now five-eighths of an inch shorter than the left."