A former member of the Official IRA yesterday described as "both outrageous and insulting" a claim that his organisation needed "some form of death" to assist its cause during the Derry civil rights march on Bloody Sunday. George Jackson reports.
Known as O IRA 7, the witness became upset at the end of his two days of evidence when he expressed his sympathy to the families of the 13 unarmed civilians shot dead by British army paratroopers in the Bogside area of Derry on January 30th, 1972.
At the conclusion of his evidence, the witness was told by counsel to the inquiry, Mr Christopher Clarke, QC, that the inquiry had received a statement from "a man named Liam O'Comain", whom O IRA 7 said he knew.
Mr Clarke, quoting from Mr O'Comain's statement, said: "There is an interesting twist to Bloody Sunday. There was an element within the Officials that definitely made a decision to open up on Bloody Sunday and they did. It was nothing to do with Bishop Daly's gunman. I was on the fringes then but I tell you this, there was an element there and the thought at the time was that if we can have some form of death on Bloody Sunday, it might pull the Officials back in line again. They might be forced into a situation to place a bit more hope in."
However, the witness said he was not aware that Mr O'Comain was a member of the Official IRA on Bloody Sunday.
"I am trying to be as respectful as I can here, you know, if that is where he wants to put himself then that is where he wants to put himself. I am not putting him there," he said.
Mr Clarke asked the witness if Mr O'Comain's assertion that some form of death was needed on Bloody Sunday was true.
"Were you aware that there was an element in the Officials that thought that some form of death on Bloody Sunday would pull them back in line or assist their cause?" he asked.
The witness said he found that assertion "both outrageous and insulting".
He said he had not seen the families of the Bloody Sunday victims since the day of the killings.
"Most of the families of the victims and the families of the wounded I have not seen for over 30 years. Most of them I do not even know. Now I just personally would like to take this opportunity of expressing my deepest sympathy to them," he said.