McGuinness in 'Bloody Sunday' inquiry spotlight
A man who claimed Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness distributed nail bombs on “Bloody Sunday” is due to take the stand today at the hearing into the shootings.
Paddy Ward, a republican living in protective custody, will be questioned by the Saville Inquiry about what he alleged happened when 13 people were shot dead by British Paratroopers in Derry in January 1972.
Central to his testimony will be the claim that Mr McGuinness, who was the IRA’s number two in the city at the time, handed out explosives to members of the paramilitary group.
The Sinn Féin chief negotiator is expected to deny the allegations when he gives evidence – once the tribunal returns to Derry’s Guildhall, from London, later this month.
Until last week, Mr McGuinness was the only self-confessed IRA man to have come forward to the £150m (€216m) inquiry.
But five others who admitted being members of the IRA on Bloody Sunday have also now made statements, with a sixth expected later.
As the marathon investigation enters its closing stages, it now appears that the republican organisation is willing to get involved.
The six IRA men are understood to be Gerard Doherty, Eddie Dobbins, Sean Keenan, Patsy Moore, Gerry O’Hara, a Sinn Féin councillor in Derry, and Michael Clarke, who has intimated he will be submitting a statement later.
O’Hara has admitted he was a member of the junior wing of the IRA at the time of the killings.
He has also denied claims that Mr McGuinness distributed nail bombs.
