By Thomas Hegarty
During the civil war (or as RTE and BBC prefer to call it “The Troubles”) in the North of Ireland there was a road sign on the way into Derry marking the city limits. It Read; Welcome to the Historic City of Londonderry.
But Derry people being Derry people and with a mix of gallows humour, the sign received a slight modification. Welcome to the “Hysteric” City of xxxxxxDerry.
That road sign summed up exactly what Derry was like to visitors. But to Derry people, it was business as usual. We laughed through the smoke and the smell to quote Phil Coulter.
Having marked the 50th Anniversary of bloody Sunday, the camera crews and politicians have left the Maiden City. It’s a good time to reflect on the role of Catholic leadership in Derry on Bloody Sunday and the years afterwards.
Some social media comments on the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday last month were used to attack Catholic leadership at the time. One social media post was written by a Catholic priest who also posted a photo of the iconic mural of Fr. Edward Daly with a victim of Bloody Sunday. Here are some responses to the priests post;
One armchair social warrior posted:
“the priests with a few notable exceptions condemned republicans and refused to leave in coffins with flags on them into churches while giving every comfort to British soldiers who fully supported the (South African) apartheid regime…we had no Desmond tutus standing up for nationalists”
Another wrote:
“(Catholic) leadership ignored them (Bloody Sunday victims) in their campaign for justice for 40 years”
Then there’s this post:
“very easy for the priest to pontificate and preach forgiveness , whilst deliberately ignoring the pleas of the parachute regiment / Westminster victims and their families quest for justice.”
All of these commentators chose to completely ignore the fact that a Catholic priest was down in the Bogside in the middle of a massacre, giving the last rites to the dead and dying and trying to get critically injured men and boys to safety.
Revisionists should never be allowed to rewrite history to suit their secular anti-Catholic narrative.
It’s an inconvenient truth for these revisionist republicans that Fr. Edward Daly, a Catholic priest was helping his parishioners in their darkest day during a battle that included heavy duty armoured vehicles, tear gas, rubber bullets, and live dum dum bullets.
But Fr. Daly was there in the thick of it. FEARLESS. PRESENT. SHOCKED. BUT STILL FEARLESS. A HERO.
Derry people were proud of their priest and were delighted when he became Bishop.
Later, the Catholic leadership took a lot of criticism for not allowing the IRA drape Irish Tricolours on IRA coffins entering Catholic churches. This was an unpopular move and it was not received well. However, Northern Irish Catholics knew it was a prudent move by the Catholic leadership. By not allowing any political emblems into a church, the Catholic leadership could quietly act as trusted negotiators and go-between a for peace in the North.
Bishop Edward Daly led an exemplary holy, devout life. Derry and the world mourned when he passed away. Pope Francis sent a message of condolence to the Diocese.
"The Holy Father was saddened to learn of the death of the Most Reverend Edward Kevin Daly, Bishop Emeritus of Derry, and he sends heartfelt condolences to his family and to the clergy, religious and lay faithful of the Diocese. Recalling Bishop Daly’s generous and dedicated episcopal ministry in the service of peace and justice, His Holiness joins you in prayerful thanksgiving for his life and in commending his soul to the merciful love of God Our Father. To all who mourn the late Bishop’s passing, Pope Francis cordially imparts his Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of hope and consolation in our Lord Jesus Christ."
Unlike todays social justice warriors who hide behind their keyboards to attack Catholic leadership from afar and often anonymously, Bishop Edward Daly led publicly and from the front. He served his hysteric Maiden City as a brave Christian leader. He never apologised for his Catholic approach to bloody violence on both sides. He guided Derry Catholics on a very difficult journey at a very difficult time in history.
Bishop Edward Daly was truly Legenderry.