Victim had no bombs on body, Saville hears

A man, who attempted to get medical attention for a Bloody Sunday victim photographed with nail bombs in his pockets, said today he did not see any explosives on the body.

Leo Young, whose younger brother John died on Bloody Sunday, told the Saville Inquiry he had come to the aid of 17-year-old Gerard Donaghy, shot in the stomach at Glenfada Park.

Mr Donaghy, a member of the IRA’s youth wing, was later found to have four nail bombs in his pockets but his family have claimed they were planted by members of the security forces.

Mr Young in his statement to the Inquiry, said there was no possibility that Mr Donaghy was in possession of nail bombs when he was shot.

“If there had been nail bombs in his pocket I would have seen them. I saw his body on the ground where he fell, I helped to carry him to the house,” he said.

“To be honest, if I had seen the nail bombs I doubt whether I would have carried Gerard Donaghy into the house.”

Mr Young described how he was shot at by a soldier before he attempted to assist Mr Donaghy.

“I saw out of the corner out of my eye that there was a soldier to my right.

“The soldier was pointing his rifle in the air but as soon as he saw me, he swung it around and pointed it at me. I remember thinking ‘Jesus, he’s going to fire’ and the next thing I knew I heard a crack.”

He told the Inquiry that he helped carry the young man into the house of another man Raymond Rogan, where a doctor who examined him said he needed urgent hospital treatment.

He added that he and Mr Rogan were taking the dying teenager to hospital when they were stopped at an British army checkpoint in the centre of Derry.

He claimed one of the soldiers said “let the bastard die”.

“I said something like “you’re an animal”. The soldier was clearly hyped up and was treating me roughly,” he added.

He and Mr Rogan were arrested and taken to British army barracks on the Foyle Road where they were interviewed about what happened.

After he was released, he discovered that his brother had been shot dead.

He told the Inquiry: “I couldn’t believe what had happened and still cannot believe it. John was completely inoffensive. – he wouldn’t do a bad thing to anyone. He worked in the tailor’s shop in the town.

“The fact that they tried to make out that John had lead particles on his hands when he was shot added insult to injury. It was that that killed my mother and father,” he added.