EDWARD DALY, THE Catholic priest who famously waved a white flag while trying to aid the wounded on Bloody Sunday, has died.
The 82-year-old died this morning after a short battle with cancer.
Bishop Daly was probably best-known for his actions on the infamous day in Derry on 30 January 1972, when he waved a white handkerchief while trying to help wounded man Jackie Duddy to safety after he was gunned down by British paratroopers.
Fourteen people died and another 12 were injured at a Catholic civil rights march in the city in one of the most infamous incidents of the Northern Irish troubles.
A Fermanagh native, Bishop Daly waved the handkerchief towards the end of the day in a famous photograph in a desperate attempt to help the wounded to safety without fear of coming under fire in the Bogside.
Ordained in 1957, in the aftermath of Bloody Sunday, Bishop Daly served as Bishop of Derry from 1974 until 1993 when serious illness caused him to vacate his position.
“It is with deepest regret that I announce the death, this morning, of Bishop Edward Daly,” Donal McKeown, current Bishop of Derry, said this morning.
Bishop Daly provided an example of priestly ministry which was exemplary. His ministry was characterised by his deep love of the people of this diocese, his dedicated visitation of parishes and his constant availability to others.
Archbishop Eamon Martin described Bishop Daly as “an iconic figure in the civic and church life of Ireland, north and south”.
“As the bishop who ordained me to the priesthood in 1987, I had huge admiration for Bishop Edward,” Martin said.
(He) literally spent himself in the service of others. He had a sensitive heart and generous disposition – ever caring to the sick, the bereaved, and to victims on all sides of the Troubles.
The Bishop of Raphoe, Philip Boyce said the attention Bishop Edwards paid to the victims of the Troubles in Northern Ireland and for prisoners and their families, was remarkable.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan meanwhile described Daly as “first and foremost a man of peace” who was “respected on all sides”.
“He will be greatly missed by all who knew him, but particularly by the people of Derry,” the minister said. “In latter years, his work in the Foyle hospice was of great comfort to many. My condolences go to all of his family.”
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