The retired Bishop of Derry, Dr Edward Daly, gave evidence for almost three hours at the inquiry yesterday. He told how he ministered to the dying and the dead on Bloody Sunday, how he was aghast at what he saw and thought there was no justification for the British soldiers opening fire.
Dr Daly, whose recollection of events remained consistent with his previous statements, also described seeing a civilian fire several shots at soldiers from a handgun.
Dr Daly outlined his memory of those events recorded on film which have become synonymous with the Bloody Sunday killings - particularly his ministering to the teenager, Jackie Duddy, who was the first person shot dead on the day.
Dr Daly told how he had fled with others as armoured cars and soldiers on foot entered the Bogside after the Civil Rights march on January 30th, 1972. He was a curate at St Eugene's Cathedral at that time.
As he ran across the courtyard, or car park, of Rossville Flats he noticed a young boy running beside him. This boy, whom he now knew to have been Jackie Duddy, was smiling or laughing. "How I noticed him was that he was laughing."
Dr Daly recalled that he had told the Widgery Inquiry in 1972 he thought the youth might have been laughing at seeing a priest run so fast. But he now thought it might have been nervous laughter. "I think all of us were excited, exhilarated and frightened as well, so I think the laughter was more of that than of humour."
He clearly heard the distinctive sound of a shot and, simultaneously, the boy gasped or groaned loudly and fell on his face. Dr Daly said his first impression was the boy was hit by a rubber bullet, because "I could not imagine that he had been hit by a live round".
There was a burst of gunfire at this time, causing terror. The air was filled with yells and screams of fear. After taking cover beside a low wall, there was a lull, and he decided to make his way out to where the boy was lying.
The bishop told how he first waved a handkerchief for a little time, and then went out in a crouched position to the boy. He was joined by a Knights of Malta volunteer, Mr Charles Glenn, who set about treating the wound.
Dr Daly said that as he administered the last rites the gunfire started again. "We got as close to the ground as we could." There was another lull, and he remembered seeing a tall, young man dash out and begin "dancing up and down and screaming at the soldiers".
"This man was shouting something like `Shoot me, shoot me' and appeared to be hysterical. He had his hands, which were empty, raised over his head."
Dr Daly said he saw a soldier step out from the gable end of the flats, go down on one knee, take aim and fire at this man, who staggered "and then started running crazily around for a few moments". He subsequently learned that this man was Mr Michael Bridge (who was wounded but survived).
As he and others were about to get up and carry Jackie Duddy away, Dr Daly said, he saw a man move along a nearby gable wall. He saw this man produce a small gun, a handgun, from his jacket and fire two or three shots around the corner at the soldiers.
"I cannot recall the soldiers reacting or firing in his direction," said Dr Daly. "I do not believe they were aware of the gunman. We screamed at the gunman to go away, because we were frightened the soldiers might think the fire was coming from where we were located." The gunman "just drifted away" and the witness did not see him after that.
After an ambulance took the body of Jackie Duddy away, Dr Daly said he returned to the Rossville Flats area, where he was "just aghast" at seeing several dead, a number of seriously injured and many very distressed people.
The witness told Mr Christopher Clarke QC, for the tribunal, that his view now was the soldiers had not become aware of the civilian gunman who had fired shots.
He believed if they had been aware of his presence, they would have used all their firepower and would have "riddled him". This man's firing, however, had been a "highly wrong and irresponsible action".
Mr Clarke told him a major question for the tribunal to decide was whether the British army had opened up with live bullets for no understandable reason, or if they had been faced with fire from a number of different sources.
Counsel asked the bishop if it was possible, in the noise and confusion and fright, he had not noticed any firing at the army. Dr Daly said that, apart from the one individual gunman described, "certainly there was no gunfire or there was no threat posed to the army at the time they opened fire . . . and I do not think there was any justification for it".