The Bloody Sunday Inquiry / Day 413: An Official IRA witness told the Bloody Sunday Inquiry yesterday that if civilians had been able to arm themselves in the immediate aftermath of the Bloody Sunday killings in the Bogside area of Derry, on January 30th, 1972, he had no doubt "they would have used them to defend themselves".
Known as O IRA 6, he also told the inquiry that he was glad one of his colleagues, known as O IRA 1, had fired a single shot at British soldiers before paratroopers had shot dead thirteen civilians during a civil rights march.
The witness, who was a member of the Creggan Section of the Official IRA on Bloody Sunday, also said that he was unarmed when he took part in the march and denied a suggestion that he had been "running around mad with a pistol all afternoon". He told the inquiry's judges that another claim, made by a person known as "McE", that he had "fired very very early" was "completely wrong".
O IRA 6 said members of the Creggan Section of the paramilitary group were told by their section leader they could go on the civil rights march but they were not allowed to carry a weapon.
"It was as simple as that. I therefore took it that there were no operations planned for Sunday at all", he said.
The witness said his intention was to listen to speeches at a rally planned to take part after the march. As he sat on a wall waiting for the speeches to start, people started running in his direction.
"Everybody was running and they were squealing and shouting that the army were shooting. The closer the people came, the more people were saying they were firing live rounds. I had not heard or seen any army vehicles enter the Bogside and I had not been aware of the shooting of live rounds. What I did when I heard people shouting that the army were shooting and were coming in was simply to join in with everyone else and to run away as fast as I could", he said.
O IRA 6 said people started shouting at him "Where's the f***ing IRA when you need them?' "They were angry and there is no doubt about it that if weapons had been available, the people would have used them to defend themselves. There were no weapons, I don't know what I felt, I cannot recall feeling angry myself, I think I was just confused and I didn't know what to do", he added.
The inquiry continues.