Edward Daly, priest in famed Bloody Sunday image, dies at 82

Bishop Daly died on Monday.

A television camera captured the images after British paratrooperss had opened fire at a crowd of Catholics on a protest march, killing 13 of them. Fourteen were injured, and another was to die later.

From Belleek, Co Fermanagh, the cleric came to prominence on Bloody Sunday in 1972 when he was pictured waving a blood-stained handkerchief as he led a group of men carrying fatally-injured 17-year-old victim Jackie Duddy.

“Throughout his long career, he witnessed at first hand many tragedies of the Northern Ireland troubles, but his priority was always to his parishioners, and he was a constant champion of the people of the north west”.

In 1974, he was ordained Bishop of Derry, where he served until serious illness compelled him to retire in 1994.

“It is with deepest regret that I announce the death, this morning, of Bishop Edward Daly, Bishop Emeritus of Derry”, read the statement from Donal McKeown, Bishop of Derry. That singular moment captured the man’s compassion and courage in the face of violence.

Bishop Edward was a revered pastor and speaker whose words touched, and actions sustained, many people in Derry and across Ireland.

He wrote about his years in parish ministry in his book, ‘Mister, Are You a Priest?’ (2000). Over the last 22 years he provided much appreciated pastoral care to the terminally ill at the Foyle Hospice, an experience which gave him a further appreciation of the sanctity of human life and the importance of faith.

Bishop Daly said allowing clergymen to marry would ease the church’s problems. I was at his ordination as I have family in the area, on Inishowen.

“For the people of Derry though, Bishop Daly was iconic for so much more”.

“He truly lived and proclaimed the Good News of Jesus Christ and, in doing so, became a role model for all of us”. In a divided community his strong commitment to ecumenism helped all of us transcend the gravitational pull of history’s hatreds and find our common humanity. We worked closely together, at home and overseas – including on two joint visits to the United States – and the friendship which developed between us was one of the great blessings of my ministry.

“Bishop Edward literally spent himself in the service of others”. He was a man of God and a man of the people, a great church leader and a remarkable friend.

Bishop Daly also received attention for his 2011 memoir, in which he suggested that while “There is certainly an important and enduring place for celibate priesthood …”