RELATIVES of some of the Bloody Sunday victims are to ask the Irish Government to honour the courage of Bishop Edward Daly who died on Monday aged 82.
Officials will asked to provide a posthumous recognition for the retired Bishop of Derry who will be remembered as the priest who waved a blood-soaked white handkerchief as he guided a dying teenager Jack Duddy through army gunfire on Bloody Sunday.
Bishop Daly’s legacy is to be raised when Irish government officials meet some of the Bloody Sunday relatives to discuss the development of the Museum of Free Derry in Dublin next week.
Tony Doherty, whose father Paddy was shot dead on Bloody Sunday, said he intends pressing the government to honour Bishop Daly’s courage in some way.
“In any other country in the world, people like Bishop Daly – and others – would have been singled out for honours and recognition by governments for the courage they showed on Bloody Sunday.
"But here, because of the situation, there has never been any official government honour although Bishop Daly did receive the Freedom of Derry.
“I think it’s time now to change that and to honour Bishop Daly for what he did and for what he did after Bloody Sunday although, sadly, he has now passed on,” Mr Doherty said.
The call came as a steady stream of people turned out to pay their respects to Bishop Daly at St Eugene’s Cathedral.
Throughout Tuesday, people filed past his open coffin before the main altar in the church which was Dr Daly’s seat as bishop.
Many stopped to touch his hand or stroke his face and offer a silent prayer.
Among the many tributeswas one from British Labour Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn who said the retired bishop had helped achieve the peace that many people thought was not possible.
In a post on Twitter, Mr Corbyn said: “Bishop of Derry Edward Daly dedicated his life to peace in Northern Ireland.”
Dr Daly’s family said they were “humbled” by the tributes. His nephew, Gerard Daly said it was only when he arrived in Derry that he realised the high esteem in which his uncle was held.
“People knew him as a bishop, as a man to the people of Derry. But he shared the warmth that he had for everybody.
"Everybody was his family. As a young boy myself, he was a giant to me. He loved children; he always loved having fun, having a joke,” Mr Daly said.
Anyone wishing to pay their respects can continue to visit St Eugene’s Cathedral until noon on Thursday ahead of Requiem Mass at 3.30pm.
Dr Daly will later be laid to rest in the grounds of the cathedral, adjacent to the main doors to the church.
