Northern Ireland

Brendan Duddy: 'Key author of peace process' dies

Derry businessman Brendan Duddy was a key figure in the peace process since the 1970s. Picture by Margaret McLaughlin
Derry businessman Brendan Duddy was a key figure in the peace process since the 1970s. Picture by Margaret McLaughlin Derry businessman Brendan Duddy was a key figure in the peace process since the 1970s. Picture by Margaret McLaughlin

A DERRY businessman who acted as a secret intermediary between the British government and the IRA leadership has died at the age of 82.

Brendan Duddy, who died on Friday night following a long illness, has been described as "one of the true authors" of the peace process.

He was one of three contacts between the IRA and the Irish and British governments along with Irish News columnist Denis Bradley and fellow Derry businessman Noel Gallagher.

As the owner of a fish and chip shop in the 1960s, Mr Duddy met a young Martin McGuinness, then working as a van driver.

Their meeting established a contact that endured throughout the next 40 years.

Following the outbreak of the Troubles, Mr Duddy, an avowed pacifist, worked closely with the IRA leadership and civil authorities to try and end the violence.

However, it was through his contact with British MI6 agent, Michael Oatley (codenamed ‘The Mountain Climber’) that he became a vital part of the political process.

In his memoirs, Jonathan Powell - Downing Street chief of staff to former prime minister Tony Blair – described Mr Duddy as “key” to talks between the IRA and MI6.

In 1991, Mr Duddy hosted talks between Mr Oatley and Mr McGuinness.

The meeting led to back-channel negotiations between the British government and the IRA, with Mr Duddy as a go-between, which helped create the groundwork for the IRA's 1994 ceasefire and ultimately the Good Friday Agreement.

Mr Bradley said Mr Duddy’s contribution to the political and peace processes should never be underestimated.

"The peace process has many authors according to a lot of people and to those who claim to have played a role," he said.

"I think Brendan was one of the true authors both in his longevity and in his persistence as a negotiator and analyser between republicans and the British.

“When some others drifted away believing it was not appropriate to continue, Brendan never shirked or moved away from it. From the early days in the seventies, his analysis was always that republicans and the British would have to negotiate with each other to achieve peace."

One of the key architects of the 1974/75 IRA ceasefire, Mr Duddy also played a major role during the 1981 Hunger Strikes, attempting to find a way to end the prison protest which he believed was causing irreparable damage to the political process.

Mr Bradley said Mr Duddy worked hard in the early 1990s to persuade the British government to negotiate with the IRA.

“He was a very important persuader, particularly on the British side," Mr Bradley said.

"John Major and the British government feared being outmanoeuvred by back benchers who were very anti-republican. But Brendan played a huge role in persuading the British to enter negotiations with the IRA. He laid some of the first seeds of peace in Ireland."