Paddy Doherty, who was known to almost everyone in Derry city as Paddy Bogside, was a classic example of an individual who experienced adversity and still had the strength of character to make a massive contribution towards the cause of peace and progress.
Mr Doherty, who died yesterday at the age of 89, came to prominence in the civil rights movement and found himself playing a central role in the upheavals and confrontations surrounding his home area during the late 1960s and early 1970s.
He went on to devote his life to the regeneration of the city and the creation of much needed jobs through bodies like the Derry Youth and Community Workshop and the Inner City Trust.
Mr Doherty was hugely successful in all his initiatives and enterprises and was always a driving force behind the heartening transformation of Derry over the last four decades.
