Forgotten Hero

Daniel Bradley writes on the ground covered in the push for transparency in the case of his brother, shot dead by British troops during Operation Motorman.

It has taken me 43 years with a lot of ups and downs, constant struggles to get my brothers case into court.

Seven years ago I went into a restaurant to have something to eat. I was by myself and I happened to look over and sawn Martin Mc Guinness and his wife and I felt that this was the appropriate time to ask for his help. So I asked him could I speak to him. He said yes what can I do?

"Well", I said "HET are looking for witnesses who were along with my brother that night besides myself. There were approximately 30 people there so could you speak to someone for me?"

The next day I got a phone call to go up to the Sinn Fein offices and I would be spoken to. There was a bit of a joke there as this person first of all turns and says to me "the IRA haven't gone away you know." And this person wouldn't even remember or maybe was not even born at the time of Operation Motorman. Another person there would have been the same age as myself. The younger person tried to play the hard man with me, or put fear in me. I was going to put him in his place when the other person said "Danny lets talk".

This is what I shared: myself and Seamus were at the Creggan shops along with approx. 30 others. We all heard the shots that killed Daniel Hegarty. We all seen 1 Saracen coming from the direction of the roundabout and another coming from the Telstar bar. So for everyone to get away Seamus drew attention to himself and ran down Bishops field. Then 2 soldiers jumped out of the Saracens, one out of each and fired shots, hitting Seamus in the thigh and another in the foot. Seamus fell and was picked up by one the Saracens.

No one knows what happened after that, but the pictures from the morgue tell the story. He received another 3 gun shot wounds, he was badly beaten. And with new pictures now having come to light we have discovered that they put a rope around his neck and hung him.

Three months later the so called volunteers Sinn Fein/IRA came back and told me that they couldn't find any witnesses. But that didn't stop me: I was still a witness.

Just recently after receiving the secret papers of the secret meetings that took place and knowing the story of the IRA getting the guns out of Derry I wrote a letter to the coroner and informed him that Martin Mc Guinness and Gerry Adams are witnesses to Operation Motorman and therefore they have to answer to the coroner. I have now found out that the coroners office has written to both of them. The solicitor for Martin McGuinness has confirmed that he will be in attendance on behalf of him. We are still waiting for a reply from Gerry Adams. These two men class themselves as Irish men and they will stand and do talks at republican graves but yet they will try and hide their faces from my brothers inquest by sending their solicitors. Shame on them.

No comments