Death of 'informer'
A former IRA man who was branded an informer and a fantasist by Martin McGuinness has died, the 'Journal' has learned.
Paddy Ward, who was a member of both the IRA and INLA in Derry in the 1970s and 1980s, was 54 years-old. He was originally from the Creggan area of the city but is believed to have died in England.
In 2003 he told the Saville Inquiry that he had been the Officer Commanding (OC) of Na Fianna ireann on Bloody Sunday and that he had been given nailbombs by Provisional IRA members, among them Martin McGuinness. He told the Inquiry that he had received orders to use the nailbombs at the Guildhall after the march had dispersed.
He told Lord Saville that he fired five shots from an M1 Carbine on Hamilton Road despite no soldiers claiming to have come under fire there. He also claimed that he shot at a British army helicopter with a .303 rifle from Creggan on the evening of Bloody Sunday.
His evidence was vehemently denied by Mr McGuinness, who dismissed his claims as "fantasy." Former Sinn Fin mayor of Derry, Gearoid hara, also rejected Mr Ward's claims and told the Saville Inquiry that he was the OC of the Fianna at the time of Bloody Sunday.
Mr McGuinness referred to Mr Ward as a "fantasist, liar, informer and totally dependent on the British military establishment who have used him". He also described Mr Ward's evidence to Saville as "a tissue of lies."
In his book 'Shadows,' Special Branch officer Alan Harper claimed Mr Ward worked for him as an agent within the INLA in Derry between 1981 and 1983.
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Wednesday 22 May 2013
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