A friend of mine got married the morning of 0peration Motorman and I was his best man; well, I can tell you it was a handling that morning in getting to the chapel and then to the reception which was in the Broomhill Hotel.
We got over to the hotel, but had to walk back after the reception to the city centre as cars were not allowed over the bridge.
The city was saturated with Brits, their tanks and guns, it was a war zone.
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Their big Centurion tanks were that heavy they broke up the ground and the Brits had their guns pointed into your face everywhere you went.
You had to walk over the bridge in single file as the bridge was blocked.
You had to have a pass saying where you came from. It was a terrible day.
One of our closest friends Barney Kelly who attended the wedding was shot dead by the U.D.A. loyalist gang in Annie’s bar later on in December in the Waterside.
People were watching a football match, when the U.D.A. burst into the bar carrying a submachine gun and killed five people including Barney.
It was a terrible night when it came over the news, and very sad for all the families.
Barney was one of our closest friends, we went to dances and drank with him, went on holidays and were devastated when we heard he was shot dead.