Bloody Sunday: Families of Two Men Shot Dead Awarded £700k

The families of two men shot dead on Bloody Sunday have been awarded a combined £700,000 in compensation. The family of Gerard McKinney, a 35-year-old father-of-eight, who was shot dead at Abbey Park in Londonderry, were awarded £625,000. Michael McDaid, 20, was killed near a barricade in Rossville Street. His family received £75,000. Thirteen people died after soldiers opened fire in the city in January 1972. A 14th person died later.

In September a man shot in the face by a soldier on Bloody Sunday was awarded £193,000 in a civil compensation case. Mr McKinney was a qualified engineer and toolmaker by trade. He had been a renowned entrepreneur prior to his death. He and his wife Ita had seven children at the time of his death, with an eighth born a week after Bloody Sunday. About 10,000 people gathered in the Creggan area of Derry on the morning of 30 January 1972 to take part in a civil rights march. After prolonged skirmishes between groups of local youths and the Army, paratroopers moved in to make arrests. During this operation, they opened fire on the crowd.

Read more: BBC News, https://is.gd/RLShNF