Edward Daly (bishop)
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Edward Kevin Daly (5 December 1933 – 8 August 2016) was an Irish
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...
and author. He served as the
Bishop of Derry The Bishop of Derry is an episcopal title which takes its name after the monastic settlement originally founded at Daire Calgach and later known as Daire Colm Cille, Anglicised as Derry. In the Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but in ...
from 1974 to 1993. Daly took part in several civil rights marches and events during
the Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...
. He came to wider attention during Bloody Sunday in January 1972, waving a blood-stained white handkerchief as he escorted a group carrying a mortally wounded protester after British troops opened fire on demonstrators.


Early life and ministry

Daly was born in
Ballyshannon Ballyshannon () is a town in County Donegal, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located at the southern end of the county where the N3 road (Ireland), N3 from Dublin ends and the N15 road (Ireland), N15 crosses the River Erne. The town was inc ...
,
County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...
, but raised in Belleek,
County Fermanagh County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of six counties of Northern Ireland. The county covers an area of and had a population of 63,585 as of 2021. Enniskillen is the ...
in
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
. His parents were Tom Daly and Susan Daly (
née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...
Flood), who were shopkeepers; he was the eldest of six siblings, including Tom Daly junior, who became a prominent politician.O'Leary, Olivia (1 March 1984).
The John Hume Show
. ''
Magill ''Magill'' was an Irish politics and current affairs magazine founded by Vincent Browne and others in 1977. ''Magill'' specialised in investigative articles and colourful reportage by journalists such as Eamonn McCann (who wrote its anonymous ...
''. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
Daly attended and boarded at
St Columb's College St Columb's College is a Roman Catholic boys' grammar school in Derry, Northern Ireland. Since 2008, it has been a specialist school in mathematics. It is named after Saint Columba, the missionary monk from County Donegal who founded a monast ...
in
Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...
on a scholarship, after which he spent six years studying towards ordination to the priesthood at the Irish College in Rome. He was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Derry in Belleek on 16 March 1957. His first appointment was as a curate in Castlederg, County Tyrone. In 1962, he was appointed a
curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...
in
St Eugene's Cathedral St Eugene's Cathedral () is the Catholic Church, Roman Catholic cathedral located in Derry, Northern Ireland. It is the "Mother Church" for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Derry, as well as the parish Church of the parish of Templemore. History I ...
in
Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...
, with responsibility for the Bogside area of the city. He left briefly in the 1970s to serve as a religious advisor to
RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...
in
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
in the Republic of Ireland but spent the majority of his career in Derry.


Bloody Sunday (1972)

During his time in Derry, he took part in the
civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...
marches; he had first-hand experience of the Battle of the Bogside in 1969, the early years of
the Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...
,
internment Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without Criminal charge, charges or Indictment, intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects ...
, and the events of Bloody Sunday, in which British soldiers fired on unarmed protesters on 30 January 1972, killing 14 people. Daly became a public figure after he was witnessed using a blood-stained handkerchief as a white flag in an attempt to escort 17-year-old Jackie Duddy, a wounded protester, to safety. Duddy died of his injuries soon after and Daly administered the
last rites The last rites, also known as the Commendation of the Dying, are the last prayers and ministrations given to an individual of Christian faith, when possible, shortly before death. The Commendation of the Dying is practiced in liturgical Chri ...
; he later described the events as "a young fella who was posing no threat to anybody being shot dead unjustifiably". Duddy's family gave Daly a photograph of Jackie, which Daly always kept on his desk. He also gave an interview for the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
in which he insisted, contrary to official reports, that the protesters were unarmed. He testified as such to the Widgery Tribunal, though he also testified that he had seen a man with a gun on the day, to the anger of some of those involved; the Widgery Report largely exonerated the British Army, perpetuating the controversy. Years later, Daly opined that the events of Bloody Sunday were a significant catalyst to the violence in Northern Ireland, and that the shootings served to greatly increase recruitment to the IRA. The controversy over Bloody Sunday lasted for decades; Daly believed the shootings provided a catalyst for the IRA's increase in violence through the 1970s and beyond. Daly's actions were captured on camera by the news media and broadcast around the world, which gave him a greatly increased profile. Prior to Bloody Sunday, Daly was sympathetic to the "old" IRA, of which his father was a member, but the events of Bloody Sunday left him of the opinion that "violence is completely unacceptable as a means to a political end", which led to a tension with the
Provisional Irish Republican Army The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; ) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland ...
throughout his career.


Bishop of Derry (1974–93)

In 1973, Daly worked with
RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...
in
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
as a religious adviser for several months. He appeared on numerous television programmes and contributed to many television documentaries on religious and Northern Ireland affairs. He was appointed
Bishop of Derry The Bishop of Derry is an episcopal title which takes its name after the monastic settlement originally founded at Daire Calgach and later known as Daire Colm Cille, Anglicised as Derry. In the Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but in ...
in 1974—at 40, he was the youngest bishop in Ireland. His tenure was marked by conflict with the IRA over that organisation's use of violence to advance its political cause of a
united Ireland United Ireland (), also referred to as Irish reunification or a ''New Ireland'', is the proposition that all of Ireland should be a single sovereign state. At present, the island is divided politically: the sovereign state of Ireland (legally ...
; Daly and IRA spokesmen repeatedly exchanged words via the local press. The Catholic bishops of Ireland discussed the possibility of excommunicating IRA members several times during Daly's tenure, often in the aftermath of a particularly bloody attack, though no decision was ever reached. Daly was always reluctant to excommunicate and used the motto "better to communicate than excommunicate", for which he was severely criticised by the British tabloid press, but he was outspoken in his opposition to violence by both sides. He introduced a ban on paramilitary trappings at Catholic funerals and in 1976 organised a protest march through Derry city centre—a response to an increase in sectarian murders—which was joined by almost all the clergy in the city and led by Daly and his Protestant counterpart, an event which was unprecedented in the city's history. Throughout his career and particularly his tenure as Bishop of Derry, Daly took a keen interest in the criminal justice system, seeking to attend to the needs of prisoners, internees, and victims of miscarriages of justice including the
Birmingham Six The Birmingham Six were six men from Northern Ireland who were each sentenced to life imprisonment in 1975 following their false convictions for the 1974 Birmingham pub bombings. Their convictions were declared unsafe and unsatisfactory and q ...
(who were wrongly convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for the 1974 Birmingham pub bombings, and whose convictions were quashed in 1991). Along with the Catholic
primate of all Ireland The Primacy of Ireland belongs to the diocesan bishop of the Irish diocese with highest precedence. The Archbishop of Armagh is titled Primate of All Ireland and the Archbishop of Dublin Primate of Ireland, signifying that they are the senior ...
, Tomás Ó Fiaich, Daly lobbied the British government in 1977 against its decision to revoke Special Category Status (
political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although ...
status) from IRA prisoners and subsequently their treatment as criminals. When the issue culminated in a hunger strike in 1981 which resulted in the deaths of ten prisoners at
HM Prison Maze HM Prison Maze (previously Long Kesh Detention Centre, and known colloquially as the Maze or H-Blocks) was a prison in Northern Ireland that was used to house paramilitary prisoners during the Troubles from August 1971 to September 2000. On 15 ...
, he lobbied the
European Commission on Human Rights The European Commission of Human Rights was a special body of the Council of Europe. From 1954 to the 1998 entry into force of Protocol 11 to the European Convention on Human Rights, individuals did not have direct access to the European Court ...
to intervene. In 1979, Daly was involved in planning a visit by
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...
to
Armagh Armagh ( ; , , " Macha's height") is a city and the county town of County Armagh, in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of All ...
, scheduled for September and which had won the approval of the British government, but the visit was cancelled in the wake of the IRA's assassination of
Lord Mountbatten Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy), Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (born Prince Louis of Battenberg; 25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979), commonly known as Lord Mountbatten, was ...
and the Warrenpoint ambush (in which 18 British soldiers were killed), both on 27 August 1979. The visit was transferred to
Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...
, in the same archdiocese but across the border in the Republic, where the pope appealed to the IRA to give up armed resistance. Tension between Daly and the IRA reached its peak in 1983 when Daly banned
requiem mass A Requiem (Latin: ''rest'') or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead () or Mass of the dead (), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the souls of the deceased, using a particular form of the Roman Missal. It is u ...
with the body present, and forbade military trappings, at funerals of paramilitaries. The ban came after Daly negotiated an agreement with the IRA that there be no guns present at funerals, which the IRA breached when several of its members fired shots over a coffin during a ceremony. Daly was deeply affected by the IRA's " proxy bombings" in October 1990, in which IRA members forced civilians to drive car bombs to their targets, with the result that the driver was killed in the explosion along with anybody in close proximity to the van. Daly described the bombings as having "crossed a new threshold of evil", and believed that while they may claim to be Catholics, "works proclaim clearly that they follow Satan". While Daly was always willing to attend to the religious needs of IRA members, he refused to engage in any formal meeting until 1992, when
John Hume John Hume (18 January 19373 August 2020) was an Irish nationalist politician in Northern Ireland and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate. A founder and leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party, Hume served in the Parliament of Northern Irel ...
—the leader of Northern Ireland's
Social Democratic and Labour Party The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP; ) is a social democratic and Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. The SDLP currently has eight members in the Northern Ireland Assembly ( MLAs) and two members of Parliament (M ...
, who was attempting to negotiate a truce with the IRA, and with whom Daly was close friends—convinced him to meet
Gerry Adams Gerard Adams (; born 6 October 1948) is a retired Irish Republican politician who was the president of Sinn Féin between 13 November 1983 and 10 February 2018, and served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for Louth from 2011 to 2020. From 1983 to 19 ...
and
Martin McGuinness James Martin Pacelli McGuinness (; 23 May 1950 – 21 March 2017) was an Irish republican politician and statesman for Sinn Féin and a leader within the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) during The Troubles. He was the deputy First Minist ...
. Daly later remarked that he shared much common ground with the two, particularly McGuinness, with whom he only substantially disagreed on the morality of using violence to achieve political aims. Despite the tension between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland, Daly maintained a personal friendship with James Mehaffey, the Anglican (Protestant)
Bishop of Derry and Raphoe The Bishop of Derry and Raphoe is the Church of Ireland Ordinary (officer), Ordinary of the united Diocese of Derry and Raphoe (Church of Ireland), Diocese of Derry and Raphoe in the Province of Armagh (Church of Ireland), Province of Armagh.''C ...
from the latter's appointment in 1980, which was described after Daly's death as "a powerful message of harmony and bridge-building". Among many joint projects Daly and Mehaffey co-founded two charities with the intent to promote community healing in Derry after years of sectarian violence. He retired from his position as
Bishop of Derry The Bishop of Derry is an episcopal title which takes its name after the monastic settlement originally founded at Daire Calgach and later known as Daire Colm Cille, Anglicised as Derry. In the Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but in ...
in October 1993, after suffering a
stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...
. He was succeeded by Bishop Séamus Hegarty and in retirement took up the post of chaplain at Foyle Hospice.


Later life

Daly published an autobiography, ''Mister, Are you a Priest?'', in 2000. This he followed with a second memoir, ''A Troubled See: Memoirs of a Derry Bishop'', published in 2011. He was also the author of ''Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled'', co-author of ''The Clergy of the Diocese of Derry: an Index'' and contributed an essay to ''A History of the Diocese of Derry''. In ''A Troubled See'', Daly discussed ending the compulsory celibacy for Roman Catholic priests; his view was that allowing priests to marry could alleviate the church's problems recruiting new priests. He was distressed that, despite a shortage of priests, priests were forced to resign or otherwise good candidates were rejected because of the celibacy rule; he felt that there was "certainly an important and enduring place for celibate priesthood. But I believe that there should also be a place in the modern Catholic Church for married priesthood and for men who do not wish to commit themselves to celibacy". The Association of Catholic Priests publicly supported his stance. Daly later clarified that he valued his own vow of celibacy, and that it enhanced his own life as a priest. He said, "I am not saying that celibacy should be abolished—I am saying to look at other people who feel they would not be able to live up to a vow of celibacy or undertake it and to look at the possibilities of introducing them to the priesthood ..but I feel that the church must look at this again". He received criticism from some quarters for waiting until long retired to express his views, rather than airing them while he was in office. The Saville Inquiry was established by British Prime Minister
Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...
in 1998 as part of the
Northern Ireland peace process The Northern Ireland peace process includes the events leading up to the 1994 Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) ceasefire, the end of most of the violence of the Troubles, the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, and subsequent political develop ...
in order to re-investigate the events of Bloody Sunday. The inquiry superseded the Widgery Report, which had been accused of whitewashing since its publication, and Daly welcomed the new inquiry, saying he was "full of hope" for it in 2000. He gave evidence to the inquiry in which he repeated his affirmation that the protesters had not been armed and described the sequence of event surrounding Jackie Duddy's death. Daly was part of a large crowd gathered outside Derry Guildhall when the report was published on 15 June 2010 and its conclusions read out by the prime minister,
David Cameron David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...
, and broadcast on a large screen. The Saville Report upheld Daly's evidence that the marchers had been unarmed. Lord Saville believed that armed men were likely present, but did nothing that would prompt the army to open fire, and that many of the soldiers involved had lied in their accounts of their actions, though the shootings were not premeditated. He also found that the soldiers had fired without warning, had fired on people who were fleeing or rushing to help the wounded, and that none of those injured or killed posed a threat, nor had they done anything to give the soldiers cause to fire at them. Cameron apologised for the shootings, describing them as "unjustified and unjustifiable". Daly believed that the victims of Bloody Sunday and the campaigners for a new inquiry were vindicated by the verdict; he "felt a sense of uncommon relief that this burden has been lifted off my shoulders, and the shoulders of the people in this city". In August 2010, Daly questioned the report into the 1972 Claudy bombing by the
Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland The Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland (OPONI) is a non-departmental public body intended to provide an independent, impartial police complaints system for the people and police under the Police (Northern Ireland) Acts of 1998 ...
, Al Hutchinson. According to the report, detectives who investigated the attack, which killed nine people, believed that a priest (who died in 1980) was involved in its preparation. Hutchinson controversially concluded that the Catholic Church, the British government, and senior police officers covered up the allegations, and hampered the detectives' attempts to investigate them by having the priest moved to a parish in the Republic of Ireland. Daly stood by the priest, stating that he had discussed the matter with him in the 1970s and the priest had vehemently denied any involvement, and he professed that it was "beyond understanding" that the detectives had not arrested and questioned the priest during the original investigation. He was awarded the Freedom of the City by
Derry City Council Derry City Council (; Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ''Derry Cittie Cooncil'') was the Local government in Northern Ireland, local government authority for the city of Derry in Northern Ireland. It merged with Strabane District Council in ...
in 2015 in a joint ceremony with Bishop James Mehaffey, with whom he had worked closely while the two were in office. Daly was ""hugely pleased to accept he award particularly when it is being shared with my friend and brother, Bishop James". The city's mayor, Brenda Stevenson, announced that the joint award was in recognition of the two bishops' efforts towards peace and community cohesion.


Death and legacy

Daly died on 8 August 2016 at the age of 82, at Altnagelvin Area Hospital in Derry, having been admitted after a fall several weeks previously; he had also been diagnosed with cancer. He was surrounded by family and local priests.
Donal McKeown Dónal McKeown (born 12 April 1950) is a Catholic Church, Roman Catholic prelate from Northern Ireland who has served as Bishop of Derry since 2014. Early life and education McKeown was born in Belfast on 12 April 1950, one of four children to J ...
, the incumbent Bishop of Derry, announced Daly's death and paid tribute, saying that Daly "served, without any concern for himself, throughout the traumatic years of the Troubles, finding his ministry shaped by the experience of witnessing violence and its effects". Public figures including the Irish president, Michael D. Higgins, and his predecessor
Mary McAleese Mary Patricia McAleese ( ; ; ; born 27 June 1951) is an Irish activist lawyer, academic, author, and former politician who served as the president of Ireland from November 1997 to November 2011. McAleese was first elected as president in 1997, ...
paid tribute to Daly's work for peace during the Troubles, as did the leaders of various religious denominations in Derry. Archbishop
Eamon Martin Eamon Columba Martin KC*HS (born 30 October 1961) is an Irish Catholic prelate from Northern Ireland who has served as Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland since 2014. Early life and education Martin was born in Pennyburn, Derry ...
, Primate of All Ireland, described Daly as having "literally spent himself in the service of others", and said he will be remembered as "a fearless peacebuilder". According to ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', in its obituary, the abiding memory of Daly is one of "a terrified but calm priest waving a bloodied white handkerchief", which the BBC described as "the iconic image of Bloody Sunday". Daly was never comfortable with the public profile he gained following his actions on Bloody Sunday and did not enjoy his duties as a bishop, particularly disliking the administrative responsibilities that came with the post. He believed he would not have been made Bishop of Derry had it not been for Bloody Sunday, and worried that his other work was overlooked as a result—that he "was the priest with the handkerchief and that was it". He was happier performing pastoral ministry, and felt that the years after his retirement as a bishop—which he spent tending to terminally ill hospice patients—were his "most fulfilling as a priest". Daly's remains were taken to St Eugene's Cathedral, where he lay in state with mourners able to file past. His coffin was sealed at midday on 11 August 2016 and buried after Requiem Mass in the grounds of St Eugene's Cathedral alongside his predecessor as Bishop of Derry, Neil Farren. The bells of the cathedral tolled for one hour on the morning of Daly's death while many local people arrived to pay tribute. The mayor of Derry, Hilary McClintock, opened a book of condolence in the city's guildhall for members of the public to sign. The funeral, conducted by the incumbent Bishop of Derry Donal McKeown, was attended by multiple religious and political leaders from across Ireland and retired leaders from throughout Daly's career, and a message from
Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...
was read out at the beginning of the service. Hundreds of members of the public also attended the funeral, some lining the route from the cathedral to the grave; Daly's coffin was greeted with applause as it was carried out of the cathedral for burial.


Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Daly, Edward (bishop) 1933 births 2016 deaths 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Northern Ireland People from Belleek, County Fermanagh People of The Troubles (Northern Ireland) Roman Catholic bishops of Derry People educated at St Columb's College Bishops appointed by Pope Paul VI