Brendan Duddy (10 June 1936 – 12 May 2017) was a businessman fromDerry,Northern Ireland, who played a key role in theNorthern Ireland peace process, which ended most of the violence ofthe Troubles in the 1990s. A notableCatholicrepublican, who was apacifist and firm believer in dialogue,[1] Duddy became known byMI6 as "The Contact". In his book,Great Hatred Little Room: Making Peace in Northern Ireland,Tony Blair's political advisorJonathan Powell described Duddy as the "key" which led to discussions between republicans and MI6, and ultimately the Northern Ireland peace process.[2]
Duddy ran afish and chip shop in the late 1960s which was supplied withbeef burgers, from a supplier whose van driver wasMartin McGuinness, who would eventually become a leader within theProvisional Irish Republican Army andSinn Féin.[3] Duddy was first approached bySecret Intelligence Service (MI6) officer Frank Steele in the early 1970s, but turned down the approach .[2]
In light of the dissolution of theParliament of Northern Ireland in 1972, Duddy's role as an intermediary started in January 1972, when asked by friend and Derry's Chief Police OfficerFrank Lagan to persuade theOfficial Irish Republican Army and the Provisional IRA to remove their weapons from theBogside.[4] Both sides complied, but the Official IRA retained a few weapons for defensive purposes. After thirteen unarmed civil rights marchers were shot dead by BritishParachute Regiment troops in what became known asBloody Sunday, Duddy warned Lagan: "This is absolutely catastrophic. We're going to have a war on our hands."[5]
In the aftermath of the events of Bloody Sunday, MI6 agentMichael Oatley arrived inBelfast in 1973, seeking to understand the situation in Northern Ireland and create a communications channel between the IRA and theBritish Government. Duddy became the intermediary for communications between the two sides.[3] and these led to the IRA ceasefire of 1975/76.[6]
Duddy and Oatley were the main channel of communications between the British Government and the IRA leadership during the1981 Irish hunger strike. Duddy was codenamed 'Soon' by the British. Over the period of 4–6 July 1981 they exchanged many telephone calls, with Duddy urging the "utmost haste" on the part of the British, because "the situation would be irreparably damaged if a hunger striker died". He suggested steps which could be taken to give the Provisional IRA a way of ending the strike.[7] British Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher personally amended the text of an offer which was conveyed to the IRA through Duddy, but the British considered the reply unsatisfactory and did not continue to negotiate through Duddy; hunger strikerJoe McDonnell died the following day.[8]
In November 1991, as his now friend Oatley was about to retire from MI6 service, Duddy called Oatley to a diner in Derry. When dinner had finished, McGuinness entered the property. During the meeting, McGuinness and Oatley discussed options for moving the situation forward. A few weeks later, Duddy was pursued by a British businessman who wanted to create jobs in Derry. In the first meeting, the businessman produced a letter from thenNorthern Ireland SecretaryPeter Brooke, introducing the "businessman" as Oatley's MI6 successor. Duddy called the MI6 agent "Fred", and acting as the go-between they successfully negotiated a ceasefire. Talks between McGuinness and representatives of the British government were held secretly in his house.
After the end of the Troubles, Duddy served as a member of theNorthern Ireland Policing Board and helped broker negotiations related to themarching season. Duddy also testified to theBloody Sunday Inquiry, with regards his role and actions of both sides.[4]
On 26 March 2008, theBBC broadcast a documentary entitledThe Secret Peacemaker about Duddy, directed byPeter Norrey, and presented byPeter Taylor, a journalist who had known Duddy was 'the link' for ten years.[5][9]
In the spring of 2009, Duddy donated his private archives to theUniversity of Galway'sJames Hardiman Library, where they were made available to researchers starting in 2011 after they were archivally listed (restrictions have been placed on some items).[10] The archives chart Duddy's involvement in the peace process from 1972 to 1993, and his ongoing interest and correspondence relating to Northern Ireland up to 2007.
Duddy died on 12 May 2017 at the age of 80.[11][12]
