Garden of Reflection refurbishment unveiled by Bishop of Derry

The Garden of Reflection in the Bogside has undergone a refurbishment. 

It has sought to bring  ‘new life and colour’ through the planting of new flowers and upgrading of the garden that is dedicated to the work done by the late Bishop Edward Daly. 

Bishop Daly served as Bishop of Derry from 1974 to 1993 and is best remembered for ministering to the dead and wounded on Bloody Sunday (January 30, 1972).

St. Eugene’s Cathedral is currently displaying an exhibition to explore his life and legacy called ‘A Man for All Seasons’ until August 31. 

Vincent Coyle was involved in the redevelopment of the Garden of Reflection, remembering an ‘unsung hero’, with the current Bishop of Derry, Donal McKeown, in attendance to unveil the refurbishment.

He said: “Bishop Daly was a true man of faith and peace.

“He worked hard behind the scenes to bring peace to this part of the world. 

“He was a man of integrity, someone anybody could turn to for the ordinary people of the Bogside. He took the weight of their pain on his shoulders. 

“He always had the people of the Bogside in his thoughts and memories.”

Bishop Daly had 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 wrongly imprisoned for life in 1975, and Mr. Coyle remembers the role Bishop Daly played behind the scenes to overturn the injustice. 

He said: “He was the first man to step forward.

“I think men of integrity like Bishop Daly worked hard, put their necks on the line, and went out and worked for the people.

“He was tireless as he quietly campaigned for those men.

“But he remained humble, as he would come back from England after looking to help those Birmingham Six and stop on the way back to help an old lady with their electric and gas bill or if she needed something.”

Mr. Coyle believed Bishop Daly was a man of the people of Derry, helping the city through one of its darkest periods despite being raised in Belleek, County Fermanagh. 

He said: “He decided to stay, despite not being from Derry. His calling was here.

“For the people of Derry, he put his life in front of everything, and when he held up that white hanky of the blood dripping from it, leading Jackie Duddy to what he thought was an ambulance to help and try and save his life and physically putting his body in front of the people carrying him, it was a Christian act. 

“He always had the people of the Bogside in his thoughts and memories. He cared, and he was willing to die for what he cared for.”

The message behind the Garden of Reflection is important today, according to Mr. Coyle. 

He believes the garden is a place of healing. 

Mr. Coyle said: “To this day, Bishop Daly has not left us. His spirit still resides in the city, and his message of forgiveness is still reverberating around Derry. 

“The spirit of understanding, the spirit of thinking about your fellow man,.

“Following his retirement, he went down to the Foyle Hospice to provide help there.

“For me personally, it is important for the people of the Bogside and the young people growing up today to remember the actions of Bishop Daly.”