Brendan Duddy

Brendan Duddy (10 June 1936 – 12 May 2017) was a businessman from Derry, Northern Ireland, who played a key role in the Northern Ireland peace process. A notable Catholic republican, who was a pacifist and firm believer in dialogue, Duddy became known by MI6 as "The Contact." In his book Great Hatred; Little Room – Making Peace in Northern Ireland, Tony Blair's political advisor Jonathan Powell described Duddy as the "key" which led to discussions between republicans and MI6, and ultimately the Northern Ireland peace process.

Duddy ran a fish and chip shop in the late 1960s which was supplied with beef burgers, from a supplier whose van driver was Martin McGuinness. Duddy was first approached by Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) officer Frank Steele in the early 1970s, but turned the approach down.

In light of the dissolution of Stormont in 1972, Duddy's role as an intermediary started in January 1972, when asked by friend and Derry's Chief Police Office Frank Lagan to persuade the Official Irish Republican Army and the Provisional Irish Republican Army to remove their weapons from the Bogside. Both sides complied, but the Official IRA retained a few weapons for defensive purposes. After thirteen unarmed civil rights marchers were shot dead by British Parachute Regiment troops in what became known as Bloody Sunday, Duddy warned Lagan: "This is absolutely catastrophic. We're going to have a war on our hands."

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