Editing Talk:Bloody Sunday (1972) (section)

=="G. Donaghy" surname==
This may be an old question, but Gerry D's parents' gravestone (Charles and Rebecca) says "Donaghey" and he is listed there as "Gerald" (see his Talk page for source). Hence is he "Gerald/Gerard" "Donaghey/Donaghy"? [[User:Billsmith60|Billsmith60]] ([[User talk:Billsmith60|talk]]) 01:01, 13 December 2025 (UTC)

:Both Gerald and Gerard are commonly used in references, same for the surname. [[User:FDW777|FDW777]] ([[User talk:FDW777|talk]]) 08:23, 13 December 2025 (UTC)
::True, but that does not move my query on: should not the boy's name be spelt correctly? [[User:Billsmith60|Billsmith60]] ([[User talk:Billsmith60|talk]]) 22:20, 15 December 2025 (UTC)
:::Correctly according to who though? For example the highly regarded ''Eyewitness Bloody Sunday'' by Don Mullan gives his name as Gerard Donaghy (even in the recently published 25th anniversary edition), and it's not an outlier. [[User:FDW777|FDW777]] ([[User talk:FDW777|talk]]) 13:35, 16 December 2025 (UTC)
::::Err, as noted, the family gravestone [[User:Billsmith60|Billsmith60]] ([[User talk:Billsmith60|talk]]) 15:02, 16 December 2025 (UTC)
:::::Is that what most [[WP:RS|reliable sources]] are consistently using? It is rather uncommon, but not rare or unknown, for children to have different surname spellings to their parents. We need reliable sources about his surname, not his parents. [[User:Canterbury Tail|<b style="color: Blue;">Canterbury Tail</b>]] [[User talk:Canterbury Tail|<i style="color: Blue;">talk</i>]] 15:20, 16 December 2025 (UTC)
:::::I assume you mean in the same way Michael Collins gravestone has his birth date wrong? [[User:FDW777|FDW777]] ([[User talk:FDW777|talk]]) 16:04, 16 December 2025 (UTC)
::::::Nope. A birth date on a tombstone can never be definitive. Moreover, that is a state, not a family plot, unlike the Donaghey one in Derry. Are you claiming that the Donagheys got their own name wrong? I cannot understand your flippant attitude to this question and won't be engaging in endless debate about it [[User:Billsmith60|Billsmith60]] ([[User talk:Billsmith60|talk]]) 21:28, 16 December 2025 (UTC)
:::::::A gravestone that states their parents name is not a [[WP:RS|reliable source]] for how their surname was. You came to the talk page for a consensus (thank you for that), but it's quite clear consensus has not been reached. And the parents wouldn't have gotten their name wrong, as they didn't make the gravestone and were in fact dead at the time. There are plenty of examples of family with differently spelled surnames, otherwise surnames wouldn't evolve and change over time. Transcription issues on birth certificates that no one noticed and become official etc. [[User:Canterbury Tail|<b style="color: Blue;">Canterbury Tail</b>]] [[User talk:Canterbury Tail|<i style="color: Blue;">talk</i>]] 22:03, 16 December 2025 (UTC)
:::::::::Also where did you get that photo of the gravestone? It's a different gravestone to what is detailed as being at the grave. [[User:Canterbury Tail|<b style="color: Blue;">Canterbury Tail</b>]] [[User talk:Canterbury Tail|<i style="color: Blue;">talk</i>]] 23:37, 16 December 2025 (UTC)
::::::::::What I think (confidently, but of course it would be original research) is that this victim was called "Gerry Donaghy" in everyday parlance, as would be the case in Derry city and elsewhere. Hence, with "Gerard" being far more common than "Gerald" in NI, it was assumed that the diminutive "Gerry" must be "Gerard", when I believe that is not the case and that "Gerald" is correct. The same goes for the surname: Donaghy is much more common than Donaghey, although less so than with Gerard/Gerald. In addition to the original gravestone photo and evidence from the Saville Inquiry into Bloody Sunday, which support my view that the correct name is "Gerald Donaghey", please note the following. I really have no axe to grind here, merely wishing this article to be correct in naming this victim.
::::::::::1. https://museumoffreederry.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Family-statement-Jan-2012.pdf: '''The Bloody Sunday Trust''':. 2012 statement from Bloody Sunday families on the Bloody Sunday March (p. 3): "Gerald Donaghey – represented by Geraldine Donaghey".
::::::::::2. https://www.cain.ulst.ac.uk/victims/memorials/photos/Derry/Rossville_St/BS_Monument/lrg/DER07MEM_BS_Mon_Rossville_St_0122.JPG '''Bloody Sunday memorial''': "Gerald V. Donaghey".
::::::::::3. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/17620064/gerald-vincent-donaghey#view-photo=9352175 '''New headstone in Derry City cemetery, mounted by the brothers or sisters of the victim''': "In memory of our dear parents Charles Donaghey … Rebecca Donaghey … their son Gerald". [I accept that find a grave is not regarded as a reliable source…]
::::::::::4. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-foyle-west-18454782 '''BBC''': "Gerald Donaghey ..."
::::::::::5. https://cain.ulster.ac.uk/images/photos/bsunday/donaghy.htm '''Cain web service''': "Photograph of Gerald Donaghy, killed on 'Bloody Sunday', 30 January 1972" [[User:Billsmith60|Billsmith60]] ([[User talk:Billsmith60|talk]]) 12:55, 17 December 2025 (UTC)
::::::::I agree about the need for consensus at all times and that none has been reached. The fact that the Saville Inquiry also has 'Gerald Donaghey' is further evidence that 'Gerard Donaghy' is wrong. As regards the gravestone: the victim's parents died some time apart. If the surviving parent did not arrange the headstone then a close family member surely did so – evidence that they know the correct name. Anyhow, I'll dig further. Cheers [[User:Billsmith60|Billsmith60]] ([[User talk:Billsmith60|talk]]) 11:15, 17 December 2025 (UTC)
:::::::::Query again, where did you get thet photo as it seems to be different to what is detail as being the grave in any other photos. For the record, I believe you're correct, we just need to have it backed up. [[User:Canterbury Tail|<b style="color: Blue;">Canterbury Tail</b>]] [[User talk:Canterbury Tail|<i style="color: Blue;">talk</i>]] 12:50, 17 December 2025 (UTC)
::::::::::Sorry, my updated post above missed yours by a couple of seconds [[User:Billsmith60|Billsmith60]] ([[User talk:Billsmith60|talk]]) 12:56, 17 December 2025 (UTC)