Brendan Duddy obituary

Brendan Duddy played a critical role in reducing tensions between loyalist marchers and residents in Derry.The businessman Brendan Duddy’s life was in many ways intertwined with the fortunes of his fellow Derry citizen Martin McGuinness, the former IRA chief of staff turned republican negotiator.Duddy, who has died aged 80, was trusted enough by McGuinness to establish what became known as “the link” and later as “the back channel”, between the IRA leadership in Der