Dear Derry Podcast returning in September
Ami Nash will interview younger members of the Bloody Sunday families for her podcast series
Chatting to host Ami Nash, you can almost hear Don La Fontaine’s dramatic announcement: “Coming soon to an internet near you - The Dear Derry Podcast - Season Two, Part Two”.
Pausing over the summer to recharge her pod batteries, Ami is looking forward to interviewing guests from younger generations of the Bloody Sunday families, come September.
Ami’s uncle, William Nash, was murdered on Bloody Sunday and her granda, Alex Nash was shot and injured as he ran to save his son.
“That is a really powerful story of father and son love. It has always stuck with me,” said Amy, who described herself as “a second generation Bloody Sunday family member”.
“I am not trying to ‘‘grief thief '’ or anything like that, I just feel it is really important for me to capture the memories and voices of the first generation of the families,” she added.
That is a big part of the Dear Derry Podcast, which grew out ‘Dear Derry’ - my first book, published in September 2022.
“Initially, I interviewed my family and friends. Then, in the second season I interviewed the Bloody Sunday families. That was super important to me because some of the people I have interviewed campaigned for the Civil Rights Movement; took part in the Truth and Justice Campaign; were there during the Saville Inquiry.
“They have spent their entire lives fighting for justice, so for me it is very important to capture their stories as well,” reflected Ami, who added she was also interested in speaking to people who were injured on Bloody Sunday and people who witnessed it.
“The second season is about the witnesses, and people who were just on the march, and capturing that time in our history,” said Ami passionately.
“I was at the Soldier F Trial and am extremely aware of the generational trauma caused by Bloody Sunday,” she added.
“I didn’t know my Uncle Willie and my granda died when I was very young. It is a complicated feeling to grieve men you don’t know. I know Jean [Hegarty] whose brother Kevin McElhinney was murdered on Bloody Sunday, and I know Caroline [O’Donnell] whose father Patsy was seriously wounded, and all the other family members, and my own family.
“When we were at the Soldier F Trial, seeing them breaking down, I can’t even articulate how I felt.
“It is a complicated thing I am going through but I am trying to educate myself and preserve it and pass on to my children and my nieces and nephews, what I and other younger people have heard straight from the first generation’s mouth,” said Ami.
“The Museum of Free Derry has been so incredibly supportive. That’s how I know everybody and attending the Soldier F Trial strengthened those relationships,” she added.
“A big goal of mine would be to have a camera and all the gear so I can do it all properly but for now there is a sense of urgency.
‘Paddy has been a great role model. Himself and my uncle Banty did a lot for the Saville Inquiry’
“I interviewed my Uncle Paddy. He in a big way is the reason I am doing this because Paddy is like my Granda. That’s what he feels like to me. He was there during the Inquiry. I am constantly asking him, ‘Paddy, how should we carry your truth going forward?’
“Paddy has been a great role model. Himself and my uncle Banty did a lot for the Saville Inquiry. Sadly Banty passed away, so I feel Paddy is holding on for Banty and I am trying to hold on too. It is important that those stories get passed down properly.
“It has gone well so far and I am just taking a short break now because it is a lot, emotionally and physically. When you are doing something like this you need to give it your all and I want to give these stories the energy and the love they deserve,” said the Ballymagroarty ‘community librarian’.
So far Ami has interviewed Jimmy Toye, Billy McVeigh, Paddy Nash, Caroline O’Donnell, and Glenn Doherty (son of Paddy Doherty).
“Once I finish Season Two, I am going to put out a message on social media asking if any young people out there are interested in taking part. After all, it is our history as Derry people. It changed us forever,” said Ami.
“One of my first memories was being taken out of school when the Saville Inquiry report was published. I was very young. I didn’t know what was going on.
“At 18 I went to England for a decade and it wasn’t until I came back and I started working at the Museum of Free Derry that I actually felt the weight of what had happened, even as someone who didn’t live it. My uncle was murdered and he was only 19.
“I moved back home two years ago and it was the best decision I ever made in my life. Derry is amazing. I love it. I was struggling to get the podcast going when I was over in England. II didn’t realise I needed to be in Derry to get it out.
“It has been brilliant. I have got a new love for Derry. Meeting people and them telling me about growing up in the 1970s and Bloody Sunday and everything they have accomplished - even getting Soldier F into court, which was huge, even though he got off.”