The 48 hour fast was an idea that Caitríona herself came up with. She wanted to do something personally to highlight the injustice suffered by her dad, Colin.
She brought the idea of a 48 hour fast to the committee for discussion and the committee agreed to support her decision to undertake the fast.
It was decided that to maximize publicity for the family's campaign Caitríona would travel to different locations throughout the six counties, and leaflets would be handed out in all locations.
DAY 1
Lurgan
The 48 hour fast got of to a great start in Colin's home town. A large number of family, friends and supporters gathered in Lurgan to start Caitríona off on her journey.
Caitríona and the family were showered with support from passers by.
Portadown
The campaign group then travelled to Portadown and spent 2 hours handing out leaflets and gathering support for the family's campaign. On arriving in Portadown Colin's family and friends were met by Garvaghy road residents spokesperson Breandán Mac Cionnaith who wished the family well in their endeavours.
Newry
Newry was the next port of call and Caitríona and the campaign members were met by a large number of Newry supporters who helped hand out leaflets. The support was overwhelming from the public and even the heavy rain and the RUC harrasment they received failed to dampen their spirits.
The victimisation of Colin's family and friends by the RUC had the opposite effect to that which was intended. From the outset the family had stated that they would not be silenced. This was the case in Newry as friends and supporters of the family rallied around and confronted the RUC in their attempt to disrupt the vigil.
Strabane
With their spirits high they headed off on the long journey to Strabane, While distributing leaflets in Strabane to the public, the family were heartened by the high level of support they received.
During their stay in Strabane Colin's brother Paul was interviewed by the local media. In reply to the question put to him as to why he thought his brother Colin had been singled out, Paul in his interview stated:
"It goes back to allegations of security force collusion in a 1990 gun attack during which Colin narrowly escaped with his life. A close friend of the family, Sam Marshall, died in that attack."
Paul continued to pose the question
"Is it possible that the very forces accused of direct involvement in that murder have conspired again in 2009 to conveniently imprison one of the surviving two key witnesses to Sam's murder, in order to discredit him and any testimony he may give?"
Paul went on to highlight the history of injustice which Colin has suffered at the hands of the state. Paul concluded:
"This is an ongoing process of state injustice against Colin. We have campaigned on his behalf before and we are prepared to do it again."
IRSP spokesperson Willie Gallagher who met with the family said his organisation was fully behind the Duffy family campaign because it was a "basic human rights issue".
"We are here in support of the family and we will be involved in the campaign. For us, it's a basic human rights issue. We believe Colin Duffy is guilty of being innocent and his human rights have been infringed."
Derry
Once again the campaign group continued on their journey, albeit a relatively short one, to Derry. On arriving at Free Derry Corner, the family and friends were met by Danny McBrearty from the RNU, along with numerous other local supporters of the campaign.
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During their stay at Free Derry Corner, Colin's brother Paul during interviews and while addressing the crowd stated:
"Caitríona was four years-old when her father was arrested in 1993 and she campaigned for his release then. We have a picture of her standing at Free Derry Corner then with a placard and now she is back again. She said she knows what it is like for her father to go to jail and said she doesn’t want her younger brothers and sisters to go through what she went through.”
Paul also said he felt it was important to bring the campaign to Derry:
“We think it is appropriate to be here at Free Derry Corner, which is synonymous with the campaign for justice and human rights both here in Ireland and across the world.”
While in Derry the campaign group took the opportunity to distribute hundreds of leaflets to the large crowd in attendance at the Derry City match at the Brandywell.
The campaign group then headed back to Free Derry Corner, where arrangements were made to accomodate those staying over in Derry. All who stayed over wish to offer their sincere thanks to all those who made our stay in Derry such a great occasion.