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January 30th, 1972 remains among the most fatal – and momentous – occasions in thirty years of conflict in Northern Ireland.

Throughout the area of the incident – the legacy of Bloody Sunday are displayed on the walls and seared in collective memory.

A civil rights march was held on a chilly yet clear period in Londonderry.

The demonstration was challenging the system of detention without trial – detaining individuals without legal proceedings – which had been established following three years of violence.

Soldiers from the elite army unit fatally wounded thirteen individuals in the district – which was, and still is, a strongly republican community.

A particular photograph became notably prominent.

Pictures showed a religious figure, Father Daly, waving a bloodied cloth while attempting to protect a assembly carrying a young man, the injured teenager, who had been fatally wounded.

Media personnel recorded considerable film on the day.

The archive contains Father Daly explaining to a reporter that soldiers "gave the impression they would shoot indiscriminately" and he was "absolutely certain" that there was no justification for the gunfire.

The narrative of what happened was disputed by the initial investigation.

The initial inquiry found the Army had been attacked first.

In the negotiation period, the ruling party established a fresh examination, after campaigning by family members, who said Widgery had been a cover-up.

That year, the conclusion by the inquiry said that on balance, the military personnel had fired first and that not one of the individuals had presented danger.

The then Prime Minister, the Prime Minister, apologised in the Parliament – saying fatalities were "improper and unacceptable."

Authorities started to examine the events.

One former paratrooper, known as the defendant, was brought to trial for murder.

Accusations were made regarding the killings of one victim, twenty-two, and in his mid-twenties the second individual.

The defendant was also accused of seeking to harm several people, additional persons, further individuals, an additional individual, and an unknown person.

There is a judicial decision protecting the veteran's privacy, which his legal team have claimed is required because he is at danger.

He testified the Saville Inquiry that he had exclusively discharged his weapon at individuals who were armed.

That claim was disputed in the official findings.

Evidence from the investigation could not be used directly as proof in the court case.

During the trial, the veteran was shielded from sight with a protective barrier.

He made statements for the initial occasion in the proceedings at a proceeding in December 2024, to answer "not responsible" when the accusations were put to him.

Relatives of those who were killed on the incident travelled from Derry to the courthouse daily of the trial.

A family member, whose sibling was fatally wounded, said they were aware that hearing the case would be difficult.

"I remember all details in my recollection," John said, as we examined the primary sites referenced in the case – from Rossville Street, where the victim was killed, to the adjoining the area, where the individual and William McKinney were fatally wounded.

"It even takes me back to where I was that day.

"I participated in moving Michael and place him in the ambulance.

"I relived every moment during the proceedings.

"Notwithstanding enduring all that – it's still meaningful for me."