January 30th, 1972 remains one of the most fatal – and significant – days during multiple decades of unrest in the region.
Throughout the area where events unfolded – the legacy of that fateful day are visible on the walls and embedded in collective memory.
A protest demonstration was held on a chilly yet clear period in Derry.
The protest was challenging the system of internment – holding suspects without legal proceedings – which had been established in response to three years of conflict.
Military personnel from the elite army unit shot dead thirteen individuals in the neighborhood – which was, and remains, a overwhelmingly Irish nationalist population.
A particular photograph became notably prominent.
Photographs showed a clergyman, Fr Edward Daly, waving a bloodied cloth as he tried to shield a assembly transporting a youth, the injured teenager, who had been fatally wounded.
Media personnel documented considerable film on the day.
Historical records contains the priest telling a reporter that military personnel "just seemed to shoot indiscriminately" and he was "totally convinced" that there was no reason for the discharge of weapons.
That version of what happened was rejected by the original examination.
The initial inquiry concluded the military had been fired upon initially.
During the peace process, the ruling party established a fresh examination, following pressure by bereaved relatives, who said Widgery had been a inadequate investigation.
In 2010, the conclusion by Lord Saville said that overall, the paratroopers had discharged weapons initially and that none of the victims had posed any threat.
The then government leader, the leader, issued an apology in the Parliament – declaring deaths were "improper and unjustifiable."
Law enforcement started to investigate the events.
One former paratrooper, known as the defendant, was brought to trial for killing.
Indictments were filed over the fatalities of James Wray, 22, and twenty-six-year-old another victim.
The defendant was also accused of trying to kill Patrick O'Donnell, Joseph Friel, more people, Michael Quinn, and an unnamed civilian.
Exists a legal order protecting the defendant's identity protection, which his legal team have claimed is essential because he is at danger.
He stated to the Saville Inquiry that he had only fired at individuals who were possessing firearms.
That claim was disputed in the concluding document.
Material from the investigation would not be used directly as testimony in the criminal process.
During the trial, the veteran was hidden from public using a protective barrier.
He made statements for the first time in the hearing at a hearing in late 2024, to answer "not guilty" when the allegations were read.
Kin of the deceased on Bloody Sunday travelled from Londonderry to Belfast Crown Court daily of the trial.
John Kelly, whose brother Michael was died, said they always knew that listening to the trial would be emotional.
"I visualize everything in my mind's eye," the relative said, as we examined the key areas mentioned in the trial – from the location, where his brother was shot dead, to the nearby the courtyard, where the individual and William McKinney were killed.
"It returns me to my location that day.
"I assisted with my brother and place him in the ambulance.
"I went through each detail during the testimony.
"Notwithstanding enduring all that – it's still meaningful for me."
