🔗 Share this article

Sunday 30 January 1972 stands as one of the deadliest – and momentous – occasions during multiple decades of conflict in Northern Ireland.

In the streets where events unfolded – the legacy of Bloody Sunday are painted on the walls and embedded in public consciousness.

A civil rights march was conducted on a chilly yet clear afternoon in Derry.

The demonstration was opposing the policy of imprisonment without charges – detaining individuals without due process – which had been put in place following three years of conflict.

Military personnel from the Parachute Regiment fatally wounded thirteen individuals in the neighborhood – which was, and remains, a strongly nationalist area.

One image became especially memorable.

Photographs showed a religious figure, Fr Edward Daly, waving a bloodied fabric in his effort to defend a group moving a teenager, Jackie Duddy, who had been fatally wounded.

Media personnel recorded extensive video on the day.

Historical records includes Father Daly telling a journalist that soldiers "appeared to fire in all directions" and he was "totally convinced" that there was no provocation for the gunfire.

The narrative of the incident was disputed by the first inquiry.

The Widgery Tribunal concluded the Army had been fired upon initially.

In the peace process, Tony Blair's government established a fresh examination, following pressure by surviving kin, who said the initial inquiry had been a whitewash.

That year, the report by the inquiry said that generally, the military personnel had fired first and that not one of the victims had been armed.

At that time Prime Minister, the Prime Minister, expressed regret in the government chamber – stating killings were "unjustified and unacceptable."

Law enforcement began to examine the incident.

An ex-soldier, identified as the defendant, was prosecuted for homicide.

He was charged regarding the killings of one victim, in his twenties, and twenty-six-year-old another victim.

The defendant was further implicated of seeking to harm Patrick O'Donnell, additional persons, Joe Mahon, Michael Quinn, and an unknown person.

Remains a court ruling maintaining the soldier's anonymity, which his attorneys have maintained is required because he is at risk of attack.

He told the investigation that he had only fired at persons who were possessing firearms.

This assertion was rejected in the official findings.

Evidence from the examination was unable to be used immediately as evidence in the court case.

In court, the defendant was screened from view using a privacy screen.

He made statements for the opening instance in the hearing at a proceeding in December 2024, to respond "not responsible" when the allegations were put to him.

Kin of those who were killed on that day made the trip from Derry to the judicial building each day of the trial.

John Kelly, whose brother Michael was killed, said they were aware that listening to the proceedings would be emotional.

"I can see the events in my recollection," he said, as we visited the primary sites referenced in the proceedings – from Rossville Street, where the victim was killed, to the adjacent Glenfada Park, where the individual and another victim were died.

"It returns me to where I was that day.

"I helped to carry my brother and place him in the medical transport.

"I relived each detail during the evidence.

"Despite enduring everything – it's still meaningful for me."