🔗 Share this article

January 30th, 1972 remains among the most deadly – and significant – dates in three decades of violence in the region.

In the streets where it happened – the images of that fateful day are displayed on the structures and etched in collective memory.

A public gathering was held on a wintry, sunny day in Derry.

The demonstration was a protest against the practice of internment – holding suspects without due process – which had been established in response to three years of unrest.

Troops from the Parachute Regiment shot dead 13 people in the district – which was, and still is, a strongly Irish nationalist population.

A particular photograph became particularly iconic.

Pictures showed a clergyman, Fr Edward Daly, waving a blood-stained fabric while attempting to shield a assembly moving a youth, the injured teenager, who had been mortally injured.

News camera operators captured extensive video on the day.

Historical records contains Father Daly telling a journalist that soldiers "just seemed to discharge weapons randomly" and he was "completely sure" that there was no provocation for the gunfire.

That version of what happened wasn't accepted by the first inquiry.

The initial inquiry concluded the soldiers had been shot at first.

During the peace process, the ruling party set up a new investigation, in response to advocacy by family members, who said the first investigation had been a cover-up.

In 2010, the findings by the inquiry said that on balance, the soldiers had fired first and that none of the casualties had posed any threat.

At that time Prime Minister, the leader, expressed regret in the House of Commons – saying killings were "unjustified and inexcusable."

The police started to investigate the incident.

One former paratrooper, identified as the accused, was brought to trial for killing.

Accusations were made concerning the killings of one victim, in his twenties, and twenty-six-year-old William McKinney.

The accused was further implicated of trying to kill several people, other civilians, more people, another person, and an unknown person.

Remains a court ruling preserving the veteran's privacy, which his attorneys have maintained is necessary because he is at risk of attack.

He stated to the Saville Inquiry that he had solely shot at individuals who were possessing firearms.

This assertion was rejected in the official findings.

Material from the examination could not be used directly as evidence in the criminal process.

In the dock, the defendant was shielded from sight using a privacy screen.

He spoke for the initial occasion in the proceedings at a session in late 2024, to reply "not responsible" when the allegations were read.

Relatives of the deceased on the incident made the trip from Londonderry to the judicial building each day of the trial.

John Kelly, whose relative was fatally wounded, said they understood that attending the case would be difficult.

"I can see all details in my mind's eye," the relative said, as we examined the key areas discussed in the case – from the street, where his brother was shot dead, to the adjoining Glenfada Park, where one victim and the second person were died.

"It even takes me back to my location that day.

"I participated in moving my brother and put him in the medical transport.

"I experienced again each detail during the testimony.

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