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Sunday 30 January 1972 stands as arguably the most deadly – and consequential – dates throughout three decades of unrest in this area.

In the streets where events unfolded – the legacy of that fateful day are painted on the walls and embedded in public consciousness.

A protest demonstration was held on a chilly yet clear afternoon in Londonderry.

The protest was opposing the policy of internment – holding suspects without due process – which had been implemented in response to three years of unrest.

Soldiers from the specialized division killed 13 people in the district – which was, and remains, a overwhelmingly Irish nationalist community.

A specific visual became especially iconic.

Pictures showed a religious figure, Fr Edward Daly, displaying a stained with blood cloth in his effort to defend a crowd moving a young man, Jackie Duddy, who had been mortally injured.

News camera operators documented considerable film on the day.

The archive contains Father Daly informing a journalist that troops "appeared to fire in all directions" and he was "absolutely certain" that there was no reason for the shooting.

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

The Widgery Tribunal found the military had been attacked first.

Throughout the resolution efforts, Tony Blair's government commissioned a fresh examination, after campaigning by surviving kin, who said the initial inquiry had been a whitewash.

During 2010, the conclusion by the investigation said that on balance, the military personnel had fired first and that zero among the victims had posed any threat.

At that time head of state, the leader, issued an apology in the Parliament – stating killings were "improper and unacceptable."

The police began to examine the events.

A military veteran, identified as the accused, was prosecuted for homicide.

Accusations were made over the deaths of James Wray, twenty-two, and in his mid-twenties the second individual.

The defendant was additionally charged of seeking to harm several people, other civilians, more people, another person, and an unknown person.

There is a legal order maintaining the defendant's anonymity, which his lawyers have argued is necessary because he is at threat.

He testified the examination that he had solely shot at persons who were armed.

That claim was disputed in the concluding document.

Information from the examination could not be used immediately as proof in the court case.

In court, the veteran was hidden from public using a privacy screen.

He made statements for the first time in court at a hearing in December 2024, to reply "not guilty" when the allegations were presented.

Relatives of those who were killed on that day travelled from Londonderry to the judicial building daily of the case.

A family member, whose relative was fatally wounded, said they were aware that attending the case would be painful.

"I remember the events in my mind's eye," John said, as we visited the primary sites referenced in the case – from the location, where the victim was killed, to the adjacent the courtyard, where the individual and the second person were fatally wounded.

"It returns me to where I was that day.

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

"I went through each detail during the proceedings.

"But even with experiencing everything – it's still meaningful for me."