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January 30th, 1972 stands as among the most fatal – and significant – days during three decades of conflict in the region.

In the streets where it happened – the legacy of the tragic events are visible on the structures and embedded in people's minds.

A civil rights march was held on a cold but bright afternoon in the city.

The protest was opposing the system of detention without trial – imprisoning people without trial – which had been implemented following an extended period of unrest.

Soldiers from the Parachute Regiment fatally wounded multiple civilians in the neighborhood – which was, and remains, a overwhelmingly Irish nationalist population.

A particular photograph became especially iconic.

Pictures showed a religious figure, the priest, using a stained with blood cloth in his effort to defend a group carrying a young man, the injured teenager, who had been fatally wounded.

News camera operators captured much footage on the day.

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

That version of what happened was disputed by the first inquiry.

The first investigation concluded the Army had been fired upon initially.

In the negotiation period, the administration commissioned a fresh examination, in response to advocacy by bereaved relatives, who said the first investigation had been a whitewash.

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

At that time Prime Minister, the leader, expressed regret in the Parliament – declaring deaths were "unjustified and inexcusable."

The police commenced investigate the events.

An ex-soldier, referred to as Soldier F, was brought to trial for homicide.

He was charged concerning the killings of James Wray, 22, and twenty-six-year-old another victim.

Soldier F was also accused of trying to kill Patrick O'Donnell, additional persons, further individuals, another person, and an unknown person.

Exists a judicial decision maintaining the veteran's privacy, which his lawyers have maintained is required because he is at risk of attack.

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

This assertion was dismissed in the final report.

Evidence from the examination could not be used immediately as evidence in the legal proceedings.

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

He addressed the court for the initial occasion in court at a session in December 2024, to reply "innocent" when the accusations were read.

Family members of the deceased on that day made the trip from Londonderry to the courthouse every day of the case.

A family member, whose sibling was killed, said they understood that attending the proceedings would be difficult.

"I remember all details in my memory," he said, as we visited the key areas mentioned in the case – from Rossville Street, where his brother was killed, to the adjacent the area, where James Wray and the second person were died.

"It reminds me to where I was that day.

"I helped to carry the victim and lay him in the ambulance.

"I went through every moment during the evidence.

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