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January 30th, 1972 stands as one of the most fatal – and consequential – dates during thirty years of violence in this area.

Throughout the area where events unfolded – the images of that fateful day are displayed on the buildings and embedded in public consciousness.

A protest demonstration was conducted on a chilly yet clear period in the city.

The protest was challenging the policy of detention without trial – holding suspects without due process – which had been established following multiple years of unrest.

Military personnel from the specialized division fatally wounded thirteen individuals in the Bogside area – which was, and remains, a strongly nationalist community.

One image became notably prominent.

Pictures showed a clergyman, the priest, using a stained with blood fabric while attempting to shield a crowd transporting a teenager, Jackie Duddy, who had been killed.

Journalists recorded extensive video on the day.

The archive contains the priest informing a reporter that troops "gave the impression they would shoot indiscriminately" and he was "totally convinced" that there was no justification for the discharge of weapons.

The narrative of the incident was rejected by the original examination.

The first investigation concluded the Army had been shot at first.

In the resolution efforts, the ruling party set up a fresh examination, in response to advocacy by family members, who said Widgery had been a whitewash.

In 2010, the report by the investigation said that generally, the soldiers had initiated shooting and that none of the victims had been armed.

The then head of state, the leader, issued an apology in the Parliament – saying killings were "improper and inexcusable."

Law enforcement began to examine the incident.

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

Accusations were made regarding the fatalities of the first individual, 22, and twenty-six-year-old William McKinney.

The defendant was also accused of seeking to harm Patrick O'Donnell, additional persons, Joe Mahon, Michael Quinn, and an unnamed civilian.

Exists a court ruling preserving the soldier's anonymity, which his attorneys have claimed is necessary because he is at risk of attack.

He stated to the investigation that he had exclusively discharged his weapon at individuals who were armed.

This assertion was disputed in the official findings.

Information from the investigation would not be used straightforwardly as proof in the court case.

In the dock, the veteran was hidden from public behind a privacy screen.

He addressed the court for the opening instance in the proceedings at a proceeding in December 2024, to reply "not responsible" when the charges were put to him.

Family members of the deceased on Bloody Sunday travelled from the city to the courthouse each day of the proceedings.

One relative, whose sibling was killed, said they always knew that hearing the case would be emotional.

"I remember the events in my mind's eye," he said, as we examined the primary sites discussed in the trial – from Rossville Street, where the victim was fatally wounded, to the adjoining the courtyard, where the individual and William McKinney were fatally wounded.

"It reminds me to where I was that day.

"I helped to carry my brother and lay him in the vehicle.

"I went through each detail during the testimony.

"Notwithstanding experiencing the process – it's still valuable for me."