🔗 Share this article

January 30th, 1972 stands as one of the most deadly – and momentous – days in thirty years of unrest in this area.

In the streets where events unfolded – the legacy of that fateful day are visible on the buildings and seared in public consciousness.

A protest demonstration was organized on a cold but bright day in Derry.

The protest was a protest against the policy of imprisonment without charges – imprisoning people without legal proceedings – which had been put in place in response to three years of unrest.

Troops from the specialized division fatally wounded thirteen individuals in the district – which was, and remains, a strongly republican area.

A particular photograph became particularly memorable.

Pictures showed a Catholic priest, Fr Edward Daly, displaying a bloodied fabric while attempting to shield a group moving a teenager, Jackie Duddy, who had been killed.

Media personnel documented extensive video on the day.

Historical records contains the priest telling a media representative that military personnel "just seemed to shoot indiscriminately" 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 determined the soldiers had been shot at first.

In the resolution efforts, the administration set up another inquiry, following pressure by bereaved relatives, who said Widgery had been a inadequate investigation.

That year, the report by the investigation said that overall, the soldiers had initiated shooting and that not one of the victims had posed any threat.

The contemporary government leader, the Prime Minister, expressed regret in the Parliament – saying fatalities were "improper and unjustifiable."

Authorities started to look into the incident.

An ex-soldier, identified as the accused, was charged for murder.

Accusations were made regarding the fatalities of the first individual, in his twenties, and twenty-six-year-old the second individual.

Soldier F was also accused of seeking to harm several people, Joseph Friel, further individuals, an additional individual, and an unidentified individual.

There is a judicial decision maintaining the veteran's privacy, which his attorneys have argued is essential because he is at threat.

He told the Saville Inquiry that he had exclusively discharged his weapon at people who were possessing firearms.

That claim was disputed in the final report.

Evidence from the examination would not be used straightforwardly as testimony in the court case.

In court, the accused was hidden from public using a blue curtain.

He spoke for the opening instance in the hearing at a proceeding in December 2024, to answer "innocent" when the allegations were read.

Kin of the victims on the incident travelled from Derry to the judicial building every day of the case.

A family member, whose relative was fatally wounded, said they always knew that listening to the trial would be emotional.

"I can see everything in my mind's eye," the relative said, as we visited the main locations discussed in the case – from the street, where his brother was shot dead, to the adjacent Glenfada Park, where James Wray and William McKinney were died.

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

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

"I relived every moment during the proceedings.

"Despite having to go through the process – it's still valuable for me."