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January 30th, 1972 is remembered as one of the most fatal – and significant – days during three decades of violence in Northern Ireland.

In the streets where it happened – the legacy of Bloody Sunday are visible on the buildings and embedded in public consciousness.

A public gathering was conducted on a chilly yet clear period in Derry.

The protest was challenging the policy of imprisonment without charges – detaining individuals without trial – which had been implemented following three years of violence.

Military personnel from the specialized division shot dead multiple civilians in the Bogside area – which was, and remains, a predominantly Irish nationalist population.

A specific visual became notably iconic.

Pictures showed a religious figure, the priest, displaying a blood-stained cloth in his effort to defend a group transporting a youth, the injured teenager, who had been mortally injured.

Media personnel recorded much footage on the day.

Documented accounts includes the priest informing a reporter that military personnel "appeared to discharge weapons randomly" and he was "completely sure" that there was no reason for the gunfire.

This account of the incident was disputed by the first inquiry.

The Widgery Tribunal found the military had been shot at first.

During the resolution efforts, the ruling party commissioned another inquiry, in response to advocacy by family members, who said the first investigation had been a inadequate investigation.

That year, the conclusion by the inquiry said that on balance, the military personnel had fired first and that none of the victims had presented danger.

The then head of state, the leader, expressed regret in the Parliament – declaring deaths were "improper and unacceptable."

The police commenced investigate the incident.

A military veteran, identified as the accused, was brought to trial for murder.

Indictments were filed over the fatalities of the first individual, 22, and 26-year-old another victim.

The accused was additionally charged of seeking to harm several people, Joseph Friel, more people, Michael Quinn, and an unnamed civilian.

Exists a legal order preserving the soldier's anonymity, which his attorneys have argued is required because he is at danger.

He testified the investigation that he had only fired at individuals who were carrying weapons.

This assertion was rejected in the official findings.

Evidence from the inquiry could not be used immediately as testimony in the court case.

In the dock, the accused was screened from view behind a blue curtain.

He addressed the court for the first time in court at a hearing in late 2024, to answer "innocent" when the charges were read.

Family members of those who were killed on the incident made the trip from the city to the courthouse daily of the proceedings.

John Kelly, whose brother Michael was fatally wounded, said they understood that hearing the trial would be difficult.

"I can see everything in my mind's eye," John said, as we visited the primary sites referenced in the proceedings – from the street, where his brother was shot dead, to the nearby Glenfada Park, where the individual and William McKinney were killed.

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

"I participated in moving Michael and place him in the vehicle.

"I went through each detail during the proceedings.

"But even with having to go through everything – it's still meaningful for me."