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Sunday 30 January 1972 is remembered as one of the deadliest – and significant – occasions in thirty years of unrest in this area.

Throughout the area where it happened – the legacy of that fateful day are displayed on the structures and seared in public consciousness.

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

The demonstration was opposing the practice of detention without trial – detaining individuals without due process – which had been implemented after three years of unrest.

Soldiers from the elite army unit shot dead multiple civilians in the district – which was, and still is, a predominantly Irish nationalist population.

One image became especially iconic.

Pictures showed a Catholic priest, Fr Edward Daly, using a stained with blood cloth in his effort to protect a assembly moving a youth, the fatally wounded individual, who had been killed.

Media personnel recorded extensive video on the day.

Historical records includes Fr Daly telling a reporter that soldiers "gave the impression they would fire in all directions" and he was "absolutely certain" that there was no provocation for the gunfire.

This account of events was disputed by the first inquiry.

The initial inquiry determined the soldiers had been shot at first.

During the resolution efforts, the ruling party commissioned a fresh examination, following pressure by surviving kin, who said the first investigation had been a cover-up.

That year, the findings by the inquiry said that generally, the paratroopers had fired first and that zero among the individuals had posed any threat.

At that time head of state, the Prime Minister, issued an apology in the Parliament – saying deaths were "unjustified and unacceptable."

Law enforcement started to investigate the events.

One former paratrooper, known as the defendant, was brought to trial for homicide.

Accusations were made over the killings of one victim, 22, and 26-year-old the second individual.

The accused was additionally charged of attempting to murder multiple individuals, additional persons, more people, an additional individual, and an unidentified individual.

There is a legal order preserving the defendant's anonymity, which his legal team have maintained is necessary because he is at threat.

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

This assertion was rejected in the official findings.

Material from the investigation could not be used straightforwardly as evidence in the legal proceedings.

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

He spoke for the initial occasion in court at a hearing in December 2024, to answer "not guilty" when the allegations were presented.

Relatives of the victims on the incident travelled from Londonderry to the judicial building each day of the proceedings.

One relative, whose relative was fatally wounded, said they were aware that attending the trial would be emotional.

"I can see the events in my memory," he said, as we visited the key areas referenced in the case – from the location, where his brother was fatally wounded, to the adjacent the courtyard, where James Wray and another victim were died.

"It even takes me back to where I was that day.

"I assisted with Michael and lay him in the ambulance.

"I experienced again the entire event during the testimony.

"But even with experiencing all that – it's still worthwhile for me."