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January 30th, 1972 stands as arguably the most fatal – and momentous – days in multiple decades of unrest in the region.

In the streets where it happened – the legacy of the tragic events are visible on the walls and embedded in collective memory.

A civil rights march was conducted on a chilly yet clear afternoon in Derry.

The demonstration was a protest against the practice of internment – imprisoning people without trial – which had been established following an extended period of conflict.

Military personnel from the specialized division killed multiple civilians in the neighborhood – which was, and still is, a strongly republican community.

One image became particularly iconic.

Photographs showed a clergyman, the priest, using a stained with blood white handkerchief while attempting to protect a group carrying a young man, the injured teenager, who had been killed.

Media personnel captured considerable film on the day.

Documented accounts features Fr Daly telling a reporter that troops "appeared to discharge weapons randomly" and he was "absolutely certain" that there was no justification for the shooting.

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

The Widgery Tribunal concluded the soldiers had been fired upon initially.

During the negotiation period, the ruling party commissioned another inquiry, after campaigning by family members, who said the first investigation had been a whitewash.

That year, the report by the inquiry said that on balance, the military personnel had initiated shooting and that not one of the casualties had posed any threat.

The contemporary head of state, the leader, apologised in the Parliament – stating killings were "without justification and unjustifiable."

Law enforcement started to investigate the matter.

A military veteran, identified as Soldier F, was prosecuted for murder.

Indictments were filed over the fatalities of one victim, in his twenties, and 26-year-old another victim.

The defendant was further implicated of seeking to harm several people, other civilians, further individuals, another person, and an unnamed civilian.

There is a legal order protecting the soldier's privacy, which his legal team have argued is necessary because he is at risk of attack.

He told the examination that he had exclusively discharged his weapon at individuals who were possessing firearms.

This assertion was dismissed in the official findings.

Information from the investigation would not be used immediately as testimony in the criminal process.

In the dock, the accused was screened from view behind a protective barrier.

He spoke for the first time in the proceedings at a session in that month, to answer "innocent" when the accusations were presented.

Kin of the deceased on that day travelled from Londonderry to the judicial building each day of the trial.

John Kelly, whose sibling was fatally wounded, said they were aware that attending the case would be emotional.

"I remember all details in my memory," he said, as we examined the primary sites mentioned in the trial – from Rossville Street, where Michael was killed, to the adjoining Glenfada Park, where one victim and the second person were fatally wounded.

"It reminds me to where I was that day.

"I helped to carry the victim and place him in the vehicle.

"I went through every moment during the evidence.

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