As one of the worst massacres in British history reaches its 50th anniversary, the pain caused for families of the victims still runs deep.
A British elite parachute regiment shot 13 civil rights marchers dead on the streets of Londonderry (Derry) on Jan. 30, 1972, and the days, weeks and years that followed the Bloody Sunday massacre would only bring more chaos to Northern Ireland.
“For me, it's very sad that, you know, my father would have been here, had he lived,” said Caroline O'Donnell, the eldest daughter of Patrick O'Donnell who was killed during the infamous massacre.
Expressing her sadness, O’Donnel said: “He would have been able to -- he was only 32 on the day, with six children, the youngest being eight months. And it was just a terrible, terrible day for the city, but for families and my family, you know, so that it's just very mixed emotions, a lot of sadness.”
She added: “Very proud of my father and the fact of, you know, the man that he was. He was very much a family man.”
Looking back on the day, she said her memories are still vivid.
“I was at home, looking after the children. I wanted to go to the march but daddy wouldn't allow me so I wasn’t speaking to him,” she said with a smile.
But her smile quickly faded as she spoke about the rest of the day.
“We found out that my father was shot. I’d heard it from somebody in the street. I didn't know what was going on. And mama can tell us they had died. And it just devastated the whole family, devastated me as the oldest. I was very close to my father.”
Speaking about hope for justice for her father and the other victims, O’Donnell said she did not have a lot of faith.
“To be honest, I can't ... I don't know. Hopefully, justice will be done. But it's just taken so long. It's so dragged out," she said, adding that the process was being stalled.
"So, I'll just keep a very open mind if I'd have to. I'm not so sure it’s going to happen.”
