Wreaths laid at Bloody Sunday monument

A wreath-laying ceremony was held at the Bloody Sunday monument in Derry this morning as the city continues mark the 44th anniversary of the massacre.

Relatives (pictured) of those killed laid floral tributes at the Bloody Sunday monument on Rossville Street at a memorial service held at 11.00am this morning.

Prayers and a minute's silence were offered for the dead and wounded.

Prayers were also offered for the gravely ill Bernard Gilmour, a leading Bloody Sunday justice campaigner whose brother Hugh (17) was one of those shot dead.

Among those in attendance were the Bishop of Derry Donal McKeown, the Reverend David Latimer from First Derry Presbyterian Church and Fr Michael Canny.

Yesterday, the relatives held a minute’s silence at the memorial at 4.00pm - the time British paratroopers opened fire on Civil Rights marchers on 30 January 1972.

The annual Bloody Sunday March for Justice will take place this afternoon, leaving Central Drive to make its way through the Creggan, Brandywell and Bogside areas for a rally at Free Derry Corner at which the main speaker will be prominent civil and human rights campaigner, Eamon McCann.