Hall to fall silent as Saville Inquiry nears end

At the end of this week, the main room in Derry’s grand Guildhall, scene of the Bloody Sunday Tribunal, will fall silent.

Thursday or Friday will mark the end of oral evidence sessions at the Saville Inquiry after almost four years and more than 900 witnesses giving their accounts of what happened.

Since March 2000, the Inquiry has heard evidence from among others, former prime ministers, army generals, squaddies and IRA members, one of whom was jailed for bombing the Guildhall itself.

The quest to find out the truth of what happened on January 1972 when 13 unarmed civilians were shot dead by members of the Parachute Regiment has occupied 430 days of direct testimony.

Now the computers will be switched off as the tribunal judges, barristers, solicitors and other Inquiry staff return to England.

After four years of living out of suitcases five days a week, many will be relieved to reclaim their lives.

But this is not the end of the Inquiry. The equipment will be kept in place at the Guildhall in order to facilitate oral submissions in June and the closing statement by Counsel to the Inquiry Christopher Clarke QC in October.

The nearby media centre will be kept in place for journalists to report on its final stages.

After that, the equipment will be packed up and returned to the Northern Ireland Office to be disposed of.

The traumatic events of Bloody Sunday cast a long shadow over the people of the city.

And since it was set up six years ago, the Inquiry has become a major part of the lives of thousands of people in Derry and beyond.

For the families of those who died on January 30, 1972, the announcement by Tony Blair was the culmination of years of tireless campaigning in an effort to find out the truth.

For many of the lawyers who have turned down other work to concentrate on the Inquiry, it has meant putting their personal and professional lives on hold.

However, it can be argued that many high-flying barristers have benefited financially from working on the Inquiry.

For the reporters who have dutifully covered the daily evidence, it will mean having to adjust to covering new stories.

But it is not just those with a vested interest in the Inquiry who have been affected by it.

A mini-industry has grown up around it, with hotels, bars, cafes and taxi firms enjoying a commercial spin-off from one of the most wide-ranging inquiries ever set up.