N.Irish 'Bloody Sunday' Probe Enters Final Phase

LONDONDERRY, Northern Ireland (Reuters) - The longest-running and costliest
public inquiry in British legal history -- into Northern Ireland's so-called "Bloody Sunday" -- entered its final phase on Monday.

The tribunal investigating the 1972 killing of 13 civilians by paratroopers began hearing closing speeches as some families of the dead expressed hope their loved ones would be declared innocent.

Bloody Sunday was one of the most traumatic events in the province's 30-year "Troubles," fueling suspicion of the authorities among the Catholic minority and prompting dozens to join the IRA's violent campaign against British rule.