A newspaper’s commemoration of the Bloody Sunday massacre 50 years ago last January has been voted the best front page of 2022 by HoldtheFrontPage readers.
The Derry Journal scored a runaway victory in our annual poll for its dramatic front page ‘Never Forget.’
The bi-weekly title, one of the oldest continuously published newspapers in the UK, celebrated its 250th birthday last June having started life as the Londonderry Journal and General Advertiser in 1772.
Its commemorative front page marking 50 years since the January 1972 massacre which led to the deaths of 14 people gained more than 6,200 votes in our poll, totalling 89pc of those cast.
Scottish daily The National’s Wordle-themed front page on the Partygate scandal was a distant second with the Liverpool Echo’s Whose Side Are You On? splash following the killing of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel placed third.
A separate poll asking readers to select their favourite tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth II saw The Scotsman’s s elegant front page published the day after her death in September placed first.
Thirteen people were shot dead when British soldiers opened fire on civil rights demonstrators in the city on 30 January 1972, while another man died five months later of injuries attributed to the shooting.
William McKinney, an employee of the Journal, was among those killed.
Journal editor Brendan McDaid said at the time of publication: “The editorial team at the Derry Journal got together and wanted to create an edition reflecting back on a terrible day in our history when everything changed; an event that has shaped our city and its people over the decades.
“We wanted to do so in a poignant and fitting way and to give due recognition to the families of those killed and the wounded on Bloody Sunday, and the wider city who have supported them as they campaigned tirelessly for truth and justice.
“One of those who worked at the Journal at the time, William McKinney, was among the dead. He helped set the paper in which his death was recorded.
“Our small team of reporters and other staff have worked very hard over recent weeks to produce this commemorative edition. We have been humbled by, and are very grateful for, the reaction to it, locally, across Ireland and internationally.”