Day 5 ~ Derry–Londonderry

Today we had a wonderful walking tour atop the Derry Wall, with Rohan, a Chinese-Irish Buddhist. He has an interesting perspective of the conflict in Northern Ireland and what he hopes for the future. He believes that fear feeds the conflict between the two groups. With economic security and the blending of the groups through social, educational and political interaction, he hopes the conflicts will subside.

Before going any further, I want to go back to the early 1600’s and the Plantations of Ireland. This involved the mass confiscations of land from the Irish in northern Ireland by the English crown and the colonization of this land with settlers from Great Britain. The plantations changed the demography of Ireland by creating large communities with a British and Protestant identity which secured the authority of Crown government in Ireland. Great Britain literally planted its citizens in Ireland to take control.

Derry is 70% Catholic, while the rest of Northern Ireland is only 41%. To maintain political power, the Protestants discriminated against the Catholics in jobs, the ability to own property, and the ability to vote. Below is one of the many murals found in the Bogside as the Catholics demonstrated for their civil rights.

 

In January of 1972, British soldiers shot 28 unarmed civilians during a peaceful protest march against internment (the mass arrest and imprisonment without trial of people suspected of being involved with the Irish Republican Army). Of the twenty-eight shot, fourteen died during the demonstration. Bloody Sunday, as this day was called, was one of the most significant events of The Troubles because a large number of civilian citizens were killed, by forces of the state, in full view of the public and the press. The mural below depicts a priest waving a blood stained handkerchief at the soldiers as he leads a group of men carrying the body of the youngest victim away from the scene of the shooting.

Derry is the only remaining completely intact walled city in Ireland.  The Walls were built in 1613–1619 for the early 17th century settlers from England and Scotland. Catholics were not allowed inside the city walls, but were given bog land on the outside to live (Bogside). The Walls, which  are approximately 1 mile  in circumference, are completely intact and form a walkway around the inner city. The building behind the wall is the Apprentice Boys Memorial Hall and the courthouse. These boys were the builders of the wall.

 

Below is the Guildhall, the city hall in Derry. Today at 11:00, while we were sitting in the Guildhall Square, we observed a moment of silence for the victims of the Manchester Bombing.

Below is the view from our room of the Peace Bridge over the Foyle River. After our tour, we walked over the foot bridge that was built in 2011.

This was our view from the bridge with the Republic of Ireland hills in the distance.  We have had good weather on trip so far, but today was over the top beautiful with a high of 76 and sunny.

A closing note: Originally called Derry, the British changed its name to Londonderry.  Today the Nationalists (Catholics) call it Derry, while the Unionists (Protestants) call it Londonderry. Tomorrow we leave Northern Ireland and travel to the Republic of Ireland.