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43 km

Derry has a complete set of walls that form a 1.5 km walkway round the inner city. The walls are built from browny-grey schist, are about 8 ms thick and 9 ms high and have cannons placed at intervals, accompanied by panels giving the history of the city. Originally there were four gates, but now there are more. The walls were started in 1600 on command of Elizabeth I and completed during the reign of James I. The building of the walls and the inner city was funded by Guilds from City of London; they called it Plantation Town as they were aiming to import protestants. From the walls, we saw views of the Guildhall ( a Victorian Gothic building that’s been rebuilt several times after IRA bombs and has some good stained glass windows) , the nearby River Foyle, St Columb’s cathedral (inside the walls) which was built in 1600s (as a protestant church in a gothic style from a dark stone similar to the City walls) and of the Bogside and the murals. We read about the Apprentice Boys who defended the City during a siege of 105 days by the forces of King James II in 1688 until they were relieved –  the catholic James had been replaced by the protestant William of Orange in England, who was supported by Derry, whilst the remainder of Ireland supported James. We sheltered from the cold in a bar in Craft Village, then went for a meal at the Bay Leaf and finally returned to the Merchants House and sat reading and dozing in the magnificent drawing room.

Wednesday started with breakfast in the big dining room, followed by a briefing on the city from Peter Pyne. The area around Merchants House was set out 150 years ago to provide accommodation for the merchant classes. Originally the River Foyle looped through Bogside and later the area became a bog before the houses were built for workers from Donegal; in the 1990s slums and bombed out buildings were cleared and it was rebuilt. Peter advised us to visit the Tower Museum, St Columb’s cathedral, the Guildhall, the Free Derry Museum and the Apprentice Boys Hall; we managed all but the last.

The Tower Museum gives a detailed history of Derry and also contains a section on a Spanish Armada ship that was wrecked near Moville (after defeat in the channel, the Spanish Armada sailed round Scotland and Ireland on their way back to Spain and there are many tales of wrecks and stranded sailors). Both sections are excellent. Here are a few snippets from what we learned of the history of Derry: Ireland had mainly been ignored by its English rulers until there was trouble with Gaelic Lords in Ulster, causing Elizabeth I to send Docwra to try to sort things out. This lead to the Plantation Town being founded by the City Guilds during the reign of James I and filled with English and Scots protestants. We learned more about the 13 Apprentice Boys saving the City. The 1840s potato blight (when cereals were exported and local people starved) led to Derry becoming an important emigration port. Then Gladstone campaigned for Home Rule for Ireland, but it was not achieved until 1921 and the Partition which omitted Donegal from Ulster. Derry played an important role in WW2 as a naval base.

After lunch in the bar in Craft Village, we walked to Bogside, stopping first in the Bogside Artists Studio/gallery which provides photographs backing up the material used in designing the murals.  We then walked round the Rossville Road area looking at the murals painted by the three Bogside artists to commemorate the events in Bogside (see our photos below). Each mural is painted on the end wall of a house. Operation Motorman shows a soldier breaking a door with a hammer; Bloody Sunday shows some men carrying the body of the first fatality, Petrol Bomber shows a boy in a gas mask with a bomb, Death of Innocence shows a 14-year old girl who was killed in cross fire; the Peace Mural completed the series in 2004.

The Museum of Free Derry contains an archive of the has a history of the Bogside, showing with story boards and videos how a situation of conflict was built up, leading to the civil rights the marches of the late 1960s, the battle of the Bogside,  and the invasion of Free Derry, Internment, Bloody Sunday in 1972, and finally the two Bloody Sunday enquiries. In the background is a sound track recorded during Bloody Sunday.

The Merchants House, 16 Queen Street, Derry

We spent two nights at the Merchants House: a Georgian style town house, a short distance to the north of  the city walls. On the first floor is a large drawing room with splendid fireplace, commodious sofas and a good supply of books. The dining room on the ground floor has a high ceiling and an enormous dining table; we enjoyed the home made wheaten bread.  We stayed in a third floor room which had good plaster work and an attractive fire place. The owner, Peter Pyne told us that the house became his family home in 1991. He also explained the geography of Derry and advised on museums to visit.