Derry

We started Monday with a guided tour of Derry, the second-largest city in Northern Ireland. The legal name of the town is Londonderry and according to our guide the nationalists call it Derry and the “unionists” call it Londonderry. The original name is Derry but the “London” was added to the name in 1613 by King James I. Derry is the only remaining completely intact walled city in Ireland and one of the finest examples of a walled city in Europe. We walked on the wall for part of our tour. The Walls were built during the period 1613-1619 as defenses for early 17th century settlers from England and Scotland.

Our Derry City Tour guide was Martin McCrossan. Martin was a very good tour guide. The day before he had given a personal tour to Susan Boyle of American Idol fame.

Our guide told us about “The Troubles”. Catholics felt they were discriminated against under Unionist government in Northern Ireland, both politically and economically. In the late 1960s there were disputes in the city about gerrymandering. This led to a civil rights demonstration in 1968 which was blocked forcibly by the police. In 1969, there were 3-days of rioting known as the Battle of the Bogside which was started when nationalists protested against a loyalist parade. This is often credited as the beginning of the troubles. On Sunday, January 30, 1972, 13 unarmed civilians were shot dead by British paratroopers during a civil rights march. Another 13 were wounded and one further man later died of his wounds. This event came to be known as Bloody Sunday. The end of the Troubles came in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Apparently republican leaders negotiated a de facto ceasefire in the city as early as 1991. Derry was the city in which the German U Boats surrendered at the end of WWII.