Derry, also known as Londonderry
depending on whom you speak to, was a site of interest on our last group trip.
After all hopping onto our coach bus, the group drove up to the city proper for
an exciting tour of the city courtesy of Brian!
County Derry is one of the few
counties considered part of Northern Ireland, which split from the Republic of
Ireland in 1922. Unlike most of Northern
Ireland though, despite the Protestant/Unionist control, the majority of the
people living in the area are Catholic/Nationalist. Thus, depending on their beliefs and
loyalties, they will refer to the county as either Derry or Londonderry.
Recently, however, it has been accepted as politically correct to refer to it
as Derry-Londonderry. We found out that
this area was deeply affected by the Troubles, with a long history of conflict.
In August 1969, the people of the district of Derry called the Bogside resisted
attempts by the Royal Ulster Constabulary to breach barricades that had been
erected in defense of the area. The “battle” between Bogside and Riverside was
mostly youth, and proceeded for three days until the British army intervened. Derry’s history of violence continued with
Bloody Sunday, the culmination of the three years after the Battle of the
Bogside. On Sunday, 30 January 1972, the
British army opened fire on a peacefully protesting crowd because they thought
that there was an IRA sniper amongst them. 14 innocent people were killed; as a
result the IRA gained support and anti-British sentiment increased
dramatically.
In many ways Derry is physically
similar to many other cities. There is
an air of poverty around what seems to be just another grungy and run-down city,
and the people are generally working class. However, Brian talked about several
factors that make Derry a bit more unusual. In commemoration of the Troubles
and all the tumultuous history of the area, several murals have been painted on
assorted building sides. While some of
these have become run down, they remain powerfully narrative. Derry is a walled
city, so Brian led our group around the top of the wall so we were able to view
many of the important locales. From the
wall we were able to see the Peace Bridge, which was built in a swerving path to
represent the long road to peace.
Derry also holds great significance
to Ireland, both historically and to the development of the country today. The
area’s deep association with Ireland’s violent past, particularly with the Troubles,
means it is irrevocably woven into the fabric of the nation. Events like Bloody
Sunday and the aftermath reached international knowledge, and brought awareness
to the horrors going on in Ireland. This
brought a large movement to reconciliation within the country; however, the
debate of Derry versus Londonderry evidences that some conflict remains. According
to Brian, it is only in the very recent past that Derry has felt peaceful.
Our group had fairly unified
personal reactions to the city of Derry.
We were first struck with surprise at how grungy it appeared, but there
was also a palpable feel of hurt in the air. Despite the violence and hurt
people have experienced, though, we were surprised at Brian’s portrayal of how
friendly the people are. One thing that
stuck out was the story of the mural of the fourteen-year old girl who was shot—her
mother walks by it every day and sees it as a wonderful testament to her life
and death. We were touched by the difficult dichotomy between feeling the hurt
that happened there and sensing the presence of steps towards reconciliation. In
addition, it was clear that enormous amounts of time, effort, and money must
have gone into making the murals, but the people of Derry considered it
important enough that it was necessary. Through it all, our group came away with a
sense of the difficulties the country of Ireland has endured, but also the
extraordinary strength of the Irish people as well.
Two of the murals in Derry.
No comments:
Post a Comment