As the only guests in the All Seasons B&B, unsurprisingly we were the only ones in breakfast. The food options were plentiful, and the hot food was cooked to order. We were packed up and in the car for 10am and made our way across country to Derry.
As we arrived our first impressions of the City were favourable, especially as parking on a Sunday was free. We parked next to the City Hall and walked out onto the relatively newly constructed Peace Bridge. This was impressive and busy with people strolling across. It was deliberately built with a wave in it to show that the road to Peace is never straightforward. The bridge links the main city with the parts into which it has extended. It was pleasing to learn that that the people who live there are roughly split 50/50 Catholic/Protestant’s and live-in harmony together as they should do.
Our tour guide was Garvan. He seemed to know every local that passed by. He was a local who had lived here through all the troubles (as a postman). He spoke with pride and love for his City and was passionate about explaining all of the history. As a typical Irish he had plenty of chit chat and in-between told us of all the ‘stars’ who had been on his tour at various times. We learnt about the Derry Girls TV series that is obviously based and filmed here as well along with how covid had impacted the City.
The first thing we saw was the enclave of the 3% loyalists that still live in the centre. The 2 rows of houses are still surrounded by 30-foot fences. They fly flags from every lamppost and have painted the kerbs red/white and blue. It didn’t look loyalist to me, instead I felt it looked sad and embarrassing. I almost felt ashamed for them.
My feelings were made worse when Garvan described how internment operated at that time (and applied to both sides). Again, this had gone over my head at the time, but people could be imprisoned with no charge or trial or recourse, simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
There were very few national flags flying now in this area and although there were still many murals but they depicted the history and were not provocative as such.
At the end of the tour, Karen & I walked down into Bogside itself to see the famous Free Derry sign and find the Bloody Sunday memorial. Karen was a bit weary to do so initially but there were other people doing the same and we were just paying our respects.
This led to protest marches against the policy, and it was one such march which led to Bloody Sunday that took place on the Bogside, next to the walls. This area of housing was where the Catholics lived. It was sobering looking down on where it happened. Now it must have been terrifying for the young British Army lads to be confronted with an angry mob who had just had their marching route blocked but as the then Prime Minister David Cameron said in Parliament at the end of a 12 year independent enquiry of the whole day back in 1972 (held at Derry City Hall) – ‘We cannot justify the unjustifiable’. Things obviously got badly out of hand leading to many sad deaths and being a catalyst to all events that followed.
There were very few national flags flying now in this area and although there were still many murals but they depicted the history and were not provocative as such.
At the end of the tour, Karen & I walked down into Bogside itself to see the famous Free Derry sign and find the Bloody Sunday memorial. Karen was a bit weary to do so initially but there were other people doing the same and we were just paying our respects.