My Days in the North: Derry

          My days up here in the North of Ireland have been very intense and very interesting. Since my last series of posts, I have spent time in Belfast, in the dorms of Queens University, at the Corrymeela Reconciliation and Spirituality Center, along the north coast of Ireland, and I am now living in the Bogside District of Derry/Londonderry, in the Catholic ghetto for the week. I have never lived or spent much time anywhere like where I am staying here, there is still an active contingent of the IRA present in these neighborhoods and fights and attacks between police, Loyalist paramilitaries, and IRA supporters break out fairly frequently. Just last week, three miles from here, a constable's house was blown up by Continuity IRA for his position in the security forces. Our program specifically scheduled our stays so that we would not be in Derry over a Saturday night, because that is when most of the violence tends to occur. The Orange Order still marches around the walls of Derry every Saturday afternoon, which incites rioting from the Nationalist Catholic youth, and typically, the fighting escalates into the night, with petrol bombs and Molotov cocktails being thrown at the Loyalist marchers and the police forces most weekends. Its incredible to be right in amongst it; Derry is said to be the front lines of the continuing troubles, and still is known as "The City Under Siege" by both sides.

         Historically, Derry is famous for being the Walled City of the Ulster Plantation. It is more sectarian than any other place in the North, because, unlike the other planters of Ulster, who were Scottish that moved in to settle the region, Derry settled by actual English Londoners- hence the name "Londonderry." The loyalists feel more allegiance to England than anywhere else in Northern Ireland, and historically held all the power over the city and the county despite the fact that they only make up about 10-15% of the population. To add to this animosity, when the vote for independence came in 1922, the County of Derry would have, by all rights, voted to break away and join the Republic of Ireland, but just before the vote, the Protestant Loyalists in power redrew voting districts and changed suffrage requirements to prevent the large majority of Irish Catholics from voting for independence, leaving the Irish Catholics of Derry feeling abandoned and oppressed. In the recent struggles, Derry has become infamous for the Battle of the Bogside and Bloody Sunday, where 13 protesters were gunned down by British paratroopers in the Bogside Catholic Ghetto.

The Walls of Derry- 

Historically, only Protestants were allowed to live within the walled city center of Derry. Catholics were subjugated to live outside the town walls in the boglands, since the walls were built to ward off Native Irish attacks.

Coat of Arms of Derry, on the Guild Hall

The Skeleton symbolized the 9,000 residents that starved to death during the 

Siege of Derry in the Williamite Wars

Loyalist Communities feel surrounded and under siege as well from the Catholic majority

The Protestant Cathedral of Derry

One of the Original 48lb. Mortar Balls fired over the Walls into the town during James II's siege of Derry

From the Walls, looking over the hostile residents of the Bogside

Entering the Bogside- The people of this district declared themselves independent of Great Britain during the Troubles, and for three years in the 1970s, police were unable to enforce jurisdiction in "Free Derry"

The River Foyle and the Waterside District

The Walls of Derry