Day 8: Our Last Day in Derry

Our last day in Derry! After a wonderful hotel breakfast our group headed out to do our political and historical walking tour of the Bogside led by Paul Doherty. Paul led us first to the Guildhall, which is where elected members of the Derry city council meet. It is also the spot where President Bill Clinton gave his address when he visited the city in 1995. The building is absolutely gorgeous and has some amazing stain glassed windows. 

We then made our way into the Bogside. The Bogside is a neighborhood within Derry that sits outside the city walls. It is a predominately Catholic/Republican neighborhood. Within the Bogside there are many large gable wall murals detailing the history of the city. The art is breathtaking and sobering all at the same time. Many of the murals were painted in black white and most of them depicted the tragedies of the Bloody Sunday Massacre. 

After looking at the artwork that adorns the streets we moved onto the most notable gable wall, Free Derry. The Free Derry gable wall signified the nationalist area of Derry during the troubles, existing from 1969-1972. Community activists sought to secure the neighborhood against the RUC (Royal Ulster Constabulary) which was the majority protestant police force at the time. Activists got the name Free Derry from a sign that had been painted on a gable wall saying "You Are Now Entering Free Derry"

After taking a group photo at the gable wall we made our way to the Bloody Sunday memorial. Bloody Sunday was a mass shooting caused by British soldiers when they shot and killed 14 innocent people, some as young as 17 who were peacefully protesting in the street. Tragically one of the victims Patrick Doherty, was the father of our tour guide Paul. Patrick was shot while crawling for safety near the Rossville Flats which is right near where the memorial stands. It was a somber moment that put into to focus that while there is peace now the troubles are not so far away in the past. It was a good reminder that while we are here to learn and explore there were in fact real lives affected by this troubling period of time and in some instances those lives are still being affected to this day. 

After our visit to the memorial we made our way to the Free Derry Museum where we finished up our tour and said our goodbyes to Paul. We made our way inside the museum and were greeted by staff who gave us a brief introduction to the museum and its purpose. The museum was filled with art, posters, and personal belongings/momentos from victims of the Bloody Sunday Massacre. It was another poignant moment that brought up a lot of strong emotions as you traveled throughout the museum. The air definitely felt a bit heavier then before and there was definitely a weight in my chest as I left the museum. 

 

After the museum the rest of the day was our's to explore. My group headed off towards the Craft Village which was a small selection of shops within the city walls. We perused some stores that had some handmade items and some others that had more trinket-like items. Nothing caught my eye completely but it was still fun to walk around! 

After looking in the shops we found a place to eat within the Craft Village called The Cottage Craft Gallery and Coffee Shop. I had a lemon butter and sugar crepe which was absolutely delicious and totally fueled me up for the rest of our busy day. 

When we finished our lunch we headed on a self-guided Derry Girls tour. For those who may not know there is a show on Netflix called Derry Girls, which follows the lives of teenage girls who are growing up in Derry during the troubles in the 90's it is one of my most favorite shows and it is what prompted me to venture on this Ireland journey. Our first stop was returning back to the Guildall, where we took a moment to look inside and appreciate the architecture and stained glass windows. In the show the Guildhall plays a huge role as the girls skip school to see President Bill Clinton deliver his address to the city. We then made a quick pit stop at the peace bridge and took a moment to admire the beauty of the city. It truly was a peaceful sight. Afterwards we made our way up the walls so we could stand where one of the main characters named James stands and proclaims that he is a "Derry Girl!". We then walked further along the walls until we reached the crown jewel, the Derry Girls Mural. It was so amazing and truly brought the journey here full circle. 

As we finished up our self-guided tour we made our way back to the hotel for a little bit of rest before dinner. For dinner we went  to Hillbilly's Fried Chicken, which as you can guess is a fried chicken place. I got the sweet chilli chicken burger which was the perfect thing to fill me up before bed. We made our way back to the hotel where I promptly got ready for bed and began to write this blog post. As well as taking photos to commemorate the trip I have also been keeping count of the steps we've taken each day so in case you are interested: 

Steps Today: 12,353

Steps Total: 117,626

Tomorrow we leave the hotel at 6:00 am so that we can get to Dublin and then take the train to Limerick. It'll be a long travel day but as every other day has proven to be worth the travel times, I'm sure this will be no different. I am looking forward to what Limerick has in store for us! 

As I sign off for the night I know that I am now and forever a Derry Girl, 

Avery ward