Day 7: First Day in Derry

The day began bright and early at 9 am as we gathered ourselves to head off to Derry! It was a relatively short drive made even shorter by our stop at the Giant’s Causeway.

It’s known as one of the most breathtaking, idyllic landscapes in Ireland and is famous for the legend of its creation. Legend has it that Irish Giant Finn McCool built the causeway to reach his rival in Scotland, following the fearsome fight his Scottish rival fled back to Scotland leaving wreckage in his wake that we still see today. I could go on and on about the beauty of the causeway, but the land speaks for itself.

From there, we continued on to Derry. Once we arrived, it was time to explore the city. The first place we wandered was the Peace Bridge. It was built recently as a symbol of reconciliation between the people of Derry after The Troubles and divides they experienced. Both Catholics and Protestants contributed to its creation. It’s meant to represent two hands reaching out to each other and bringing the two communities on opposite sides of the river together.

Across the way is the old Derry Guildhall. Its exhibits informed us about the history of Derry and its English origins. In addition, it featured a time capsule from the late 19th century. What most captured my eye were the glorious, soaring windows of stained glass. A surprisingly large percentage of the windows were beautifully crafted stained glass that was gifted by the twelve guilds that comprised Derry and the city of Derry throughout the years. I simply stood and stared at a whole room of stained glass windows for several minutes.

Exploring further, we ventured inside the 17th century stone walls that surrounded the original town of Derry. We found the cutest little gift shop called ‘The Donegal Shop’. There, we met the sweetest woman who was watching the shop. She informed us that the shop, a family run business, had been founded in the 1960s and had operated throughout The Troubles, only closing for one week when both ends of the street were barricaded. Her family made it their mission to promote unique, local Irish goods. In our conversation, it came up that we were on a class trip, looking at the conflict and peace of Ireland. She lit up with passion and told us of her own interest in studying the politics of The Troubles. She regaled us with stories of her own childhood growing up in the conflict. For example, how everyone was so conscious and suspicious of everything as they constantly feared bombs being at their doors in unassuming objects such as trash bins and cars. She noted that the brother of a person she had known well lost their brother to a bomb hidden in a lunch box that he had unknowingly brought into his place of work to return to the owner who had lost it. There was one statement in particular that broke my heart. It was when she spoke of the implications of The Troubles today; just the other day she was walking her seven year old daughter to school and noticed a car sitting by itself on the street. She had a momentary relapse of the crippling fear and suspicion that she had grown up with, it's a feeling that continues to follow her and probably always will. Hearing her speak so honestly and openly about her own thoughts and stories was incredibly moving. Conversing with the kind woman was definitely the highlight of my day.

We wrapped up our day with a stroll on the old city walls and a good dinner at the oldest pub in Derry, The River Inn: Silver Street.