Derry Murals and Bloody Sunday

I can't share our experience of visiting Derry without including the murals of Bogside (the Catholic Republic of Ireland) and the walls that divide these cities...LondonDerry and Derry.

This is my brief, as factual as I can be, history of the conflict.  I share this without picking sides but I  am saddened and moved by what I have learned and seen here in Derry.

Ireland was lead and ruled by Irish Kings before the Norman Invasions.

King Henry VIII becomes King of Scotland, England and Ireland.

He made a decision to take control of Ireland by sending 'English Settlers' to begin populating Ireland and subduing the Irish 'rebels'. 

A wall was built to protect the city's. The name was changed from Derry to LondonDerry.

Inside the wall lived Protestants from England.

Outside the walls lived Irish natives.

England gives the 'best' farm land to English Lords. (Ulster land)

Poor farm land is given to the Irish natives.

At many times in the history of Derry, Catholics cannot buy a home, go to school, get a job, or vote.

There were many sieges over the centuries to retake the city inside the walls.

The conflicts were not just about religion and politics.  By the time of the 'Troubles',(the violent conflicts of 1968 until 2005), it was about Civil Rights.  

Below is the start of our Bogside Mural walking tour.  This is the 'Bloody Sunday Monument' dedicated to the people who were killed on that day.  The monument stands within 50 feet of where most of the people died.

A very poignant memorial.

The walls are still in place around Derry separating Catholics and Protestants.  Actually, just up the street from our hostel, the gate is locked at dusk and reopened at dawn.

This is not the only tribute to loved ones who have died during the 'Troubles."

The "Troubles" is the name given to the conflicts in Northern Ireland that began in the 1960s and ended for the most part with the Belfast Good Friday Agreement in 1998.  

A solemn walk to see the Murals.

The Bogside Murals are the creations of two brothers and a friend.  Tom Kelly, William Kelly and childhood friend Kevin Hasson painted 12 murals in total in 1994.  They witness the tragic events that happened in and around the streets where the murals can be seen.

"Peace"  if you look closely you can see a dove, a symbol of peace, intertwined with an oak leaf, a symbol of Derry.

The Hunger Strikers all of whom died in prison.

"The Hunger Strikers" (below) is a mural that represents an IRA prisoner donning a blanket because they refused to wear the same uniforms as common criminals.  Apparently political prisoners, which is how they identified themselves, are allowed to wear their own clothes.  They started a hunger strike to force the British to treat them as political prisoners.  The letter 'H' in red, represents the H-block of the Maze Prison near Belfast where they were held.

Paint has been thrown on the mural....not by the artists.

"John Hume" is a collection of four faces.  You may recognize them as Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Theresa, Nelson Madela, and on the top left John Hume.  He was born in Bogside and was a Nationalist who strived and worked for Peace in his country.  The four are Nobel Peace Prize winners.

A random mural in one of the conflict areas.

A tribute to some who died during the conflicts between the Irish Nationalist and the British army.

Another random mural depicting a scene from "Bloody Sunday."

The "Civil Rights" mural is showing a marching Derry crowd.  While Martin Luther King Jr. was successful abroad with nonviolent marches it was not the case for the Republic of Ireland marchers.  It did give them a powerful voice, around the world, but little was changing for them.  Decades of non-violent marches all over Northern Ireland are documented in the Free Derry Museum in Bogside.  A very informative museum.

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"Bloody Sunday"

In 1968 civil rights groups began to protest in Northern Ireland.  Their goals were simple...to gain better housing, secure fair voting rights and end employment discrimination for Catholics in the North.  The tensions began to mount and there began many clashes with the local police departments.  Finally the British army was called in to keep the peace.

On January 30th, 1972 about 10,000 people protesting held an illegal march.  Because the British army barricades kept them from the centre of Derry, they marched through the Bogside neighbourhood.

Later that afternoon during the march, some youths were rioting on the outside of the march.  A 'parachute regiment' (British elite army group) had orders to move in and make arrests.

Shooting broke out and after less than half an hour, 14 marchers were dead and 12 injured.

The soldiers said they were shot upon.

The marchers said the army shot at unarmed civilians randomly.

Tony Blair in 1998 promised a second inquiry into the tragic events.  The first inquiry found no fault on the part of the British army.

It became the longest and most expensive in British history.

In 2010, it was determined that the civil rights protestors of 'Bloody Sunday' were innocent and they called the deaths unjustified.

In 2010, David Cameron spoke from the House of Commons and apologized to the people of Derry.

"What happened on Bloody Sunday was both unjustified and unjustifiable.  It was wrong."

After 38 years the wound can start to heal.

"The Saturday Matinee" depicts an outgunned but undaunted local youth behind a screen shield.  He is holding a stone as the tank heads towards him.  Reminds me of the famous photo of a Chinese man facing a tank in Tiananmen Square.  The name, "Saturday Matinee"  is because on the weekends it was the time for locals to conflict with the British army (stationed all over Derry for decades) because people were off work and youths were out of school.

"The Runners"  three rioting youths flee tear gas from canisters used by the British Army to disperse hostile crowds.  More than 1000 canisters were seen during the Battle of the Bogside.  'Non-lethal' rubber bullets, used by the British army, actually killed 17 people during the 'Troubles.'

"Operation Motorman"  depicts a soldier using a sledgehammer to break through a door of a home in Bogside.

A random message plaque of a loved one killed in Bogside.

A monument below honours the Hunger Strikers who died for their beliefs.

This mural "Bloody Sunday" is from an actual photo of four men carrying a body from the 'Bloody Sunday' march that claimed many lives.  Father Edward Daly carrying the white handkerchief to request safe passage in order to get the mortally wounded man to safety.  He died and some of the men carrying him were shot as well trying to help him.

The White wall of the "Free Derry Corner" stands alone in the centre of a green space.  "You are now entering FREE DERRY" was written on an actual gable end of a houses that stood here 40 years ago.  During the 'Troubles' it became a traditional meeting place for speakers to address the crowds.

"Bernadette" is the one with the megaphone in the mural.  Bernadette Devlin McAliskey was a civil rights leader who at age 21 became the youngest elected member of the British Parliament.  Hard to see the woman kneeling beside her with the garbage can lids.  They were used to warn of the British Army approaching.  They were also a traditional expression of protest in the Nationalist neighbourhoods.

"Petrol Bomber"  shows a teen wearing a gas mask during the time when their community barricaded themselves from British rule....for three years.  

"The Death of Innocence"  a young girl stands in front of a bomb wreckage.  She is Annette McGavigan, a 14 year old who was killed on this corner by crossfire in 1971.  The 100th fatality of the 'Troubles.'  Ultimately more than 3000 lives were claimed.  She was a cousin of one of the Bogside Artists.  Most of the casualties were innocent bystanders and many children.

"The Bloody Sunday Commemoration" (below) the very tragic 'Bloody Sunday' victims whom were killed by British army during a peaceful march in 1972.  Fourteen in total died and many were wounded.  The British, 37 years later, apologized stating that the 14 dead were innocent and unarmed.  At first, they said they were fired upon by the Marchers.

Deb and I visited the Free Derry Museum in Bogside.  While you tour the build up to the 'Bloody Sunday' tragedy, playing in the background is the actual audio from that horrible scene.  Tons of information to read.  As well, pictures of those who died.  As a matter of fact I had a conversation with the man who was working at the museum that day about 'Bloody Sunday.'  His brother was killed that day.  I asked him how he moves forward for continued peace with that in his heart.  He shared with me that after 37 years, the fact that justice was served for the dead, made a big difference.  But he says they now want compensation for their loss.  It is not done, but the majority want peace.

He was very open and honest with me and I was very touched by his candour.

The British army went to Northern Ireland in 1969 and only left in 2007 after 38 years.  It was the British army's longest continuous military operation.

But the walls are still up.......we hope that will also change in the coming years.
Everyone please pray for Peace.